As business owners, we often forget about taking the time to work on our business versus in our business. We are getting client work done, answering emails and phone calls and attending events, but sometimes forgetting to create plans and goals for our sales and marketing or business in general. If you don’t have any goals, how do you know you have accomplished something or have reached success?

Planning what you are going to do today and tomorrow and next week is vital to moving forward with your business strategies and finding success. However it is also important to create measurable goals. Most goals are measureable but you need to know how you are going to measure them and what tools you need to do so. If your goal is to increase website traffic ,then having Google Analytics on your site would be the first step to being able to measure if you have experienced traffic growth or not.

Another piece to goal setting is making sure you are specific. Using the same example from above, if your goal is to increase website traffic, how much of an increase would you like to see and by when? And to take it a step further is there a specific page (like the products page or order form) that you would like to see more visitors to or is it just traffic in general?

Finally, after you have set specific and measurable goals, you need to track all results and make sure you use those results to see if you were on target, which areas need improvement and what you could have done better. You might also find that your specific plans reached ultimate success and you can continue to use those same measurable goals for another area of your business or another sales campaign.

Successful entrepreneurs understand that good relationships lead to sales. And good relationships start with a great first impression. You have one chance to make a good first impression and the main thing to remember is it's all about how you make that person feel. Here are my top ten tips for ensuring you make a great first impression:

1. Sincerely try to keep a smile on your face at all times (have you ever caught yourself in the mirror and noticed you were frowning or had your eyebrows knitted together? Pretty scary, right?).
2. Whether across the room, across the counter, or across the aisle on a plane, go out of your way to strike up a conversation with someone sharing your space. Make them glad you are there.
3. Make eye contact first, then offer them a wide, genuine smile (it will disarm and cause them to relax).
4. At networking events, be first to extend your hand and say hello (do not crush their hand, nor should you offer them a limp fish).
5. Make a positive (and genuine) comment about something they are carrying, wearing, reading or doing - anything to make them feel good about themselves.
6. Ask them how their day is going or, if you're at a networking event, ask them what they are struggling with at work. Share the same about yourself. If you're on a plane, offer them your pillow or blanket (even if they have one, you can always ask for another).
7. Ask open ended questions to get the other person talking about something they care about. My favorite questions are: "What is the single biggest issue in your industry today?" "What's your favorite new idea?" "What will you do differently next year?" "What book can you recommend and why?"
8. Actively listen. Do more listening than talking and ask lots of questions. Look for areas where you can contribute ideas or solutions to problems.
9. Do not simply wait for an opportunity to talk about yourself. Yes, you should be prepared to give short answers to the question "What do you do," but don't launch into a non-stop monologue about you, you, you. Keep the conversation focused on them.
10. Offer to help them in some way. If the conversation seems to warrant, offer your business card and ask for theirs. If you tell them you will do something, by all means, do what you say and follow up quickly.

It's key to remember that great first impressions begin before you open your mouth. Then concentrate on how you will make that person feel during your conversation. If they come away with a sense that you truly care about their needs, you will have made a fabulous first impression upon which you can build a good relationship that will benefit both parties. 

Networking events, conferences, seminars, leads groups, and tradeshows are all places where sales occur. Whether you’re generating a newlead or closing the deal, you must be selling. There are so many key components to being a good sales person; like having a well prepared elevator speech,knowing everything about your product/service, researching the event and knowing who you need to talk to and who you can help. But another very important piece to selling that I want to talk more in-depth about today is body language.

Have you ever paid attention to how you hold yourself at an event? Do you notice when people you are networking with are standing straight up with confidence, or do you notice when someone shakes your hand and it is weak and limp? Think of the last networking event you attended….do you specifically remember one person from that event? What do you remember? Were they the confident one with strong body language, or the insecure one hiding in a shell?

Which ever type of person it was, you remembered them because of how they held themselves and probably how they spoke about themselves and their business. Body language is so important to gaining new leads and closing business deals because it is the first thing people can see and to be honest, judge. If you hold yourself well, giving a firm hand shake and projecting your voice clearly, you’ll find people will have confidence working with you because you’re confidence with yourself. However if you are shy, quiet, shake with a limp hand; you might seem insecure and the potential client might feel uneasy about your abilities as a business person.

