Learn powerful and proven direct response marketing strategies that will help you grow your business fast.
Group Coaching Versus One-on-One Coaching
Group or one-on-one coaching: which is the right option for you? We break down the benefits of each to help you make the right decision.
Are you thinking about launching a coaching business or investing in coaching to further your career or improve your personal life?
While this article focuses on coaches, it can still be helpful to someone looking to hire a coach. You'll learn what is the difference between group coaching and one-on-one coaching, what to expect from coaching sessions, and the benefits.
For coaches, I'll show you how to choose the right program for your coaching business and make it a success.
But first, let's look at the impact successful coaching has. According to the Institute of Coaching:
Coaching changed my life. I've paid for both group programs and private one-on-one sessions.
I owe my success to the many life and business coaches who helped me focus my attention on my goals, rewire my mindset and save me time and money. Their guidance and knowledge are the reason I was able to build several multi-million-dollar businesses.
So if you have the goal of becoming a successful business coach, here's what you need to know.
Also known as individual coaching, it's designed to help people create change in their lives. This can mean a lot of things, but it’s typically improving a skill, building a system, or achieving personal goals.
Individual coaching is popular and common practice among businesses and organizations, especially in executive and management roles.
This is the biggest benefit of one-on-one coaching. You meet your clients’ individual needs. For example, in a private session, professionals are more comfortable sharing their challenges, problems, concerns, and questions. The more they open up, the easier it is to help them find the right answers and solutions.
As a coach, you can follow a specific agenda or strategy depending on the nature of your coaching business, but you can adapt your content and solutions to meet specific needs. This strategy provides the greatest value to your clients. Trust me, they'll love it.
Coaching is much more effective with a solid working relationship. And since you only have to work with one person at a time, you get to know your clients better. This means you have more time to listen and understand what they're going through, empathize with them, and deliver the best service possible.
In return, a client will slowly learn to trust you, feel more comfortable working with you, and be willing to collaborate to achieve their goals.
In short, one-on-one coaching is more personal and creates stronger working relationships.
With one-on-one coaching, it's easier to hold your clients accountable. While you can do the same training with a group, it's more challenging. You'll find there are those who rarely participate in group discussions or simply don't attend sessions.
Focusing on one client lets you put more energy into their training, address their setbacks more quickly, and hold them accountable.
A coaching session can take anywhere from five minutes to three hours. I like to cap mine at one hour. But you do spend more time sharing knowledge, troubleshooting, and helping to drive that business forward. Group training is certainly a less time-consuming process.
Because individual coaching is more time-consuming, you have to charge more. This is the only way to make it cost-effective.
Sure, you may attract high-value prospects, but it can also limit your target market to businesses and organizations that can afford your services. On the other hand, other business people will prefer group coaching since it's more affordable. In an industry full of popular and competent coaches, you need to strategize and beat the competition.
Coaching is business. So if you're looking for a business model that's faster and easier to upscale, individual coaching is not practical. It takes time to get more people to sign up for your coaching program. And this can affect your profit unless you can raise your pricing in a short period of time.
Group coaching is about gathering a group of individuals within an organization or from different companies and helping them work towards a shared goal.
In my case, I help entrepreneurs and business owners to make better marketing decisions and scale their companies.
You, as the coach, serve as the facilitator of a session while participants in a group work together to gain insights, support one another, and take action toward specific goals.
In group coaching, you can coach different individuals working from various parts of a company. They don't need to be connected or related in any way.
This allows you to coach them in a variety of areas, whether it's about managing conflicts, communicating with other people, or honing interpersonal skills.
For other people, working in groups is much more fun and effective. You get to meet other people who you resonate with, and this can be very powerful. Maybe you have similar backgrounds or you’re currently going through relatable life challenges.
In my case, I help entrepreneurs and businesses achieve the success they want for themselves. And as someone who has built a business from the ground up, it feels more rewarding to work with a group who has had the same challenges as I’ve had.
Since this requires you to work with business people and professionals from different backgrounds, you can create a group coaching community where everyone can support one another.
On a different note, this can expand your network too.
Coaching groups allows you to maximize your time wisely. For example, you can coach twenty to a hundred business people in less than two hours. That's just two to ten times higher than what you get from one-on-one coaching.
Remember, time is money. Group coaching allows more room for more clients in a specific timeframe. And this results in a higher profit.
A group coaching program is a one-to-many business model. Meaning, you can schedule multiple coaching sessions at a time, and track the number of participants in every coaching group.
Do this constantly, make sure you have a steady stream of clients, and your coaching business will skyrocket sooner than you know. Simply put, group coaching is easier to scale than individual coaching.
