Beyond Marketers

"But why do you want to join a sales boot camp? You hate calling!" I have always hated talking on the telephone. Even as a reluctant child, writing thank-you letters after the holidays was a preferable chore to a simple call. Looking back, it still makes me shudder. So, when I started my own business, I vowed never to make outbound calls -- I would wait until people contacted me. For six years, that’s how I conducted my business. I waited for people to call or email me or fill out my website contact form -- whether they found me through organic search, referrals, or networking meetings. I got a fair number of customers that way, including two HubSpot retainers, and went from working by myself in a home office to a staff of four in our own office. In 2016, we started following  EOS  (Entrepreneurial Operating System) and established firm business goals. It became apparent our growth was restricted since I wasn’t actively contacting businesses who obviously needed ou...

We all want to do good in the world. Agencies have a strong tradition of taking on pro bono work for nonprofits -- this sometimes means designing a logo or creating a brochure; other times it's sponsoring an event, or even just simply offering advice. Those things serve an immediate need, but they don't necessarily make a lasting impact. If you want to make a  substantial difference , dive deeper:  Adopt a nonprofit for one year, and treat it like a paying client.  It's a mutually beneficial strategy: The nonprofit gets high-quality attention and resources, and the agency gets an infusion of positive exposure. How Agencies Can Serve Non-Profits Finding a Great Match There are thousands of amazing organizations out there -- choosing just one is difficult. To select a nonprofit that will benefit from your services, send out an application that asks organizations to explain their mission and goals. One requirement of your adoption should be that your age...

How do you feel when your phone rings and you realize you’re receiving a call from a salesperson? For most business people, it’s interruptive, annoying, and distracting. But if it’s your job to  call prospects , you don’t have to fall into the category of “pesky sales rep.” To kickstart a productive, professional conversation, you need a strong opening. Your opening should do two things: Get the prospect into a receptive frame of mind Make it easy for them to make a positive decision Here are eight call openings will engage the prospect so they don’t immediately hang up. 1) “My research shows that your company is in the process of ... ” This shows you are interested in them and you’ve spent some time finding a reason for calling.  It also shows you aren’t trying to sell them something right away. 2) “One of my clients, [name] at [company], mentioned to me you are [looking for, might be a good fit for] … ” Talking about a mutual connection gives you ins...

According to Forbes ,  80-90% of consumers research purchases online  before buying.  Whether you're in the process of launching a new business or already have one, having a strong online presence for your brand is extremely important. Small business owners looking for a way to track ROI and brand awareness need digital marketing. Not only is digital marketing a must-have for promoting your products or services, but optimizing your online assets is also critical to your business' overall success. Trellis  reports that over 90% of people searching online will not go past the first page of results on Google.  To ensure that your website shows up in search ahead of your competitors, It's important for your company to invest in search engine optimization (SEO) and keyword research. For local businesses, it's equally as important to have essential and updated information readily available for potential clients.  If you're a small business ow...

Inbound marketing has flooded us with information and data. Some of us data geeks have never been happier. For others, the volume of metrics and KPIs (key performance indicators) can be overwhelming. If you're a non-profit focused on increasing donations and donors, here’s a list of the 10 KPIs, put together by  Network for Good , of digital fundraising KPI’s you must have a handle on. New donor acquisition rate This KPI is a simple and as broad as it seems. You can look at by time frame: How many new donors come on by month, each year? You can also look at it by channel and by campaign. You can also look at new donor acquisition growth as percentage over similar timeframes or campaigns. Donor renewal rate The most immediate donor renewal rate is year-over-year. Get the number of donors from last year (LYD) and determine how many of those same donors gave again this year (TYD). Then divide TYD/LYD to get your donor renewal rate. So if you had 100 donors last year and 8...