Sally just got done reading Manage Your Day-To-Day. The subtitle of this book is Build Your Routine, Find Your Focus and Sharpen Your Mind, edited by Jocelyn K. Glei. Here's some of the best business take-aways from the book:

If you find you've been working hard and hardly getting ahead, this book is for you. It focuses on how our work day and work world has changed. Too often we're reacting and not working on our daily to-do list. The first thing to do is schedule your creative work first and schedule it at a time when you work best. This may take a little time to find - but instinctively you may know this already. Set routines and stick to them. If a project isn't complete one day, calendar it and move it to the next day. Your capacity is limited. Schedule your renewal or "sharpen the saw" time. Stick to it. Schedule thinking time or alone time to plan. Plan blocks of time to work - calendar it and stick to it. Stop multi-tasking - it doesn't work. Work on one project at a time, focus and finish it. Understand your temptations and resist them. In other words stay off Facebook and quit texting. Keep your workspace organized. Protect your DO NOTHING time. Your brain needs some R&R. Send really short emails. There is magic in a six-word email. Schedule your social media time and use it effectively to promote your business. Sally does hers at the same time she's updating client posts. Sometimes your soul needs to rest - take a long break from being connected. Finally, stop thinking everything must be perfect. We are human. Only God is perfect.
Get the work done, do your very best and let it go.

"The difference between successful people and very successful people is that very successful people say 'no' to almost everything."  – Warren Buffet

1. Know Your Audience

- What time they check Facebook, what content they’re interested in.
- Target those specific people who ‘liked’ your page.

Knowing your audience will help your business tremendously down the road. It’s not enough to have a great product these days. You need to find those people who are your target audience and know what they want to see, their interests, likes and dislikes.

2. Engage with Your Audience
- Make posts specifically to your target group.

Once you’ve figured out their likes and dislikes, it’s time to put your knowledge to work.
Think about it - a follower is more likely to like or share a post if it is relevant to them or if they find it to be something they can stand behind.

3. Provide Great Customer Service

Once you have figured out your target market and how to get their attention, you need to keep it! Keep up on your social media; it shouldn’t be on autopilot for too long. Notice when someone comments on a post of yours or better yet, shares your post. Respond to your audience; people like to know that who they’re following is responsive and actually cares about them.

In short, nobody likes to be ignored. If people comment on your post or have questions, acknowledge them! It’s easy to become automated with managing your Facebook, but don’t forget that Customer Satisfaction still rules and will go further than any boosted post ever will.

4. Customization
You can schedule when your FB status is posted weeks and months in advance, specifically to better fit your customers' schedules. When you go to make a status update there is a drop down box next to the "Post" button that gives you an option to schedule your posting. Use this free trick to optimize your social media!

5. Boost
You can also use the “Boost” button, which places your posts higher in the News Feed, so there’s a better chance your audience will see them. Although there is a charge to boost, but you can choose your own budget. The more you put towards your budget, the higher your boost.

Stay focused and use Facebook's free platform to your advantage!

Traction - Get a Grip on Your Business
Gino Wickman
2011

In ten chapters our author pulls together a masterful process to super-charge your business plan with real world tools for accomplishing your goals. It is a collection of step by step instructions to help you master the challenges which have been making you pull your hair out as you struggle over and over again to resolve troublesome issues once and for all.

This method is based on the “EOS” or Entrepreneurial Operating System. It begins with “Letting Go of the Vine” which is to say, you need to be prepared to do things new ways to get new results.

The next step establishes a base point with a review of your company using eight key questions. The questions ask you to rate your company on a scale of 1 to 5 on topics ranging from whether you have a clear vision in writing which is shared by everyone to whether your leadership team is open and honest and demonstrates a high degree of trust. Some of the questions are straightforward such as whether you have an organizational chart or whether you have a method of monitoring your budget regularly. The goal is to be able to rate your company very high after implementation of the EOS processes.