Even if networking events are scary for you because you aren’t used to socializing in a business setting or don’t feel comfortable selling, you need to fake it till you make it and also know that practice makes perfect (however, I often quote Justin Llyod who says, “Perfection is the enemy of progress” so maybe we say, “practice makes you more comfortable at the nextevent” J ) A few things to do before attending an event to help you feel more confident ishaving a clear and effective elevator speech, practicing your elevator speech, know what you want out of the event and know who you want to meet. Preparation will make the networking event easier and give you some room to feel comfortable and make some great connections.

On a funny note, here is an article I found in reference to the 9 Types of Handshakes you should try avoiding at your next event.

If you’ve read Gary Vaynerchuk’s book Crush It then you know exactly what I’m talking about; the importance of branding YOU. Gary talks a lot about doing what you are passionate about and the rest will fall into place, but with a lot of hard work of course.

Are you doing what you’re passionate about? If not, do you know what your passion is? Most people don’t even know because they are just focused on paying the bills and throw happiness out of the door. And, a lot of people don’t pay attention to themselves to know who they are. This is vital to being successful not only in your career, but in life.

Taking the plunge and starting a business or changing careers is scary because you don’t know if it will work, and the unknown scares us in all aspects of our lives. But if I can speak from experience, if it wasn’t scary it wouldn’t be real and worth it. If you know what your passion is but you are not following your dreams, what is holding you back? If it is the unknown, try to do research about the position or industry, schedule interviews with others in the industry that have been successful and learn from them. Competence = confidence; gather all the information you can about your idea and see what opportunity presents itself, or what your next step is. And then take it!

Let’s jump ahead and pretend that you are already doing what you love (which you might already be doing!) and talk about your brand. What is your brand? Is it a logo and slogan? Is it corporate? Is it fun? Do you have a logo? Do you work under your name? There are many different options for branding your company/yourself, but make sure that it effectively communicates what you do and who you are. Especially now during the times of social media and internet marketing, you need to make sure your face and brand is all over the web. Be clear and concise and of course, make sure you have your elevator speech perfected! You want people to say, “Tell me more!”

Have you already completely your 2010 sales strategy and implemented a plan? Whether you have or have not, this is a great post that will help you start the sales planning process, or help you add ideas and outlets to the list. Here are 5 easy tips to help generate new leads in 2010:

1. Social Media – If you own a business, you need to be online. We are now in the times where having an online presence is a must and if you are not online, you are missing a huge audience. The numbers prove it; people turn to the internet to find products, services, news, reviews and even new and old friends. If your brand isn’t there to catch their attention, you will be left in the dust by your competition who is utilizing the web. 2010 will be the transformation year where products find the consumers. How are you finding your future customer?

2. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) - If they are searching for you, or your product/service, are you being found? When was the last time you Googled the keywords that apply to your business to see where you come up in the results? If you are not coming up on the first page of Google, you are losing business to your competition. You need to make sure your website is optimized with keywords. SEO professionals can help you optimize your site so you come up first, beating the competition.

3. Ask - It might sound too simple, or it might make you feel like you’re begging, but there is a difference between asking and begging. Reach out to your current network of friends and family to see if they know anyone that would benefit from your product or service. Tell them what your perfect client looks like so they can brainstorm who within their network would be right for you.

4. Referrals – Then move onto your customers and client base. If you are delivering excellent customer service, a product that upholds quality or a service that is superior, the referrals should come in on their own. However, sometimes your clients don’t know if you are taking on new business and sometimes they just don’t think to refer you. Make sure you send an email or make a phone call and explain how you would appreciate any referrals a client may have to someone that they feel would also benefit from your company. You might be amazed by how many referrals you get, if you’re good at what you do.

5. Networking – Of course, as the Elevator Speech Therapist, I suggest attending networking events. But not only do I encourage you to attend, I suggest you go prepared. You need to know who you want to meet, what you want to get out of the event, and most importantly, you need to know how you can help others and explain so effectively with a polished, solid elevator speech. 

