Thursday, February 27, 2014

Ways to Strengthen Referral Relationships For B2B_B2C

1. Arrange a one-to-one meeting. 

Meeting a referral source in person is an excellent opportunity to learn more about his or her business and interests. Prepare questions in advance so that the conversation flows smoothly. Be ready to give an update on your business and to ask lots of questions about your source’s interests.

After you’ve met at least once, you may also consider inviting him or her to participate in some type of recreational activity, such as a golf outing, fishing trip, concert or play. This can be a good opportunity to let your referral source see a different side of you in an informal setting.

2. Send a thank-you card. 

A handwritten thank-you card makes a great impression, especially in this age of electronic communication. Be sure to write a personalized note that mentions what you’re thanking your referral source for.

3. Send a gift. 

Like a thank-you card, a gift -- however small or inexpensive -- can help build visibility and credibility with your referral source. Try to find out what his or her likes are (such as favorite foods, hobbies, etc.), and send a gift that is personalized.

4. Call a referral source. 

 An occasional, casual phone call is a good way to keep the relationship strong -- when you take care to call only when it’s least likely to be an unwelcome interruption. It’s also a good idea to have a piece of news or some tidbit of information to pass along that will benefit or interest your source. You can set up a file on your computer or smart phone for holding content that may be of interest to people you would like to be your referral sources. Sending an article, especially one that is pertinent to your source’s current business or personal circumstances, reaffirms that you are thinking about his or her needs.

5. Display a source’s collateral. 

Doing a bit of sales work on behalf of a referral source can only enhance your relationship. If you have a public area for your business, offer to place your source’s materials where your clients can read them.



6. Extend an invitation. 

Invite a referral source to a networking event. Introducing him or her to other businesspeople you know gives your source an opportunity to meet others in your target market. It may also provide new business opportunities for you both.

7. Nominate them for an award. 

Watch for these types of opportunities. Local service and civic organizations often present annual awards recognizing contributions to a particular cause, and local periodicals often sponsor awards contests for business people. Find out which groups and interests your referral source is involved in and check to see if there is a form of recognition associated with them.

8. Include a source in your newsletter. 


Even a brief mention of a referral source in your newsletter can pay dividends down the road, including the opportunity for them to reciprocate the favor in their own newsletter.

9. Arrange a speaking engagement. 

Help your referral source get in front of a group that would be interested in his or her business or area of expertise. Local chapters of service organizations are always looking for good speakers. If you belong to a group that invites people to speak, use your contacts to help your source make the rounds among various chapters.

10. Turn the table. 

Offer your referral source a referral he or she might find useful. It’s often a wonderful way to build your relationship. By helping build your source’s business, you help create a debt of gratitude that will encourage your source to respond in kind.


***Written by a different author and has been edited for clarity and modernize.

Want Successful Business Relationships?

Relationships.Building real relationships with real people in the real world will increase your chances of success. 


Here's why relationships are the key to business success: Your most important asset is your network - not your virtual network, your real one. Every successful executive and entrepreneur will tell you, their most important asset is their network, and they don't mean social network. They mean people they actually know and work with in real time because they're the ones that actually get things done.

One real relationship in the real world is worth more than 10,000 social media links, likes or followers. Sales transactions are between two real human beings. Even with ecommerce, most sales transactions are still between two human beings. Think about it. Every significant B2C and B2B transaction involves a buyer and a seller, not to mention all the channel development and pre- and post-sales support. And the best product doesn't necessarily win. Buyer behavior is mostly subjective and relationships are a big factor. In a service business, they're the biggest factor, hands down.

When opportunity knocks, it's always a person knocking ... and answering. As much as we like to fantasize about opportunities just falling in our laps, the truth is, that never happens. Of the thousands of career and business opportunities I've been involved with over the past 30 years, every single one involved a real relationship. Every job, every piece of advice, every business deal, every vendor relationship - there's that word - every single one.

***Written by a different Arthur
Sunday, February 16, 2014

Effective & Efficient Marketing For SMB

 

I believe I've said this many times. If your strength is not marketing, people, sales, business development then either learn it or get it.   Every time I see smb businesses trying to do something like marketing and spending all kinds of money & time that gets them zero return or mediocre branding or terrible marketing.  It personally upsets me.  

In a very competitive world , great marketing is very very hard. 

 

And for a start-up, SMB business it requires a lot of hard work and a lot of relentlessness.

Here are some of the tips BJ Mannyst shares with prospects  to help them get the most out of their marketing. 

Before anything

A few hours of planning can save you time and money. Take sometime to learn how people in the business you are trying to get in operate their business. Learn what it is consumers want and need. Figure out who else will you be competing with. How big is the market. What is buying process?  So plan and educate yourself as much as possible.

What do you want to accomplish

- Through your planning and education you should begin to see what exactly you want.  So set objectives as to what tools or help you’ll need and what returns could I get. So figure out tools (business cards, website, social media, flyers, videos, events, influencers, advisers, seo, strategy, money, partners, store, distributors, etc.) that will work together to achieve your objectives.

Spend time networking

I’m not saying collecting cards and blasting email. I mean start building relationships.  Meet local and global smb business owners and make friends. 

Become an expert

Simply means if you are selling cigars you better try to know everything about cigars and convey it passionately.  Sure there are other cigar experts but you must find your own way  of differentiating yourself from the crowd.