There's one thing that lacks in a group coaching program: personalization (more on why one-to-one personal experiences are important here).
Considering that you have to coach between twenty to a hundred professionals in every session, you don't have much time to talk to each of them. In return, you won’t always be able to get the full picture.
Other coaches tend to deliver generic solutions that don't really solve specific business problems. And you have to be more careful about this.
Working with a group is a challenging process. Just think about coaching a bunch of people with different goals, perspectives, and personalities at the same time.
It requires extra effort, patience, and a higher level of understanding. You might even ask for help from other coaches to make your program more valuable.
You'll meet some people who will try to take over the room, actively participate in the discussion, and outshine others who may be more reserved.
Simply put, a group coaching client may get more value while others fade into the background without meeting their goals.
So when coaching a group of people, it boils down to finding their common ground and making sure you help them overcome specific challenges.
Whether you like it or not, you need to have better numbers in a group coaching program.
People are sheep. They tend to join coaching programs that have the highest number of participants. If you can't sign up people, you'll have a hard time filling an empty room.
So just like what other coaches do, you need to create and implement a solid marketing strategy that will attract and win over more coaching clients
Whether you intend to launch a life coaching business or, like me, a marketing coaching business, these principles apply.
You want everyone to engage equally in the group. Anything over 20, and there will be people whose voices go unheard. They won't get the results they need to make meaningful changes in their business or life.
So keep your numbers small. Because if you don't deliver results, you're likely to generate bad reviews, and that won't help your program.
You want to create groups with common interests. If they're from vastly different industries, this can create friction and increase your churn rate.
But if you've built a group of like-minded individuals, you'll be covering topics they find relatable and valuable.
Don't be afraid to ask group members what they like about your service and where there is room for improvement. Listening and acting on those lacks helps you deliver a world class coaching service.
Group coaching is about more than just sharing knowledge. Your job is to help move someone from point A to point B, and you can only do that if you identify goals and hold them accountable.
Check-in with them regularly to see if they're acting upon your advice and making tangible changes. If they're stuck, ask what's holding them back and how you can help them to move forward.
Remember, this isn't about you, it's about helping others to achieve. Whether that's a happier marriage, financial stability, or a healthy and fitter body doesn't matter.
When we celebrate our group wins, we acknowledge their hard work and encourage them to keep going.
I like to ask my group what is one thing they've achieved in the past week or month that they'd like to celebrate. What can you ask yours?
I've got clients who have achieved amazing things while working with me as a coach, but there comes a time when I can't teach them anything else.
A good coach recognizes when there's still work to be done and when someone is ready to fly the nest. That's when you give them their wings.
If you want your coaching program to be a success you need to promote it. Launch it to your email list, talk about it on your social channels, mention it on podcasts and share it with affiliates.
If someone has done coaching before they're more inclined to try it again, and using affiliates to promote your group on your behalf is a great way to attract high-value clients.
If you can offer group coaching sessions virtually, that's massively powerful. You can access a wider audience and avoid travel.
Successful digital web services require the right tools. You'll need a Zoom account, Google Workspace, Asana, or some other project management tool.
To recap, group and individual coaching have their own perks and disadvantages. Both can be done over the phone, online, or in person. And you might find that it pays to offer group and private 1:1 training sessions.
No matter which service you choose, make sure you're committed to greatly impacting other people's lives.
Are you ready to make this commitment to yourself and change your life?
Let's work together to achieve the success you’ve always dreamt of. Become a business coach, build your lifestyle business, and get the big ticket to financial freedom.
Click here to learn more on how to start and build a coaching business from scratch.
Or get our coaching toolbox and start implementing my proven coaching system. At $97 you get access to my:
And so much more...
How to Use Lead Magnets to Attract Leads
Grow your customer base and attract high-quality prospects with lead magnets. Here are seven types of lead magnets you can create.
Have you ever shared your email address with a brand in exchange for, say, free shipping or access to an exclusive video? Tell you what — you’ve just fallen for the irresistible charm of a lead magnet.
Also known as an ethical bribe, lead magnets are one of the best lead generation strategies to help grow your email list, gain authority, and attract potential customers.
If you're looking to draw more people to your product or service — just like what happened to you — make sure to follow these tips on how to use lead magnets to attract leads.
Data-driven lead magnets are a favorite among business owners because they help you build authority while driving qualified leads to your website.
Presenting basic information unfortunately won't do the trick. You need to deliver something compelling to your prospects for them to push through. But if you don't have the time or money to generate this kind of data, you can use your specialization as a lead magnet.
For example, if you run a real estate company, you could attract more visitors by providing free appraisals or a helpful report. It’s valuable to prospective home sellers, because this information can help them decide on the price, necessary upgrades, their ideal buyer, and whatnot.
