Sindel Tech Engagement Ends. Lessons Learned.

My engagement with Sindel Tech ended today.  They are taking a different direction and I wish them the best of luck.  The primary lesson learned through this experience is that developing new business for a technology company specializing in managed services requires special talent.  The good news is small and mid-size companies need and want technology consulting, infrastructure, help desk, planning, back up and disaster recovery, and security in a big way.  Bad news is all companies either have internal resources or an existing, outsourced relationship.

So what does this mean?  It means the lead time in the industry is longer than I expected.  While my commitment to all clients is that I can virtually always impact a pipeline for the better within 90 days, it doesn’t always translate to new business and cash flow.  As with all sales and marketing, good business people test, learn and adapt to impact results.  If the pipeline is growing and sales aren’t converting, smart business people and marketing experts adjust to convert new business.

I have learned an inordinate amount in a short six months about the IT industry and specifically companies in the managed services industry.  I now have an incredible sales and marketing campaign for my next “partner” specializing in IT managed services.  I will soon add a new partner in IT to the WealthNet mix.  Stay tuned.

Simple CRM Audit. How Effective Is Your CRM?

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is part art and part science of technology and human relations.  How effective is your CRM in terms of growing your business?  I will share more insights on CRM disciplines in later posts.  For now, ask yourself these simple questions.

1. Do you use your current CRM system every day?

2. Do you feel it is an effective tool?

3. Is your list big enough today and growing?

4. Is your list segmented and prioritized?

5. Is your list a quality list or is there a bunch of junk in it?

6. Do you regularly track comments, updates notes when using the system?

7. Do you track activities to hold yourself and your team accountable?

8. Is your system generating a positive return on investment?

Take a few minutes now to think about these questions and be honest.  If you are serious about generating more leads and closing more sales, your CRM system should be the primary tool for organizing progress, tracking results, and measuring ROI.  If it’s not, let us or a professional advisor help you leverage your current system better or implement one that works well.

If you want to know what the WealthNet team uses for CRM, the answer is Infusionsoft.  We are Certified Automated Marketing Consultants and when there’s a need for a new system we recommend you evaluate Infusionsoft.  Is it for everyone?  No.  Can it help you?  Find out more about closing more sales here.

Final Comments on Social Media Made Simple

In prior posts I offered some insights on how to get started in a fairly simply way with your Social Media effort.  I’ve been buried with projects and consulting work and have been a bit remiss in concluding this short series.

For most of us, it is relatively easy to get started with Social Media.  Getting results in terms of growing your business is a whole different story.  Not so simple.  Like anything else in terms of sales, marketing and overall business development, getting results in Social Media requires consistent effort over a longer period of time.

I’ve been publishing blogs and sites now since 2005 with pretty decent consistency.  I started using LinkedIn in 2006 with some consistency.  I finally caved in on FaceBook in 2008 or so and I am glad I did.  (Got to reconnect with many old classmates from even elementary school which has been a blast.)  And although I adopted Twitter only a year or so ago, I still don’t like it that much.  It’s just more fun for me to use FaceBook and LinkedIn.

So getting started in a simple sense means focusing on at least one platform and contributing on a regular basis.  Don’t jump in there and be a loud mouth sales type.  Yuck.  Delete.  Remove.  Ccccccya.  Au Revoir, never.

Will it help your business?  It does ours and some of our clients.  Can Social Media help you generate more leads?  Done well, yes.  But I prefer direct sales disciplines for this.  Should you focus all your marketing efforts on it?  Not way in Hades.

Let us know your questions.  Share your comments and experiences on this here.

Thanks for visiting our site and blog.

Marketing Gone Bad. How Bad Customer Service Impacts Marketing.

Here’s an example of marketing gone bad.  Yes, customer service or lack thereof counts as marketing.  Remind me to avoid this bank.  I thank my friend Tony Ritter for passing this along in email form…

BANK ON THE BANK
Subject: Late Fees
Motto: Be sure and cancel your credit cards before you die………

This is just so priceless….and so easy to see happening, customer service being what it is….

My Aunt died this past January. CitiBank billed her for February and March for their monthly service charge on her credit card, and then added late fees and interest on the monthly charge… the balance had been $0.00… now is somewhere around $60.00, I placed the following phone call to CitiBank.

