If you are not a full-time marketer you will agree with me on this:
Marketing are activities that are out of the comfort zone.
You already knew that. And yet, we often hear ourselves saying: I need to do more.
- Where do I start?
- How much do I need to do?
- Are there quick wins?
In this post I want to give you a framework to set up habits. Habits that you can execute every day, forever.
These are the exact marketing habits that will lead you to the sales you need to fuel your business, whether you are a CEO, freelancer or employee.
Habits you can stick to no matter what.
The importance of Know, Like and Trust
There is a simple theory behind these 2 words. I forgot if it came from Pat Flynn or Bob Burg.
People buy from you if they Know, Like and Trust you.
Let’s look at any client we have had in our lifetime. Think back a bit about your last clients. Did they go through similar process? If you have not believe me yet, let’s look at a counterexample:
Do you think anyone would be likely to be a retaining customer of these people (retaining, not buy once and run away) :
- The unlikeable underdog everyone knows.
- The startup guy who everyone likes but who has not proven to be able to build a business. You like him but wait until he has a track record.
- The best creative freelancer. You have never heard of them. But when you do you are blown away by their likeability and trustworthiness.
Many of these types come into employment eventually, mostly by chance or get booked by clever people who spot them.
My point is this:
Lacking one of Know/Like/Trust defeats any further effort.
The solution is to work on all three:
- Become known
- Be likable
- Prove trustworthiness
I will answer the question “what” in length in this post. But first we need to be realistic.
There is no point of overdoing one thing and being too exhausted for the other two. We need to establish habits. Habits that you can do every day.
Now you are probably wondering how much it is enough, how much time it really requires from you.
How much every day is the minimum?
First the simple truth. If you are starting out or if you want to grow your business you have no choice but do it all day.
For most people that’s not realistic:
- They have to do the fulfillment themselves, like freelancers
- They have to manage people (in order to get more time for sales)
- They have to manage growth (because of successful sales)
There is a problem, though. Sales are always needed when there is a lack of revenue. This phenomenon can be called “Feast and Famine”, which is mostly known in project-based businesses. Some months are full of prosperity, some only deplete the hard earned savings.
Believe me, I know what I am talking about ;)
There is only one way out:
Dig the well before you are thirsty.
Now to the good news:
At first it does not matter how much you do, if you do it constantly. Constantly means a time frame you spare. Let’s start simple and use a number everyone can spare.
1 hour per day.
For me, this works best in the morning. Why? Because sales and marketing are proactive tasks. Early in the day there are less distractions, less people needing you. Get up early, have a cup of coffee, set a timer and then do marketing for 1 hour.
If we agree to make this non-negotiable, we can start planning what to do. Side note: you do the planning outside of that 1 hour. We will start right now.
Know Activities in 1h
Public speaking
What you need: Speaking for one hour takes a good amount of preparation. You need to schedule the event and then prepare slides. Ideally you tap into an existing local community.
What to do in 1h: Every event can be different and you already know intuitively what to do. However, some of the tasks are crucial to perform before the event. Bonus: they will help you get known.
- Work closely with the community. Most communities form around a person. Find these “connectors” and work out what would best help their people. Take these insights and work on Like tasks.
- Ask people directly what they need help with. By having a talk lined up you have the best excuse to reach out.
Quick wins: I asked Kristian Buow, who started with public speaking for startup entrepreneurs. He hooked in the existing topic “Everything lean”, but explained it better. He said, you can build up a community around yourself – if you just provide great content.
Promote a Blog Post
What you need: You only need to have the post written. This can take more time than 1h, but is a good exercise anyway. Tips on writing well from Taylor Pearson. Already advanced? Check Altucher’s tips.
What to do in 1h: There are thousands of ways and you can try out many of them. A quick search already overwhelms people. Some ideas:
- Go through linkedin groups of your industry. Post parts of the text there and link to your blog.
- Send it out to communities of which you have attended talks. If the topic relates, send it to the presenter himself.
- Search groups on facebook, twitter hashtags and questions in quora. Everywhere you can add value, try to place your post.
Quick wins: Do different things and measure what works best. Then do more of that. Furthermore, in these actions you want to help people genuinely, not distribute your links aggressively (see the like section later).