You'll need a landing page. Use LeadPages to get yours up and running.
Another great way to get more leads and establish your credibility and reputation simultaneously is by using books as lead magnets. It’s perfect for those in the coaching and consultancy industries, as books instantly cement your trustworthiness.
Whether you offer an ebook, audiobook, or paperback, think of it as a sort of business card. It’s the perfect introduction to who you are as a business, what you do, and how you can help. Basically, you’re saying "I have this content you could use for your personal or business growth.”
And while most people think of this lead magnet as giving away money, it's not. It's an investment that can spur sales. I’ve built my 45,000 strong email list of prospects using my book, so I know it works.
But here’s a little insider tip, include various calls to action throughout your book for readers to connect. I mention resources they can download through my website, but they have to opt-in to access them.
You can even use accompanying workbooks as tripwire offers to ascend your customers to the next stage of their buyer’s journey. So a book is a very powerful way to acquire high-value prospects.
Thing is, no client is the same. While some love to read a book, others prefer to learn through a formal experience that only courses can bring.
Although this lead magnet may seem labor intensive — you need to create lectures, videos, and worksheets, after all — it's actually easier than you think. If you already have existing e-books, presentations, and videos, you can always compile and repurpose them as an actionable course.
Courses are excellent lead magnets as they can drive clients to sign up for another class. It's like an addiction.
As long as your clients enjoy your content, they’ll pay for it.
People love free things, especially when it comes to great content. That said, you can draw customers to your website by offering a free guide.
Since guides are shorter than e-books, a free guide can offer comprehensive yet compact information. Customers love guides because they’re quick reads, and you can implement what you learned right away.
But if you want your free guide to be a success, it needs to be specific and solves a problem. You need to target the pain.
So instead of creating content for how to set up a landing page, it's better to make it more specific, like, "How to set up a landing page with Program X in under 10 minutes."
When people get things for free, they’re more open to giving something of value in return, like their email address.
What makes the free trial a good lead generation tool is the low cost that comes with it. It can greatly help clients in the consideration part of the buying process.
By giving your leads a bird's eye view of how your products work, you'll get more than just their contact information. They might even sign up for your basic package right away!
To make your free trial irresistible, add a bit of scarcity. If the client doesn't proceed with the offer right away, he/she will lose access to this content upgrade.
And when you know you're about to lose something that has a lot of value, you'll do everything to hold onto it, even if you have to pay a certain amount.
Just like a free guide, a framework or template can make people's lives so much easier as it simplifies what they need to do. Frameworks also work great as your new leads and get them to become your customers right away.
The best example for this is the one-page digital marketing plan, which is a sort of one-stop-shop for businesses in need. This lead magnet helps writers gather specific ideas for their marketing plan, like:
If finding a spare moment in your day to put together a lead magnet is virtually impossible, go for cheat sheets.
Whether it's a checklist for building out a business plan or using social media, you can readily offer it as an easy download. Promoting it is effortless, too, as you can always append this lead magnet to your website or blog posts.
Lead magnets are tried-and-tested ways to grow your customer base. By investing in any of these methods, you're guaranteed to attract more quality leads more often.
Business Coaching 101: How to Become a Business Coach
If you want to build a lucrative coaching business that gets clients' results, check out our guide on how to become a business coach.
Ever thought, Could I do business coaching?
So what's holding you back?
If you've built a successful business, you've got a wealth of knowledge, skills, and advice to share. You may need to hone your leadership skills, but there are plenty of struggling business owners who'd happily pay for a professional to coach them on their journey to profitability and freedom.
Business coaching has been around for decades. Even the most popular entrepreneurs like Steve Jobs work with coaches to level up their services and businesses.
And as a coach, it's rewarding to see so many talented business owners transition to coaching.
So if you have the personal goal of becoming a business coach, this guide will help you on your journey.
If you're wondering, why business coaching? Click the link to read up on the benefits.
The business coaching industry is unregulated. You can search for coaches on the web, and you'll see endless options. Likewise, anyone can pretty much call themselves a coach.
This is when you start assessing yourself. Do you have what it takes to be a business coach? Here are three questions to ask yourself:
This is probably one of the most common questions I get when it comes to business coaching.
Frankly, no. You don't need a degree to become a business coach.
But, if you want to boost your credibility, earning coaching credentials from an accredited organization like the International Coaching Federation is a huge help. Based on ICF's study, 83% of clients agree that accredited credentials are vital. And this drives 77% of coaches to get certified.
So, you can get ICF-certified, but many successful coaches chose a different path and still became very successful. You can work with a certified coach for coach training and mentoring. Also, you can take up leadership courses and programs to develop your skills and build a world-class coaching career.