Me: “I am calling to tell you that she died in January.”
CitiBank: “The account was never closed and the late fees and charges still apply.”
Me: “Maybe, you should turn it over to collections”
CitiBank: “Since it is 2 months past due, it already has been.”
Me: “So, what will they do when they find out she is dead?”
CitiBank: “Either report her account to the frauds division, or report her to the credit bureau maybe both!”
Me: “Do you think God will be mad at her?”
CitiBank:”…excuse me?”
Me: “Did you just get what I was telling you…. the part about her being dead?”
CitiBank: “Sir, you’ll have to speak to my supervisor!”  (Supervisor gets on the phone)
Me: ”I’m calling to tell you, she died in January.”
CitiBank: “The account was never closed and the late fees and charges still apply.”
Me: “You mean you want to collect from her estate?”
CitiBank: “…..(stammer)” …. “Are you her lawyer?”
Me: “No, I’m her great nephew.” (Lawyer info given… )
CitiBank: “Could you fax us a certificate of death?”
Me: “Sure.” (Fax number is given)
(After they get the fax. )
CitiBank: “Our system just isn’t setup for death”
Me: “Oh…”
CitiBank: “I don’t know what more I can do to help…”
Me: “Well… if you figure it out, great! If not, you could just keep billing her..
I suppose…don’t really think she will care….”
CitiBank: “Well…the late fees and charges do still apply.”
Me: “‘Would you like her new billing address?”
CitiBank: “That might help.”
Me: ” ( Odessa Memorial Cemetery Hwy 129 and plot number given. )
CitiBank: “Sir, that’s a cemetery!”
Me: “What do you do with dead people on your planet?”

Mike and Debbie Horrell

Professional Copywriting Fills the Content Gap In Marketing Communications

If you don’t have great content for your marketing communications, you have a content gap.  If you have a content gap, you have ineffective marketing communications.  And if that’s the case, you are hampering your ability to grow your business or professional practice.

People often ask me where we get our content for the blog, newsletters, emails, Ebooks, white papers and other marketing communications.  The short answer is we create it.  And it’s very much a collaborative creative effort for us.  We have a growing team of professional copywriters who serve our clients.

If you embrace an education-based approach to marketing as we do at WealthNet Partners, you need fresh and high quality content.  The truth is that most business owners and professionals don’t have the desire, time or ability to craft content that is meaningful to their market.  This is why most people don’t have a well written website, a newsletter, published articles, Ebooks, white papers, or a Novel published.

If you want to create more content yourself, here are a few tips I use to help my writing and creativity.

1. I keep a writing file with articles and content that I want to write about with my own spin to it.  If I come up dry for a subject to write about, I have a resource file to help me.

2.  I read a lot.  And I listen to a ton of books.

3. I block time to write.  If it’s on the schedule I am less likely to blow it off.

4. I enjoy writing.  If you don’t, forget about trying to be a better writer.

5. I take writing classes.  I am a student forever.

So if you can’t do it yourself, how can you get great content?  The simple answer is hire a professional copywriter to help you create content for all your marketing communications.  Better yet, hire one of the copywriters at WealthNet Partners to help you create all your content.

1. Website copy.  If you care about generating more traffic and leads through your website you need to write your website copy around the keywords that impact traffic to your site.  This part science and art.  Get professional help.

2. Conversion content.  If you want to build your list, an ideal way to do this is offer a free Ebook, White Paper, Special Report, Free Trial, etc. on your website.

3. Email campaigns.  Do you want 20% response rates because your emails get opened and read?  If you write emails in a way that actually help your readers in a meaningful way people are more likely to read them and pass the word along.

4. Newsletter.  A bi-weekly or monthly newsletter is a great tool for keeping in touch with your market.  But you must be consistent and compliant with the laws regarding SPAM.

5. Sales letters.  The old fashioned sales letter is not dead.  Good sales letters need to be well-written to enhance the response rate.

6. Articles.  Publishing articles online is a great way to build your brand and traffic to your website.

7. Social media.  Very few people effectively leverage social networks such as LinkedIn, Facebook, etc. because they don’t do a good job creating meaningful profiles.

We’ve all heard the saying, “Content is King.”  And this is true when it comes to building your brand, sales, and profits.

What do you do for content?