Now get out there and sell, sell, sell! 

Hopefully my last post about expos helped you brainstormsome ideas you could implement into your own tradeshow booth. There are so manyother ideas that I had to write another entry about this topic. If you missedthe first post, you can read it here –(insert link to post)

Make them wear your brand! What if 50% of the expo attendeeswalked around wearing your logo?It’s possible to accomplish this without secretly tagging guests with yourbrand. I mentioned in the first post about doing a giveaway. To take that astep further, what if one of the ways they qualified for the giveaway was bywearing your sticker, which was an image of your logo or your company name?

I know of a company that did this and people kept coming upto their booth saying, “I keep seeing everyone wearing your sticker. How do Iget one?” They didn’t even ask what it was for, they just wanted to wear onebecause we are like cows, and they wanted to wear one because everyone else was! This idea was so successful that thelocal news was filming live from the event, and people with the sticker keptwalking by the camera. Talk about free publicity!

Another helpful idea is planning the set up of your booth.The goal of a tradeshow booth is to getthem to step inside. You want to make sure you have an open and welcomingbooth with all of your information to the back so they have to “step inside” tolearn more. Make sure you have your top sales people there to greet them withtheir 30 Second Elevator Speech (link to http://30secondstonewbusiness.com)

A lot of people attend expos to receive free stuff. That canbe expensive to the businesses participating, especially if you have yourmagnets, pens, USB drives, etc., sitting on a table for people to just grab asthey walk by, without even stopping and stepping inside! By setting your boothup this way, you will filter out the people that just want free stuff and theones that want to learn more (or are willing to put up with your elevatorspeech to receive something free). If you entire goal of the tradeshow isbranding, then having your promo items on a table in front for people to justgrab might be a good idea for you, but not for everyone.

Finally, have goals for the tradeshow event. Just like anynetworking event or marketing strategy, you need to have clear goals of whatyou want to achieve from the event. Make sure you right them down andcommunicate them with your entire team. 

Have you ever attended a business expo and noticed one booththat always had a lot of people crowded around it? What was your firstreaction?  Was it, “Hmmm….what is over there!? I must check it out right now!” I’m guessing that was your reaction,because we are all like cows. Whenever we see a big crowd of people, we always want to know what is going on and become apart of the action.

What if your booth was the one everyone was hovered around? Would you feel like the thousands of dollars you spent was worth it? If you could be the main attraction at an expo where the exhibit center was filled with your target audience, what would you pay for that? To some, it’s priceless.

Now you might be wondering how to be the popular booth at an event, and I’m here to give you a few tips to herd in those cows! First, do a giveaway at a specific time. If you allow people to enter all throughout the day, but you announce winners at 1:15pm and 3:30, and the winner must be present to win, then attendees will start crowding around your booth before those time slots, and they won’t leave till you announce the lucky winner. When people see the crowd, they’re going to come over and ask what’s going on, which they will then be informed by a nice sales person who lets them know about the company and about the contest. Once that happens, they will most likely sign upbecause “everyone else is doing it” and then you have their contact info to send them updates and specials in the future.

Also, you need to make sure you are giving away something the average consumer would consider valuable. Giving away a USB or an hour free consultation isn’t as appealing as an iPod Touch, $100 Visa Gift Certificate or tickets to the theater. You need to get inside the consumers mind and think about their needs and wants. Remember, we are always thinking, “What’s in it for me?” Fulfill that thought with something shiny and sparkly!

Finally, send out an email to your database and post to all your online networks that you will be exhibiting at the event and give out your booth number. Be sure to announce the giveaway(s) you are planning, discounted entry or other exciting activities happening at the event. It’s ok to invite people to the expo, don’t just depend on the event planners to be responsible for packing the event venue; invite your list too!

And let’s not discount bring an actual cow bell where you could bang it every half hour and start singing a song encouraging others to “join in!” Having fun at an expo is a great way to be remembered! 

Contest Rules

On December 7^th and 8^th, you can enter to win the best selling book, ’30 Seconds to New Business: How toCreate YOUR Perfect Elevator Speech’. This step-by-step training manual was written by the one and only Elevator Speech Therapist, Ellen Kaminsky.  