As I said, coaching is business. It's not a nine-to-five job or a corporate profession. So aside from your passion and skill set for coaching, it's important that you also know how to start, run, and manage your coaching business (click to learn more). Here are my tips on how to become a successful business coach.
Before anything else, you have to choose an entity type for your business coaching practice. Here are your two options:
Now what should you choose between the two? Here are a few things that you should consider:
Keep in mind your business goals and where you want to go. Don’t be scared of asking for advice or help from seasoned professionals. As a business coach, choosing the right type of business entity is important. Where sole proprietorship offers freedom and low costs, an LLC provides benefits and protection that are worth considering. The decision is up to you.
Let me give you a quick background on how I started. I was a college dropout who tried to pursue a career in IT. It worked well for a year. Then, I left my corporate job and plunged into starting my very first company.
I soon realized that I’d traded an 8-hour workday for a 16-hour workday with less money and hours of sleep. It was frustrating, and this drove me to work with a business coach.
So for you to become a business coach, you also need to get a business coach of your own. You need someone who already knows the ins and outs of the industry. Otherwise, you're shooting from the hip.
Just like most certified business coaches, you can charge your clients in three ways:
There are business coaches who offer hourly and monthly sessions. Rates range from $75-$1,000. They're the right fit for businesses that only seek initial and one-time coaching.
But if you've just started becoming a business coach, it's highly advisable to charge per package. This helps you calculate the number of months that your clients signed up for, so you can also identify your income and manage your expenses.
The catch is, you can attract more committed and high-paying clients. These are businesses that want to take coaching to the next level and seek your help in the long haul. Coaching packages also generate more sessions, which means you can have a bigger impact on their lives, and you can charge higher.
Here are some factors to help you settle on the right price:
Your competitors' business coaching rates
In my first business, a business coach advised me to become a really good marketer if I wanted to win more customers and upscale my business.
I've learned this the hard way, spending a lot of money on ads without getting returns. I don't want this to happen to you, so here's what you need to remember. You can't hack marketing. You can't simply do a little marketing and expect a massive return.
You need a marketing plan if you want to become a successful business coach. It doesn't matter how amazing you are at coaching people if you can't get clients in the first place.
Your marketing plan can help you target the right people and do whatever it takes to entice them to sign up for your coaching program.
Now that you have a marketing plan, let's focus on how you can be visible to your target market. Business coaches have an online presence, so you should build one for yourself too.
The truth is, you don't have to spend a fortune doing this. You can come up with an effective business coaching strategy that’s cost-efficient, produces tangible results, and doesn’t take over your life!
As a starting business coach, you can focus first on:
For your website, you need:
For social media, take time to answer these questions:
Networking is a surefire way to extend your opportunities and resources. You can't always rely on marketing tactics to win new clients. As you move forward, extend your reach and people will come to you.
There are a lot of platforms that can upscale your coaching business, but again, I highly recommend for you to sign up on social media. For a start, you can set up business accounts on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram.
You can use LinkedIn to connect with CEOs and other executive clients. But if you'd prefer to work with small businesses rather than large corporations, be more active on Facebook and Instagram.
Here are a few business coaching tips to expand your network:
So that's how to become a business coach. While it might sound exciting, I need to warn you that it takes work, time, and effort to establish yourself as an accredited authority in your industry.
You need to be willing to go through coach training and you have to develop a business plan for your company. Identify how you will find new business and what methods you'll use to develop and nurture coaching relationships? What knowledge, skills, and tools will bring a positive impact on their lives.
More importantly, you must want to help business owners overcome challenges, devise strategies for success, build a team, and achieve their goals.
If this all sounds good to you, I’d say to dive in.
Considering everything you've read, do you have what it takes to be a coach?
Are you up for the challenge?
Forget about qualifications. I've been mentoring business owners around the world for the past six years. I don't have an MBA. I never completed my degree. I simply identified a gap in the market and used my knowledge and skills to fill it.
And I learned early on that a client only wants results, so I deliver. So let me ask you this:
Then let's kickstart your online business coaching journey. Click here and complete the coaching certification form. Or get your hands on my coaching toolbox. This handy little toolbox contains every document, guide, and resource I use to get my coaching clients world-class results.
What if you could change the trajectory of your career? I recently launched the Certification Program for agency owners, consultants and marketers who'd like to become a 1-Page Marketing Plan certified business coach.
It's a 12-week intensive CERTIFICATION program that will shortcut your path to business success. How does this program differ from other business coaching programs?
Upon graduation from the certification program:
And you’ll have formed a network of elite like-minded peers to engage with over the years to come. All my graduates have gone on to become successful business coaches and you can too.