Our author then moves through the different essential parts which make up any business including people, data, issues (or problems), core processes and action items which all result in traction. The experience gained from many years of working with hundreds of different companies who have received excellent results using this system is encouragement enough that these are universal concepts. The author speaks of working with companies as small as a dozen employees and as large as thousands of employees.

Some of the key concepts of EOS include:
1) Downloadable forms and templates for developing a visual representation of where you stand now and where you want to go.
2) Simple processes for determining if you have the right people in the right seats and a method to make sure you maintain the best fits.
3) Methods for establishing an organizational chart which also includes essential responsibilities.
4) Rocks or personal responsibility goals which help everyone in the company know exactly what they need to do to make sure they are doing their part to keep the company on track to reach its goals.
5) A scorecard for each employee to set reasonable but critical goals and track progress to move the company forward.
6) A Level 10 Meeting Agenda which all but guarantees that meetings are productive and results driven.

Poole Communications has implemented many of the concepts presented in “Traction” and are encouraged by the results the process is yielding. Typically it takes a year or so to become fully comfortable with the system and master it, but positive results can be seen as quickly as the first quarter of implementation.

Some of the processes were already in place for us but Gino Wickman has shed some light on ways to improve our results as well as our bottom line as we move toward a more profitable and efficient company able to serve many more clients while keeping our quality high.

-Rose Anne Huck.

How to Make Money In Your Own Small Business
by Jeffery J. Fox

Today I've read another book and will outline it so you can benefit from it without reading it. However, that being said, I'm a firm believer in reading and life long learning. I encourage you to do the same. You may learn more and different things than I did.

Today's book is How To Make Big Money In Your Own Small Business by Jeffery J. Fox. This small book is packed full of good advice and is subtitled Unexpected Rules Every Small Business Owner Needs To Know. The number of small businesses is growing in our country and across the world. In the United States many women are starting businesses - more often than men. Small business helps create most of the innovative new products and services in our country. Here are 25 tips from the book to help you grow and manage your business more profitably:

1. Small businesses are more maneuverable. Look at ideas large businesses have and cannot implement.
2. Always be looking for new ways to make money.
3. Have a basic business plan that outlines your break evens, your market and your customer.
4. Do what comes easy for you - and hard for others
5. Keep a focus on marketing and selling
6. You're in business to solve customers problems and make them more comfortable.
7. Hire salespeople that were ex-paperboys (or girls).
8. Be frugal except with customers and employees.
9. Spend 60% of your time marketing, 30% providing product or service and 10% managing
10. Seek fortune over fame.
11. Get rid of the home office.
12. Price your product or service to it's value - not its cost. Get away from charging by the hour.
13. Delegate, outsource and use consultants and interns
14. Have a back up plan in case you loose an employee - for every employee.
15. Get rid of problem employees immediately.
16. Stash cash for emergencies.
17. Patent, protect and padlock your systems and ideas.
18. Review billing and pricing frequently. Bill as soon after the job as possible.
19. You're not the boss, the client is.
20. Take accurate notes about each project. Write down dates and times. You may need them.
21. Always be thinking about how to make your company better and better serve your customers.
22. Remember to work ON your business - not just IN it.
23. Stay off of boards and committees - they are a giant time drain away from making profits.
24. Use technology but wait till it's been out a year - you'll save big.
25. Give surprises to both your customers and employees.

Finally, here's a list of your daily to do's:

• Exercise
• Talk to a new customer
• Contact an existing customer
• Sell to an existing customer
• Achieve one important objective
• Execute a marketing event
• Do one important task
• Train an employee
• Listen and talk to employees
• Inspect product quality
• Inspect delegated tasks
• Review all goals
• Return all calls

Sally Poole
Poole Communications owner

For more information on Jeffery Fox's book, see here: http://www.amazon.com/Make-Money-Your-Small-Business/dp/0786868252

Here are some quick tips to get your press release published.

1. Make sure it's news worthy - if it's not it won't get published.

2. Take the time to develop a catchy headline that will attract attention.

3. Write in a concise, news-style with the most important information first and the least important information last. When editors cut an article, they cut from the bottom.