Friday, February 14, 2014

Technology Alone Is Not The Answer To Your Marketing

 

Marketing and technology has never been so interdependent till the burst of the digital revolution. Everywhere you go technology dependence is at its highest. 

However businesses sometime forget the fundamentals that marketing is less about technology and a lot more about human nature.

“Marketers feel they are unable to maximize the value of their technology due to insufficient skills or a lack of appropriate partnerships or organizational structures,” 

So I came up with some suggestions and thoughts: 

  • l SMB businesses need to build their marketing operations around their customers and their core needs. It should be complimenting your marketing plans not the other way.
  • l Sure you think you need to mine for data and analyze it but how much data do you really need and which measurement are important to your business?
  • l Learn from other companies and how they use technology affectively but come up with systems that best work for your business.
  • l Think sustainable and think long term
  • l Think flexibility. Think ease of use.
  • l Decide your focus: Increasing your followers today or increase the quality of the experience
  • l Invest enough time into training
Wednesday, February 12, 2014

15 Ways to Build a Brand Overnight

 

Since you went through the trouble of clicking you expect something.  

Well the first is to get a hook like the title. It’s like telling your partner, she’s the only woman you find attractive. 

If you are not laughing then you don’t deserve to read this top secret list.

15 WAYS:

  • keep your brand name consistent
  • Exploit your underdog status
  • Don’t just think local think the universe
  • Put some soul into it
  • It stands for or its communication tone is
  • Develop your strategy and positioning
  • Maintain internal and external relationships
  • Get a powerful public relations
  • Move with a Sense of urgency
  • Provide great content & experience
  • Offer real added value
  • Take care of your customers
  • Build a community
  • Focus on what the user finds most important about your product.
  • Honestly, it does not happen overnight.
Sunday, February 9, 2014

7 Marketing Strategy for Small Medium Business Facing Challenges

 

bjmannyst_strategy_facing challenges

According to numerous surveys and discussions the greatest issues  small business owners worry about are: finding new customers,  affording employee benefits, keeping their current customers  paying business bills, hiring good workers, competition.

So we at BJ Mannyst thought maybe we can share some helpful tips. 

 

Spend On Marketing

- In some ways marketing can be seen as flushing money down the toilet because the returns are not immediate however its the best investment you can make in your business. The world is very competitive and some how you must figure out how to get others to buy from you instead of your competition down the street. 

So we suggest you set aside an amount that go towards marketing activities: branding, strategy, product development, market research, advertising, social media, etc. (You decide which activity would be best and which you can sustain for long periods)

However, be sure to give your business the room to try out alternative marketing opportunities and ideas to see if they work.

Get Your Appearance Right

-We live in a world where your first impression can really shape the future of your business. So we suggest you build a simple effective website, develop a great social media management strategy, color scheme, logo, etc. Place your business contact information where ever it needs to be on your website  or top of your store. 

However before you begin anything relating to your business image, communication take sometime to think about how you want to be seen as well as consider who your target will be.  What does the competition do. This is something  BJ Mannyst (bjmannyst.com) can help you with.

Find or Hire Someone to Spread the Word

-There are many ways to bring in business however its finding the quality methods among the garbage out there, that’s the challenge.  Most prospects research you and your organization long before they contact you. So put out genuine content , business listings , insights, tips, etc. That would be helpful to your targets.  However before you put out any material make sure you can live up to your standards. 

Keeping Them

-them means customers. The simplest thing is doing the right things right. There are times customers would be upset that your product or service did not live up to their expectation.  So before they run out and tell two people, why not prevent unsatisfied customers or negative reviews. Someway to do that is to be honest with them prior to taking their money. Make sure you know what exactly you can deliver. Make sure customer can vent their complaints to a decision maker. Have policies in place to guide you. Always be listening to your customers.

Build An Engaging Social Media Presence

- Social media is a powerful way to market and engage prospects because there are no middle men. It’s direct interaction with people.  If you are catering to consumers go with Facebook or Twitter. If you are b2b or provide goods or services to business decision makers go with LinkedIn. YouTube is another way to spread the word or provide helpful tips.

However social media activity is not a sit and wait or idle thing. You must make a commitment of some time to it.

Save Money & Time by Automating

-Some things in marketing, hr, etc. Can now be automated, meaning you just program a few instructions and it just does it over and over again with little to no human involvement. For a example, you can use some CRM  software to automatically contact a prospect with a particular message once they ask for a quote.

Always Know How Well Your Marketing is Doing

-Sure marketing is important so is monitoring and measuring the effectiveness of your marketing dollars and cents. For more helpful tips & ideas visit: BJMANNYST.COM

Saturday, February 1, 2014

15 Inspiring Business Lessons from Oprah Winfrey - For Founders Under 40™ Group Members


 #1 Be True to Your Self 


“I had no idea that being your authentic self could make me as rich as I’ve become. If I had, I’d have done it a lot earlier.” Oprah Winfrey Oprah has been captivating audiences since she was three years old. Her local church had nicknamed Oprah “The Preacher” for her ability to recite Bible verses. She had a knack for interviewing too. Back then, Oprah’s favorite game was to ask question of her doll and the crows on the fence of her family’s property.

In other words, Winfrey was pretty much born to be a talk show host. If you feel like your job is a round hole and you’re a square peg, it’s time to make a change.

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