Executive coaching: What are the Benefits of Business Coaching?
Is business coaching for you? We cover the benefits of investing in business coaching, an ideal go-to solution for growth and profitability.
Do you ever wonder whether you need a little help from a business coach? You might be surprised by the benefits of business coaching.
Entrepreneurship can be a lonely journey. Initially, you spend every waking hour working on your business. And it can feel like you're stuck on a desert island.
Who do you turn to for guidance?
Sure, there are millions of online articles, videos, and other resources on how to build and grow a business. But what if your business is unique and a one-size-fits-all solution won't work?
This is where business coaching comes in. (Check out my definitive guide to building your coaching business)
Business coaching has become a common and essential practice for entrepreneurs and CEOs wanting to level up their companies. But so many entrepreneurs don't understand the benefits or how it works.
I'm going to cover the benefits of business coaching for you, and how a coach can help you reach your entrepreneurial dreams.
A business coach is an expert entrepreneur or executive who knows how to start and grow successful businesses and is willing to train and mentor you.
For example, you've been running your business for roughly three years now, but you've seen little to no growth in your profitability. Instead of rambling or making impulsive decisions on your own, you can work with a business coach to teach you what to do and how to upscale your business.
You need to hire a coach because growing a business is tough. You're going to make a ton of costly mistakes and coaching can help you to shortcut your path to success. They'll give advice specifically tailored to your industry.
So a good coach will focus on your strengths, hone your skills, deliver a few business truths you might not want to hear, and guide your company to financial success.
Let's unpack the eight ways a business coach can help you to level up your company.
What are your visions and goals? A lot of my clients will throw out airy-fairy goals. Now I like a challenge, but I'm also a realist. It's important to look at historical data and set realistic goals.
A business coach can help you achieve them. More importantly, they make sure your goals are realistic and on point.
And here's a quick tip: Create long-term goals that won't only benefit your business, but your entrepreneurial life too.
So aside from reaching your target ROI or revenue in a year, coaching can help you to achieve the life you want.
You can freely tell your coach about your other goals. Do you want more free time? Travel? The opportunity to pursue other passions? Try a different line of business?
A business coach will come up with a plan to make these things possible without compromising your business' success.
As a coach, I don't make the decisions or produce the results.
I'm here to learn the ins and outs of your business so I can provide insights and guidance on every step or move you make. A good coach will help you to identify key challenges, make smarter decisions, focus on money-making projects, and develop strategies that take your business to the next level.
So, coaches create an impact by redirecting your perspective on the right path. They change the way you think and act for the better, and this usually provides great results.
Having a coach is not the same as asking a friend for guidance. While friends and family mean well, unless they've built a successful and profitable business, they don't understand what you're going through. And they never will.
So, they might suggest you try a bunch of random tactics, but they can't guarantee results.
On the other hand, business coaching comes with a plan—a clear roadmap—that you can follow and implement to grow your organization. Remember, your coach has probably built several companies in your industry. They've been where you are. They've made mistakes and learned vital lessons.
You're reaping the benefits of this knowledge, so make the most of it.
No matter how long you've been in business, you're always learning. It's vital to your development and your company’s success.
Good business coaches don't spoon-feed. We're here to help you improve your skills.
So first, a business coach will identify how you work, learn, and relate to others. Then here’s where your work comes in. You need to identify:
A coach will be there to guide, instruct, and offer encouragement and direction as needed, but you'll get the freedom and autonomy to make progress and meet your goals.
As an entrepreneur, you've probably gone through a lot in your personal and business life. And your confidence can take a knock. But no matter what happens, don't let these negativities and fears get the best of you.
Business coaching offers an invaluable space for personal development and support.
Whether you're just starting your business or you’re a seasoned business owner, coaching provides support and encourages you to work things out on your own. With time, you'll learn to trust yourself to lead with confidence and tackle challenges.
Leadership affects employee performance. And unfortunately, a demotivated team is more likely to produce substandard work which can affect client retention and eventually profitability.
So if you're struggling to manage and communicate effectively with your managers and employees this could impact their performance and output.
To be an effective leader you must understand your strengths, weaknesses, and what motivates you. Coaching is pivotal to self-development.
Business coaches offer insights for management and leadership advice. They can help you find the leadership style that works for you.
Employees who work under great leaders tend to be more satisfied, productive, and connected to their organization. In return, this has a ripple effect that reaches your business's end goal.
Some of today's most successful business owners once worked with a business coach. For example, Eric Schmidt, the former CEO of Google hired a coach recommended by a board member despite his company growing. Steve Jobs and Bill Gates also invested in coaching.
Why? Because they recognized that the best investment you can make is investing in yourself. One-on-one or group coaching will help you clarify your goals, build a winning strategy, and implement an action plan that will likely increase your revenue.