4. Find a photo that complements your release. It is much more likely to be printed with a photo.

5. Include your complete contact information: name, title, business, address, phone, email, website. The media needs to be able to get in touch with you to do a larger story if they have time and space. Make it easy for them.

6. Find the right person to send the press release to. You can usually find this on the media's website.

7. Send that person an email with the press release in the email and attach a PDF or WORD document of the release too.

 

8. Realize that you may have to send the press release more than once. Editors are busy people and your release will only be publicized if there is space or time. This week might be too full of news to print your release, but next week might be great.

If you need help writing and sending press releases, give Poole Communications a call at 800-900-3635. We'd be happy to help.

The business world is changing. Ten years ago, you would have never understood "sharing your contacts on the cloud." Two years ago Newsweek stopped all printed publications. Take a look around you. It's time to move your company forward.

Last week I spent three days learning about new trends in internet marketing.  I'd like to share a few ideas with you that can help grow your business:

1. Grow your e-mail list.  Take a look at how many emails you have right now and set a much higher goal. This is one of the very fastest and best ways to communicate with existing and potential customers. This alone will help increase your business. Then communicate with your customers on a regular basis... which leads to:
2. Send an e-newsletter regularly. Keep it simple and benefit oriented. Fill it with tools and information your customers can use. The key is to send it on a regular basis. If you're busy start out quarterly. Get a handle on it and move it to once a month. You can send twice a month if the content is good. I would not send much more frequently than that.
3. Please tell me you have a website. If not, stop reading and go start working on it right now. It's that important. Take all of your old yellow page budget and pour it into your website. Then I challenge you to use video on your website. It's not hard - grab your cell phone, shoot some video and post it on YouTube then link it to your site. It doesn't have to be perfect - it just has to be beneficial to your customer.
4. Build a business Facebook page and promote it. Most of the people in the developed world are on Facebook. It's time you figured out how to use it for business too. Then when people LIKE your page, go to their page and thank them. Saying "thank you" never goes out of style. Take time every chance you get to thank each and every customer.

Thank YOU for reading my post and stay tuned for more growing your business ideas.

Sally Poole

Check out our Facebook videos to see Sally's Secret Ninja Facebook trick! Find it here.

Social media can be intimidating - especially as a small business owner with limited time. We've put together a series of steps - a recipe - to get you started! Let's get cooking!

PREP
Strategies are the bread and butter of a social media campaign. How do you develop one? Start with your target audience.

• Interview your current & potential customers. Find out their age, gender, interests, profession, etc.
• After defining the audience, develop your message. What are key problems and concerns of your ideal audience that you can address in your message?
• Based on your target audience, develop the key marketing message you want to communicate.
• Find out which social networks your target audience is using and start there.

ORGANIZE

• Coordinate your message on all your marketing outlets. You want your message to be consistent.
• Pushing people to your website is beneficial. It allows you to display your message on your website and push people from various outlets to one place. It also helps to automate coordination of your message – saving you time!

USE
Start using social media - but start small and build.

• Limit your time. Spend 15-30 minutes per day on social media for your business. Schedule this time so you don’t forget – set reminders on your phone or calendar. This will help you incorporate social media into your daily schedule so it doesn’t get neglected.
• Choose 1-2 outlets to get started. Don’t pressure yourself to be on EVERY outlet. That’s why in step one we found the outlets best suited for your target audience. Start with those, and then eventually you can expand – when you feel you’re ready.
• Create a content calendar (here’s a free example!) to manage your posts and plan ahead. These calendars make social media easier to manage. But, be careful, over automating can be bad – spontaneity is vital to your success. So use content calendars wisely.

RELATE
Listen to your followers. Comment and respond – even to negative, especially to negative, feedback. Be relatable. This helps build relationships – which is the essence of social media. Share others posts. Just like you communicate with people on your personal page – communicate with them via your business page (just keep it tasteful and professional – remember this creates an image for your business!).