[su_tweet via=”till_carlos” url=”” tweet=”Marketing: Promote a Blog Post. Tipps”]Tweet this Tipp[/su_tweet]Cold calling
What you need: Schedule this in a non-hectic time for your prospects. Try Thursdays in the mornings. You make a list of prospects and prepare a script of what you want to say.
What to do in 1h: Call the list. Always know that this is a numbers game. People will reject you, which is tough. Try to get through your list before getting demotivated.
Quick wins: If cold calling costs you too much will power, consider not doing it. It is easier to do warm calls (the prospect knows you already). Also it is done better if you do not sell hard. You can call and just ask what people need help with. You can reach out to promote a talk you give, etc.
Social media
What you need: What are the people in your industry using? Linkedin, Facebook, Twitter? Sign up for that.
What to do in 1h: Nowadays there are thousands of social media tactics out there. You can google them and try out what works for you. For me, the best thing you can do to get known is to engage with people.
- Subscribe / follow top influencers in your industry
- Learn what the and their following talk about.
- Ask questions, answer questions, share useful links.
Quick wins: As in every communication you need to invest time. However, as people start following you, you increase the chance that people share your knowledge. Try go add as much value as you can to as many people as you can.
Ask for referral
What you need: A list of people who already trust you. Most likely some of them have forgot about you and need a simple refresh.
What to do in 1h: Make a list of 6 people you have not talked with for some time. Spend 10 minutes each to read into their latest activities. Then send them an email complimenting on their work and if they need help with anything. Then, ask if they know anyone who needs your services.
Quick wins: This activity is so easy and impactful that everyone should do it once a month.
Networking
What you need: Most people go to events where like-minded people hang out. They rather go where their peers (often competitors) are, but not where they can find new clients. Look out for events of people who would need your help.
What to do in 1h. This is not a game about collecting / distributing as many business cards as possible. It is about building relationships. The best way to do it is ask a lot of questions and show interest. Do not talk about yourself.
Quick wins. Rarely you will sell at an event. So do not see networking as sales. See it as building your network and as a learning of what people need.
How to do that right? Make people like you. The whole next section is about that.
Like Activities in 1h
Care about them
What you need:
What to do in 1h: Download a sample of the customer avatar worksheet. Fill it out as good as you can. If there are sections you don’t know, skip them.
Quick wins: It does not matter so much what you fill. More important is putting yourself into their position. This has benefits you will use in every communication with future customers.
Offer help
Why you need it: This is for people who know you but are not aware of what you actually do. Your network might have forgotten about your current activities. This is a way to reach out again.
What to do in 1h: Go through your list of contacts and select 10 you have not talked to a lot. Take 6 minutes each. Skim their facebook profile, check their website for updates. Then you send a simple email:
Hey _____,
we have not had contact for some time and I wanted to quickly reach out to see how things are going for you. How is _____ (your child growing up / business doing / golf skills?)
If you need help, especially with my expertise _____ (design / ….), just reach out for free help on anything!
Cheers
_______
Quick wins: There are none. Just do it constantly. I know someone who sends these emails out every day. That means, he goes through 3560 contacts per year. How did he build this up? I don’t know. It is part of his own network building principles.
Improve presentation
What you need: People like to look at beautiful things. Beauty correlates to health. Just compare a sick person and a healthy businessman in a new dress. The same goes for your internet appearance.
What to do in 1h: Most websites already look decent, but the text is old. This is something only you can do. Log into your website and your social media profiles. Polish the texts and add some recent pictures.
Quick wins: Just looking consistent does a lot. Take some good portrait photos of yourself. If you do not have any, go to a professional photographer. Put the same picture on your website and all your social media profiles.
Make fair offers
What yo: need: We buy into deals we understand. Even more so, nobody likes unfair deals. Trusting you with money means understanding and knowing that you do not overcharge. How to do that? Make a fair offer.
What to do in 1: Sit down with a blank sheet of paper. Put yourself into your prospect’s head. Think of how much your solution can be worth to them. What is a deal they would understand? How sure can they be that you will not charge more later? Are there hidden cost?
Quick wins: To stress the point: start thinking from their perspective. Think of the concerns they might have. Mostly, risk is a concern. Can you formulate your offer in way that gives a risk-free guarantee?
Liking a deal is one thing. That alone will not make the prospect buy. In the next section we talk about actions to help them trust you.