Accountability is massively vital to the success of your small business. The objective of business coaching is to take you from point A to point B.
Having worked with clients as a coach, and been mentored by other coaches, I know you'll only benefit from coaching if you pay for it. The thing about investing money is you want to get a return.
And you're wasting your dollars if you're not implementing the growth strategies your coach advises. So not only will a good coach challenge you to think broader, try new ideas, and take risks, but they'll also hold you accountable.
To be clear, this is a two-way street. You'll reap the benefits of business coaching when you invest time and effort in the relationship.
And just like every relationship, it's a matter of compatibility. Unlike other marketers or coaches, I don't teach businesses to run a major marketing campaign that could earn millions.You’ll find a lot of coaches out there are just to-do list nannies.
I take a different approach. I help build your internal marketing capabilities and scale your small business rapidly. If there are gaps in your strategy, or if you're struggling to build a high-performance marketing team alone, my one-on-one coaching program will identify and provide solutions to these challenges. The rest is up to you.
When I coach, I lead the conversation. And this conversation is based on a structured program that takes you through a defined process.
Build the lifestyle business you've been dreaming about. Sign up for business growth, greater freedom, and profitability. Learn more about my 1:1 coaching program here. Are you thinking about starting a coaching business? Wouldn't it be cool if you had a roadmap you could follow instead of making it up as you go?
So, to help you get started I've written a handy guide on how to start your coaching business and scale revenue. Check it out now, just click the link.
Do you want to become a business coach?Here’s a recap of why my 12-week intensive CERTIFICATION program is the rocket fuel to your business.
If you'd like to become a certified business coach, join my Certification program now.
What Is Conversational Sales?
Conversational sales is the process of talking to qualified leads on their terms, for example online with a chatbot, a phone call, or using forms...
Conversational sales is the process of talking to qualified leads on their terms, for example online with a chatbot, a phone call, or using forms on a landing page, whatever.
The focus is to use conversation to provide support, answer your prospective customers' questions, and move them through the buying process.
Every sales team, every rep, every company needs to be trained in conversational sales (low-pressure ways of converting leads to sales).
Unfortunately, most sales reps tend to forget the human element. Customers expect companies to connect with them, give a damn, and offer a solution to their problems. They're not just new leads for a rep to call and sell benefits.
So whether you're selling to other businesses—B2B marketing—or you're selling to consumers—B2C marketing—you won't see growth if there's no human impact.
This is why you need to master the art of conversational selling because conversations lead to customers.
But first, you need to know why conversational selling is highly dependent on human-to-human marketing.
Human-to-human marketing, or simply H2H, is the best thread that unifies both B2B and B2C business models. It's the understanding that all of us want sales conversations with real people, not automated bots.
Customers want personalized buyer experiences. They want to feel like they matter—not like they’re a nameless, faceless purchaser.
You need to show them you care about their hopes, dreams, struggles, and pain points. And here's where the challenge lies. You need to figure out how to make conversational selling work. You need answers to these questions:
Remember, conversations lead to conversions.
CX plays a vital role in the growth of your business. But what does CX mean, and why is it important? In short, CX are initials for Customer Experience, and this boils down to how your customers perceive their interaction with your brand.
As your potential customers reach out to you, their experience and the relationships they build with your brand really matters. Giving this a truly human touch and delivering a world-class experience can transform a once-off purchase into life-long engagement.
Here are three conversational selling tips you can use to your advantage.
When meeting someone for the first time, how do you start the conversation? You introduce yourself, ask questions, and naturally build rapport. This is how you get to know someone from your lead list too.
In conversational selling, you need to ask questions to see if your prospects are a good fit for your business. If you're out of ideas, you can start asking them:
Asking questions validates a person. And being validated delivers a unique customer experience—something that's very important for business growth.
Since this is all about human-to-human marketing, you need to show the human element in your brand. So when you're selling, tell your story. Share your ups and downs in sales conversations.
This is a great way to bridge the trust gap in the sales process and build authentic relationships with your customers. In H2H marketing, people engage and buy from businesses and brands that genuinely show who they are.
There are a lot of ways to deliver value to your prospects and customers through conversational selling. But the bottom line is, you must be open to helping them without expecting anything in return.
For example, a prospect asks for help on a problem they can't fix. Someone from your sales team offers free advice, which they implement immediately. Later on, they see fruitful results. This situation can prove that your service is worth investing in. And in the end, they'll buy from you and hopefully recommend you to others.
For me, this is how you deliver value through conversational selling. Instead of slogging through the doldrums of cold calling, listing your products and services, then waiting until someone bites, target the right people, and offer the value they need.