EXPERIMENT
Track and analyze your posts. Experiment with different times and days to find the best time to post that will elicit responses from your customers. Find out what types of content get the best results. Social media is constantly evolving, so your content should be too!

BONUS

• Be authentic. Just relax and be yourself. Be personable. Try to avoid sounding like a textbook – people want to connect with a PERSON not a book. If technical jargon is imperative to your post – explain what it means in a non-condescending way.
• Enjoy yourself! Remember you’re competing with real world activities! You’re competing with puppies and babies! Think about how you can phrase and post things so that they are compelling.
• Be visual. Use pictures, graphics and video. They draw a much higher response than text only posts.
• Positivity is always best. But, negativity is better than neutrality. Being neutral is boring, and boring posts will lead to failure.
• Don’t forget a call to action. Tell your followers what you want them to do. Your response will almost always be higher.

Comment below with comments or questions! Please, share our posts with anyone you think would find it helpful!

Jeffrey Gitomer’s Little Red Book of Selling, 12.5 Principles of Sales Greatness
By Jeffrey Gitomer

I love this little book!! It may be the most direct, most helpful book on salesmanship ever. The no-hold-barred approach gets right in your face about what it takes to be uber successful in sales.

The author, Jeff Gitomer, links the book to his website to add more information and expose you to more opportunities to learn even more - to go deeper in to each topic.

The content is broken into easy to digest bites with clever cartoon illustrations and helpful graphics. The left sidebar column features a “ Red Whine” while the right sidebar column shows its counterpart “Red Selling Response” winner. Here’s an example: Red Whine: “They keep throwing away my brochure.” Red Selling Response:  “They don’t want your brochure. They want answers to their situations and concerns.”

It’s obvious Jeff speaks from experience and his experience means you can leap forward if you follow his lead. Jeff recommends reading this book multiple times and committing most of it to memory! There are helpful checklists and information shared from other sales greats as well.

One of my favorite sections (pg 112 questions) talks about the power of smart questions.  There are lead in suggestions for probing questions that will get you the information you really need to help your prospect get to the heart of how you can help them.

A few examples of good lead- ins for smart questions:

• “What do you look for in…?”
• “What has been your experience with…?”
• “How have you successfully used …?”
• “What would you change about…?”
• “How do you competitors react to…?”

“Smart questions make you look smart. Dumb questions…”

The goal of these types of questions is to collect the information in this list of 9.5 benefits:

1. Qualify the buyer.
2. Build rapport.
3. Create prospect disparity.
4. Eliminate or differentiate from the competition.
5. Build credibility.
6. Know the customer and their business.
7. Identify needs.
8. Find hot buttons.
9. Get personal information.
9.5 Close the sale.

Jeff uses humor to look at the fun side of sales. And he is inventive about his sales tactics.

Late in the book, we are encouraged to figure out the “why” behind our sales efforts.

• Why you?
• Why them?
• Why ask?

Who will you help with your sales? That’s the real reason you called. It’s the real reason you do business. It may take several layers of “why” to get to the real reason for you. Take the time to get there.

When you have your “why,” put it everywhere. Remind yourself of why you do what you do.

People buy for their reasons, not for your reasons. Make sure you know their “why”, too!

Full of humor and creative approaches tested by many years of success, The Little Red Book of Selling is more than worth the read. Our author reminds us that we all do sales in one way or another, anytime we want to win someone over to our point of view. It might be your spouse or your kids, your neighbors or co-workers but we all need to understand these principles regardless of our career.

Thanks, Jeff! I appreciate the help and the laughs!

Rose Anne Huck
Poole Communications Poplar Bluff Manager

For more information on this book and other works by Jeff Gitomer: http://www.gitomer.com/Jeffrey-Gitomer-Little-Red-Book-of-Selling-pluLRB.html

Advertising just doesn't work like it used to. It's expensive and isn't getting results. Worst of all it's difficult to track. Businesses don't know how to manage their marketing or advertising and don't have time to do it right. Word of mouth works and can still be counted on. That's why social media is growing fast.