There are three ways to enter the contest:

Follow us on Twitter:@30seconds2nubiz

Join our Facebook Fan Page:http://facebook.com/elevatorspeechtherapst

Visit our Blog, http://www.theelevatorspeechtherapist.com/

Increase your chances of winning by using all three of these fabulous content resources! Here’s how:

1. On Twitter, tweet: I entered the Gift with a Lift Contest, here’s how you can too! http://su.pr/6dWYrh via @30seconds2nubiz
2. Post to our Facebook Fan Page wall:  I entered the Gift with a Lift Contest because I want to know how to create MY perfect Elevator Speech” Here’s how you can too http://su.pr/6dWYrh
3. Leave a comment on The Elevators Speech Therapist blog telling us why you should win ’30 Seconds to New Business’

3 Winners will be chosen the evening of December 9th and will be announced using Twitter and Facebook on Thursday,  December 10^th.  Good luck to you all….let the games begin!

Word-of-mouthmarketing is the strongest and most effective marketing. You know you're doingsomething right when your customers rave about you and your products to theirfriends, family and co-workers.  Do youwant more people saying nice things about you and your business?

Here are five easytips to help you get rave reviews and mini sales soldiers-- without having to pay them:

1. Superior Customer Service:  One of the fastest ways to get a client to loveyou (or hate you) is through your customer service. A company that is settingthe bar for this is Zappos.com. Their employees are always happy and enthusiastic.They're always available, not only on the phone or email, but on Facebook andTwitter as well. They're quick and clearly want happy customers.

Whether you haveemployees, or it's just you, make sure you're doing everything you can toplease the customer. It's easy to forget about them when you're running abusiness.  But remember, without them youwouldn't be in business.

2. Under Promise, Over Deliver:   Tell your client exactly what they are buying,when they should expect it, and exactly how much it will cost.  No one likes surprises -- unless it's gettingadded benefit.  Whenever possible, give alittle more than you sold them.  Thatsmall investment in the future will pay itself back again and again.

3. Don't Hide a Problem:  Honesty is important in all relationships,and never more so than in business.  Haveyou ever worked with someone that wasn't responding to your emails or phonecalls asking for the status of a deliverable? Chances are you didn't willingly do business with them again. The samewill be true for you if you aren't up front with your clients. 

Regardless of yourbusiness, there will be times when things don't go as planned.  Be proactive and immediately contact yourcustomers so you can manage their expectations. Keeping them in the loop helps them feel in control - something we allappreciate. 

4. Consistent & Clear Branding:  Assure all your marketing materials are consistent.  Regardless of whether the public sees yourweb site, your signage, a brochure or business card, be sure they all lookalike and send the same message. Consistent marketing makes you memorable and THAT makes it easier forothers to send you referrals. 

And what is thatmessage?  Be sure it's all about yourclient and not you! When looking at your messaging materials, always askyourself "So What?"  If yourmarketing materials consistently speak to the needs of your clients, then yourclients will know you're talking to them. Consumers need to know exactly what you do and how you benefit themwithin the first 30 seconds of meeting you, going to your website, or readingyour brochure.

Make sure it's clearand concise.   If you want to knowexactly how to do that, pick up a copy of '30 Seconds to New Business:  How to Create YOUR Perfect ElevatorSpeech.'  This easy to follow trainingmanual walks you through creating tight, focused messaging materials for yourbusiness card, introductions, web pages and social media posts. 

5.  Stayin Touch:  Statistics tell uscustomers would buy from you again if you simply stayed in touch!  One of the biggest mistakes most businesses makeis not picking up the phone and simply calling their clients.  Letters and emails also work well, especiallyif you include a special offer or discount. Newsletters can also be good if you're offering useful tips or information.  Beware of overselling or constantly upselling in newsletters - we all get tired of that pretty quickly. 

Remember to ask yourclients for referrals and be very clear the types of customers you seek so theyknow who to send your way.  Also rememberto send referrals TO your clients - what better way to invest in your on-going relationship?

Putting all five ofthese tips into action will create a steady stream a referrals, repeatcustomers, and happy clients!