Now you might be wondering, is conversational sales the same as conversational marketing? Well, let's just say they use a similar methodology.
Conversational marketing happens when you personally engage with prospects and customers in real-time through multiple channels. This happens online and in person, and these channels include:
Any form of one-on-one communication, like phone and email, are considered part of conversational marketing.
Today, messaging is the most effective conversational marketing strategy to reach out to prospects and customers online. According to a recent survey from Twilio, 90% of consumers love to use it to communicate with brands and businesses.
So you want to consider using messaging apps like Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, and Viber to reach out to your potential and existing customers.
And even if you're worried you can't always reach out to people face-to-face or in real-time, conversational marketing tools like chatbots can really help. You can program them to automatically respond to messages and engage with prospects. Rather than sending an unwelcome form, you can start a conversation with an automated but warm greeting.
When done strategically, conversational marketing can do wonders for your brand. These include:
So now I want to talk about sales language. You really want to get this right, because the language you use can make or break your ability to sell.
Think about how you'd engage with a trusted friend. You're relaxed, easy-going, and the conversation flows naturally. This is how I want you to approach selling. You want to put your prospect at ease. So how can you do this.
Well, let’s start with what NOT to say.
It’s unfortunate, but lots of sales trainings teach bad language. These are some common phrases that have been overused by sales teams over the years:
I wouldn’t be surprised if you've used some of these in a sales conversation before. But I want you to know that this is outdated sales lingo. These phrases immediately trigger an internal alarm in prospects that says, "I'm being sold to." And they will slowly start backing away from you.
If you want to win customers and build long-lasting relationships with them, don't use these in conversational selling.
So now that you know what not to say, let's look at the kind of sales language which works well.
Remember, I spoke about keeping your conversations relaxed and positioning yourself as a trusted friend. If you use some of these phrases, you’ll see your sales numbers increase:
As you can see, using these statements in a conversation is not complicated. Most of them are probing questions, and you'll eventually receive a lot of different responses from qualified leads.
It puts the power back in the hands of your prospect, without causing pressure. By asking probing or leading questions, you're actually saying to your potential customer, I care. I want to know more about what you're struggling with.
That creates trust, which is essential to selling.
You can read our list of key sale tips here.
We asked our lead sales rep to share her best insights when it comes to conversational sales. Here's what she had to say:
I liken conversational sales to playing doctor. You get on the call with the patient. You listen to their symptoms. Give them space to talk about their problems, and by the end of the call, you can diagnose a solution.
Traditional sales, on the other hand, is pushy. You’re not allowing the other person to uncover what the real issue is. You're focused entirely on yourself, and that creates friction which will turn off a lot of prospects.
Conversations are vital because the more your prospect talks about their problem, the more it creates a sense of urgency within them to get it fixed. It's almost like they're convincing themselves that they need to take action and solve their problem.
Speed, really. The faster you can respond to a hot lead, the greater your chance of closing them. Don't give them time to reconsider.
Sales and marketing have evolved, and your business should too.
I'm not against classifying business models, but it's right to say that the era of B2B and B2C marketing has ended. It's over. You need to stop thinking that you're either in B2B or B2C. This time, you're in H2H marketing. And, you need to do what it takes to humanize your brand.
The power of conversational marketing and sales lies in personal and real-time engagement. Conversation is the best way to deliver a world-class customer experience.
It branches off in different directions. So whether you want to use messaging apps or chatbots on your website to reach out, what's important is shortening the buying process, understanding your prospects, and boosting the empathic element of your brand.
8 Reasons Why You Need a Marketing Plan For Your Business
If you want to scale year on year you need a marketing plan. Investing in tactics without a high-level strategy just doesn't work. Read these...
Every business has one ultimate goal: to gain more customers and close more sales. You need marketing to do that consistently.
And though there are millions of strategies and tactics you can use, the starting point remains the same: have a well-crafted marketing plan.
After all, marketing is what drives your target audience to buy your product or service, bringing in the cash. But without a marketing strategy, it's like going to war without your weapons.
A marketing plan is basically a blueprint that outlines the methods you're going to implement to make your customers buy your products and services. It acts as a roadmap that walks through your marketing strategies, tactics, marketing activities, costs, and expected results.
It has to be detailed enough to contain the actions that small businesses need to do to accomplish their goals.
A marketing plan ensures you don't get sidetracked and start chasing shiny objects (ooh, look, TikTok!)
You can create a marketing strategy good for a month, quarter, or the whole year.
Want to know what are the best marketing strategies for 2022? Click the link.
Marketing strategy is the overall big-picture. It answers what you hope to achieve with your marketing and why. Knowing this makes getting buy-in from stakeholders and business owners much easier.