Many small business owners would echo these sentiments. However, none of these statements have to be fact. While advertising can be expensive and time consuming, it has major benefits. On average, many small business owners cut marketing budgets first when they start having cash flow worries. However, it’s at those times that it’s even more important to keep your business brand front and center.

Social media is by far one of the most effective and affordable ways to reach your customers and build your brand, but it’s not the only way. Here’s our list of marketing tips and strategies to help you market your business the best you can, even when the budget is tight.

1. The Elevator Speech
   An elevator speech is a 15 to 20 second description of what you do. The idea is that if you find yourself in an elevator with an ideal client, by the time you reach your destination, your prospect will have asked for your card. Start with your ideal client and determine the single most important thing you want them to know about your [product, service, brand, idea]. Then include what problems you can solve for them and what sets you apart from your competition along with a brief description of the results they can expect. Invest time in meticulously crafting your elevator speech. If you have a killer elevator speech, the return on investment will pay off big.
2. Think Local
   You don’t have to market to the whole country, or even the state or region. Think local. You’re a small business; the majority of your customers and prospects live in your immediate area. Get involved in the community to get your name out there. Sponsor a little league team or a charity event. Hand out free paper fans at the 4th of July parade. Think about where and how your ideal customers spend their time and then find ways to get your marketing message in front of them.
3. Collaborate and Network
   Round up a group of area business that are non-competitive and can easily work together and agree to cross promote. Collaborating can help you all reach an expanded customer base. Networking is one of the best ways to build your business. Get out there and meet people! Networking requires a time commitment, and it’s not always going to provide instant gratification, but it will easily become the strongest asset you can have. Just remember, its about building business relationships. Networking gives you the chance to help people know you, like you and trust you. When they do that, they will be ready to do business with you or refer someone to you. Which brings me to…
4. Referrals, Referrals, Referrals
   The easiest new business comes from happy customers who send you referrals. Don’t be shy about asking for them either. Most people are willing to provide a referral, if asked, but very few will do it on their own. If your customers are truly content, they will be happy to help you and there is nothing more powerful than the recommendation of a happy customer. Don’t forget to offer up referrals for others when you can. Sometimes a successful referral from you for their business will result in a return referral from them.
5. Keep Relationships
   This point ties right into numbers 3 & 4. It’s less expensive to keep a current customer than to get a new one. Establishing strong relationships with your current customers is vital. You can build these relationships by using social media, email campaigns and good old face-to-face conversations. Keep communicating!
6. Speech, Teach!
   I know, I know, you hate public speaking. A lot of people do, but it’s a great marketing tool. Many organizations are constantly seeking qualified, subject-matter experts who can present to their groups. As long as your information is helpful to the audience – and correct – people won’t care if you’re a public speaking pro. Plus, the more you do it, the easier it gets. Check with your local small business administrations, colleges, chamber of commerce, even the library. These opportunities to teach and speak to groups of individuals will establish you as a credible authority in your field. They will also open doors for collaborating, networking, referrals and relationships. (See the snowball effect?)
7. Get More by Giving Some Away
   If you test or experience a product or service and like it, are you more likely to buy it? Probably so. Your customers are the same way! Chances are they will purchase more if you give them the opportunity to try it. Don’t be afraid of giving someone a free trial or sample. But, don’t give away too much, just enough to bring them back for more!
8. It's Not About You
   What? Yes I said this correctly. It’s kind of about you - but mostly it’s about your customer. Sometimes it’s easy to just tell your customer all about your company and how long you've been in business. But honestly, most of the time, they don’t care about that. They care about how your product or service benefits them. If you answer that first, then they will start to care more about your company and you. Focus on the benefit and/or solution you can give your customers.

These eight tips are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to marketing. But they are enough to get you started and help you out if your budget isn’t that big. Just remember, engaging customers and building relationships are the heart of your business and will be vital in your business growth. You don’t have to spend outrageous amounts of money on your marketing for it to be successful as long as you put in the time and effort and focus on what’s important to your customers.

Infographic: Freepik.com; edited by Poole Communications.