Clifford Jones, Founder
WealthNet Partners, LLC
“Discover The Art of Business Development”
Scottsdale, Arizona
Follow up on twitter http://twitter.com/WealthNetTeam
Get LinkedIn with us at http://linkedin.com/wealthnetpartners

WealthNet Wisdom for Entrepreneurs, What’s Holding You Back?

While many of you know this already, I want to make sure our growing number of readers is clear on what WealthNet Partners is all about.  We love helping entrepreneurs and professionals start, fund, market and grow successful businesses.  We believe investing in our own businesses is by far the best investment entrepreneurs can make.  Look at how the real wealth in the world is created.

We build websites that generate more leads.  We leverage various technologies to close more sales.  And we provide a wide array of creative, coaching and consulting talent to work with clients from virtually all industries.

This week we want to know what’s holding you back.  Stop for a minute and think about this.  If you don’t have a list of issues to tackle right now, maybe this is a great time to start one.

We want to help as many entrepreneurs as possible market and grow their businesses.  We believe that asking intelligent questions is the best way to create meaningful dialogue in the hope of growing a business or professional practice.  That’s why we offer a free Business Development Evaluation that takes less than ten minutes to complete.  Click here to get your copy.

Here’s my offer this week.  The first three entrepreneurs who complete the Business Development Evaluation and submit it will receive a free hour of my time to address the issues holding them back.  But the key is we must be able to review the completed Business Development Evaluation.

We have been presenting our clients with our own evaluations and assessments since we began in 2002.  What we find is that most people DO NOT invest the time to complete even the most simple of evaluations.  We also find that the most successful CEO’s, professionals, and entrepreneurs DO invest the time to reflect on critical questions and issues that impact business success or failure.  Successful business owners have a plan and they hold their team accountable for performance.

So again, the first three people who complete and return the Business Development Evaluation will receive a free hour of time to discuss the issues most relevant to your business.  Download the Business Development Evaluation here.

As always, we encourage you to post your comments, questions and concerns here at the WealthNet blog.

The Power of Leveraging a System for CRM

“A system is a network of interdependent components that work together to try to accomplish the aim of the system.  A system must have an aim.  Without the aim, there is no system.”  – W. Edwards Deming

Over the last two weeks I invited our entire community to test drive for free the Infusionsoft CRM and email marketing system.  Many of you decided to take me up on this offer.  For those of you who didn’t, don’t wait another minute.  Click here to learn how Infusionsoft has helped many companies double their sales.

W. Edwards Deming was a brilliant man.  So when I came across his quote regarding systems and network, I had to plug it into my story about Infusionsoft.  When I meet business owners and ask them what they want, they almost always tell me they want more business.  So their aim is typically finding more business.  And in order to get more business we all need a system to better manage relationships, communications, follow up, sales, reporting, and more.

In the old days, like back in 1991, I created a contact management system using 3×5 cards.  That’s right.  Index cards.  And every morning when I came into the office, there was my special, low-cost system for managing my network thereby allowing me to grow my business.  You see, every time I walked into the office I had this system waiting for me to just plug into.  It was a simple system that worked very well for it’s time.  I’d just sit down, open the box, pull out the index cards for that day of the week, pick up the phone, dial it, and grow my business.  (How the heck did we live without email and search engines?)

Eventually I made a serious upgrade to the system so that I could better integrate and leverage new technology.  But the goal was still the same.  My aim for this system was to have a discipline in place every day that would help me grow my business.  The progress was gradual and driven by the growth of my business.  I graduated to a DOS-based system to manage my network.  Then I upgraded to ACT for Windows.  It was a love hate relationship to learn a new system.  But the software did things for me that the index cards couldn’t.  So I kept getting better and learned how to manage the software.  And my business kept growing.  Then I sold it.  Built it.  Sold it.  Built it.  Sold it.  All because of a simple system.

About a year ago I was tired of struggling with ACT and Outlook.  So I went searching for a new solution.  And I found a web-based system by the name of Infusionsoft.  I soon learned that the creator of ACT, Pat Sullivan, was an early investor in Infusionsoft.  I also learned that people like Michael Gerber, Dan Kennedy and many other business gurus were using Infusionsoft.  So I decided that if it was good enough for the big boys, I would take the plunge.