Trust Activities in 1h
Publish results
What you need: Do you know Tony Robbins? Most of his teachings are common sense. But once I came across his story when he started out. The one thing that got him started was to focus solely on results for his clients.
I assume you already have that. But who knows of them?
What to do in 1h: Write a blog post. If you do not have a blog: publish a white paper and link it on your website as a free download.
Quick wins: Try to keep your personal opinion to a minimum. Focus on what the prospect wants to hear. Example: as a programmer, what would your prospects want to read? Try to publish end results, something visible. Publish how long it took you to build it and how people use it.
Share knowledge
What you need: The psychological principle reciprocacy works in our favor. Once you give something of value to a person, they will want to give something back.
You know what you have to offer: your experience, expertise in the fields, even your own life stories that other can benefit from.
What to do in 1h: Write a white paper about something you have found out. Choose a topic that has a value for your prospects. Send it out to them.
Quick wins. Do not overthink it. Little, but the right information can have a lot of value for the person you are reaching out to. If you do not know the topic: do no guess. Ask!
Give advice
What you need: This works like the point before but is more specific. You give value for free.
What to do in 1h: Find something your prospect can do better. Give him actionable tips on how to improve his situation.
Quick wins: Do not ask for anything in return. Just drop the value and leave.
Share testimonials
What you need: Good things your former clients say about you. This principle is called social proof. People like to get what their peers have.
What to do in 1h: Do this when you are working on a warm contact. You get the best testimonials when you your prospect is pumped up about your work. Then you ask him to write a testimonial strategically.
Quick wins: Watch this video by Derek Halpern and then execute. Main take away:
“Testimonials persuade your prospects what what you are selling works for them.
Repeat yourself
What you need: Enough time and repetition.
Why are rich people so old? Because they have been around so much. They worked on their businesses for a long time. Sure, that is not the whole truth and you can question the causality here.
My point is a different one: what doctor would you trust more? The rookie or the old doctor who has done hundreds of operations?
What to do in 1h: Stay consistent with what you do and how often you do it. This final hour tip is rather a repeat of something you’ve done. Something that worked before but you have not reused it for some time.
Quick wins: Just update an old but popular blog post. Send an old white paper out again. Or write a year’s review. Show that you are still alive.
How to take actions: plan the week
Now we have some actions in a pool. I know, there are many more out there. But this simple set will get you to 80% of what you are capable of doing. Now, you might ask:
Where do I start?
Plan it in your calendar. Like this:
Alternate the actions. For every day, choose either 1 know, like or trust action.
Try to alternate the list until you are done in 2 weeks. Important is to do all three aspects. If you found something that works exceptionally well: do more of it.
Choose the time you are most awake and undisturbed. What works for me is this:
- Do this first thing in the morning
- Phone, emails, Skype are off.
- Execute for 1 hour
Before you comment: do this for a week. Then comment here!
Image credits: Blank by DeathtoStock, typing by DeathtoStock, a classy fucking programmer by Ivan Dervisevic, sequoia washing his mom’s car by sean dreilinger, salesman by Albert Ter Harmsel, cat superman by http://www.cats.gallery/cat-superman/, Financial crisis by alles-schlumpf, Heartbeat by osseous, Come on guys! It’s time to lunch! by FUMIGRAPHIK, Unemployment Rates – Portugal Spain Germany by Google 2014, one done by Daniel Kulinski, build a reputation by Celestine Chua, busy being lazy by id iom, sweet tea by enigmachck1, photo of Kristian Bouw, 18 Minute Networking – City Year Boston by City Year, NodeXL Twitter Network Graphs: Social CRM by Marc Smith, febraf by VidaFitness, Blog Hub and Spoke Model for Social Media Marketing by TopRank Online Marketing, Who needs a periscope by GollyGForce Living My Worst Nightmare, Couseling by Alan Cleaver, WordPress Themes, Online Pizza Ordering – Domino Pizza, Peter Assentorp, Nicholas Felton – Pop!Tech 2009 – Camden, ME by Pop Tech, Jens Issel by Jens Issel, Derek Halpern, Jamie Do Rego by James Green, Mel Robbins
The post Know, Like and Trust – 9 Ways To Improve Your Marketing in Only 1 Hour Per Day appeared first on Till Carlos.