Looking back over the last 18 months or so, I can tell you that moving my business to Infusionsoft was one of the best decisions I ever made.  Our entire business runs on Infusionsoft and it’s an incredible system to leverage.  It’s a single system that integrates our relationship management (communications), email, follow up, reporting, shopping cart, and more.  It’s web-based so we don’t have to worry about servers, hardware, synchronization and the other headaches associated with traditional software.

When I work with clients one of the first things we evaluate is their CRM system for managing their network of contacts and communications.  I believe that our net worth is directly proportionate to how well we manage and grow our network.  But most people I meet don’t have much of a system for doing so.  Which is sad.  Because when you don’t have a solid system for managing your network, you hold yourself and your business back.  It’s that simple.  If you’re not using a sound system to manage relationships and communicate with your network, you’re limiting the growth of your business and income.

Software like Infusionsoft can make life so much easier.  And you don’t have to be a rocket scientist to figure this stuff out.  You just need a system to follow every day.  Ideally one that integrates your calendar, calls, appointments, relationships, email, reporting, pipleline, sales team, etc.  You also need a system that enables you to get support when you get stuck.  Which is another reason I love Infusionsoft.  They offer killer support by phone and online.  Have you tried calling Microsoft for support lately?  Ouch.

If you don’t have a system for managing your network, what could that be costing you?  Your system should support the goals of your business.  The system should integrate all aspects of your customer/contact relationship management.  It should be affordable.  It should be simple to learn and use.  And you should have access to the proper training and support to ensure you get the highest return on your investment.

Having a system counts a lot.  If you have a system you like and it’s working well for you, congratulations.  If you’re thinking about upgrading your system, by all means sign up for the free trial at Infusionsoft.  Just click here and you’re on your way to making a serious upgrade for yourself and your business.  Feel free to contact me if you have any questions.  We are licensed to help you integrate and leverage Infusionsoft so we are here to help you get the most from this incredible system.

The Power of Asking Intelligent Questions

“Judge others by their questions rather than by their answers.” – Voltaire

The older I get the more I work on not being judgmental.  So when I read this quote I honed in on the aspect of how important it is to ask great questions.  Look at the best sales professionals you meet.  They ask intelligent questions rather than talk and present.  Look at children.  They constantly ask questions because they seek knowledge about everything.  We can learn a lot about people by listening to the questions they ask.  Asking intelligent questions shows we care.

Asking questions is an essential component for being successful in helping our clients.  Before we begin working with any new client we ask no less than thirty questions about business planning, marketing and branding, and sales force development.  We ask these questions because the answers tell us exactly where the gaps and priorities lie for the business owner and their business.  Ask us to send you a copy of the WealthNet Business Development Evaluation for your review.  Take five minutes to complete it and send it back if we haven’t gone through this with you yet.

I have two questions for you today.

1.  What questions are you asking of your prospective clients?  Make a list of at least ten intelligent questions you want to ask a prospective client before you start doing business with them.  What do I mean by intelligent questions?  I mean questions that help you learn where the gaps are related to the solutions you provide your clients or customers.  Asking intelligent questions should help you in your sales process.  Asking intelligent questions sets you apart from people who don’t ask questions.  Asking intelligent questions will help you learn a lot about your prospects.

2.  What questions do you have about growing your business with which the WealthNet team could help?  Ask us anything about business development disciplines and we’ll be happy to provide answers.  Send us an email.  Call us.  Ask away.  If we don’t have an answer, we’ll let you know and work to help you find an answer.  Either way, we want to help you.

I love the business of business development.  We are blessed with the priviledge of working with so many entrepreneurs who seek to grow their business or professional practice.  Our mission is to help entrepreneurs create real wealth through entrepreneurship by working with our clients to start, fund and grow successful businesses.  And asking intelligent questions is an important discipline for all of us.  So ask away!

What To Do About A “Marketing Doesn’t Work” Attitude

“When we can identify a problem and face the problem with confidence and enthusiasm, the solution is on the way.” Zig Ziglar

I recently had a discussion with a business owner, I’ll refer to him as Bob, who finally revealed to us why his business is failing.  Bob’s attitude is that marketing doesn’t work.  No wonder his business is in miserable condition.  No wonder he has no cash flow.  Maybe he should just get a job.

I won’t reveal his business because Bob may read this and I really don’t want to offend him.  But his story should hold relevance for readers one way or another.

In meeting Bob for the first time, we talked about his current situation and how he felt about his business plan, positioning, pricing, marketing, and sales process.  I needed to know what is working, what is not working and get a feeling for what his thoughts are about trying to grow his business.  Nothing was working because Bob had no business plan, no confidence, and no enthusiasm.  So how would it at all be possible to grow a business with an attitude like this?

The problem is Bob has no solid positioning.  He has no plan.  He has no paying customers.  He has no cash flow.  And he definitely has a broken attitude.

When I read Zig Ziglar’s quote, I thought of Bob.  Bob is not willing to face his problem, lack of business, with any confidence or enthusiasm.  In fact, it’s just the opposite.  He’s very negative.  He believes that marketing just doesn’t work.  That’s it.

So with this kind of attitude there is really no way we or anyone else can help Bob.  There is no possible solution without the confidence or enthusiasm to plan, market, and sell.  These disciplines are the essence of all successful businesses.  Yet, Bob doesn’t believe they hold true for him.

So what’s the lesson here?  Don’t be like Bob.  Develop an effective plan for marketing.  Leverage an internet marketing strategy that includes professional web design.  Position yourself to be competitive and help people understand how you add value.  Price yourself in a way that people can afford to hire you and you can make a handsome profit.  Be confident in how you approach people and work to help them solve their problems.  And maintain an enthusiasm so people want to do business with you.

Clifford Jones, Founder
WealthNet Partners, LLC
“Discover The Art of Business Development”
Scottsdale, Arizona
Follow up on twitter http://twitter.com/WealthNetTeam
Get LinkedIn with us at http://linkedin.com/wealthnetpartners

How to Leverage Relationships With Customers

I’ve been using Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software since the DOS days. Yeah, I’ve been around for a while. From the beginning I saw CRM applications as leverage to grow my business. And for the most part, the investments have paid off. This is one of the big reasons we offer CRM consulting and CRM setup as services for our clients.

But no software or software as service is perfect. And my having had this expectation in the past was a source of frustration that was self imposed. I’ve got to admit the tendency in past has been to focus on what doesn’t work. The bugs. The frustrations climbing the learning curve. The wait for support to answer the phone. The desire for someone who could speak English well enough so we could communicate well.

The truth is that while no system is perfect, entrepreneurs must adopt a system that they will embrace and use systematically in a way the helps them achieve their goals. For us, we leverage our CRM application for the following…

1. Completely organize and segment all contacts. Have you ever met anyone with all their contacts neatly stacked in piles of business cards? Not a very efficient way to organize contacts.

2. Organize our follow up contact with everyone in the system. Yes, we find it extremely important to actually follow up with people worthy of being in our system. Otherwise, we they get the big DELETE.

3. Communicate regularly be phone and email in a very personal way. Alas, the ancient art of communication. Some of our relationships want a phone call every month. Our clients we meet with every week. And our Centers of Influence we touch base with depending on how often it makes sense to stay in touch. Everyone else gets our newsletter at an absolute minimum.

4. Save time by leveraging technology in a way that my old 3×5 index card system never could achieve. When I get frustrated with any CRM software we use or our clients use, I think back to the days when I relied on 3×5 index cards. Then I have a better perspective on how much more efficient I am today instead of how it used to be.

If you’re like us, you are committed to growing your business. Which means you must be focused on generating more leads. And if you’re investing the time and energy to generate more leads, you better be focused on closing more sales with disciplined follow up marketing. This take the form of sales calls, follow up email marketing, direct mail, faxes, and many other “touches.”

It’s safe to assume that if you’re doing all this work, you really want to grow your business. And implementing a Customer Relationship Management application, training yourself and your staff on how to leverage the CRM setup, and staying committed to making this an integral part of growing your business all critical disciplines in the are of business development.

What matters most is that you actually leverage the system you decide to use. Because if you’re not disciplined in using a contact management or CRM system in the first place, you might as well resolve to be happy not growing your business. Because growing a business requires staying in touch with the people in your network. And having a solid CRM system in place can make a world of difference in terms of leveraging time and efficiency.

Clifford Jones, Founder
WealthNet Partners, LLC
“Discover The Art of Business Development”
Scottsdale, Arizona
http://twitter.com/WealthNetTeam