The marketing plan lays out exactly how you'll achieve those strategic goals. It maps out the tactics you'll implement (inbound and outbound marketing), the assets you need, and the processes and systems you'll develop to help you level up your marketing game.
Every business needs a marketing plan because:
It doesn't matter whether you're running a small business or scaling a huge one — you still need to create a marketing plan.
After all, it comes with a whole bevy of benefits like the following:
Clarity is super important when setting your business goals. It shouldn't be as simple as 'not going broke' or 'meeting annual sales KPIs.' Otherwise, you're just setting yourself up for marketing failure.
If you don't have a clear target, you can't implement marketing activities to help you reach what you want to achieve.
With a marketing plan, you can focus on tangible targets, improving your sales and business performance throughout the year.
Whether you have a small team or a big one, a marketing plan makes sure you're all on the same page. Everyone is given the exact instructions on what to do to meet the company's business goals.
Without a marketing strategy, your plan will end up fractured and ineffective.
For example, some of your employees might work on social media, online content, or email marketing, while the other half uses print and radio ads.
Even a big business has to work on a set budget.
With a marketing plan, you can place importance on activities that yield the best results. It can save you from the headache of creating strategies that are not worth pursuing.
The importance of a marketing plan goes beyond the process. You can also use it as a guide in dealing with your clients.
When you understand what you need to do, you can address your audience better.
Businesses often have multiple objectives, and it can get confusing real fast if you don't have a marketing plan to guide you.
It serves as a benchmark that reminds you if you're hitting your marketing targets. You can make sure that your strategies are aligned and aren't veering away from the business goals you had from the start.
Say you want to start your business by marketing ten items per day.
When your employees know the exact marketing strategies to employ to achieve that goal, they waste less time in brainstorming sessions and follow-up meetings. All they need to do is follow your marketing plan, and everything will fall into place.
Let's face it: Building and running a business involves a sizable investment. If you want yours to grow in people, products, and income, you need to invest more capital.
One way to do so is to get different entities to invest in the product you're marketing. But you won't get the funding you need if you can't present a marketing strategy that outlines your business direction. It's massively important if you want to level up your company.
Planning lets you understand not just your target market and products but also the process of how you can bridge these two to achieve your business needs.
Teams with marketing plans are also more proactive. So you think about things in advance rather than just dealing with them when they occur. You're able to pre-empt and solve issues immediately.
You've probably heard of the saying, "If you fail to plan, you plan to fail." The same goes for creating a good marketing plan — you can't come up with many promising marketing ideas without much preparation.
For a seamless planning process, make sure to have the following marketing documents at hand:
When you create your marketing plan, it's absolutely essential to consider the current trends in the marketplace, like your market's dollar size, selling and distribution setup, target audience, and even how much you've sold throughout the years.
Remember, you'll also need to take note of the threats and opportunities your business faces. These include the customers' demographics and the new trends that might be against you. And don't forget to focus on exploiting the ones that work in your favor.
The focus here should be the business goal you wish to achieve in a specific time frame.
Each objective needs to be clear. It must describe what you want to accomplish in, say, a week or a month, even six months. So be sure to jot down the numbers you want to get.
If you have a hard time creating different objectives for your marketing plan, you can always refer to your old records.
If your business has managed to keep an 80% in gross revenues from customers this year, gunning for a simple 20% to 25% increase in activity is a pretty achievable target, in my opinion.
Again, your marketing plan must also include the tactics and activities you're planning to do to achieve your targets.
For example:
Goal: Introduce the new X item to Roseville and sell 10,000 units for total revenue of $50,000.
Objectives:
Tactics:
Now that you have your marketing strategy in place, it's time to talk numbers. I like to tell my clients that as long as you're making a return on investment, why wouldn't you keep plugging dollars back into your marketing activities?
But initially, you want to assign a specific budget so your team knows how much they can allocate for every promotion. The golden rule here is to add 25% more to your current estimate.
When establishing a budget, be sure to plan with the people who will be executing these activities. Their input will help you get a ballpark figure of the amount you want for each strategy. It also allows you to determine a point person who will keep a close eye on the budget and ensure it's put to good use.
Although this should be placed at the top of your marketing plan, the executive summary should be the last thing you do in your marketing plan. It serves as an overview of the content you have inside.
For easier reading, make sure your plan is written in simple sentences. Bold the most critical points, and list them down in bullets as needed.
Successful marketing comes down to knowing your numbers.
Marketing isn't just about putting a piece of content out there and hoping it sticks. You need to gather as much data and information as you can and analyze it to be sure you're getting results and not wasting your money.
So add KPIs to each and every marketing activity.
A clear marketing strategy identifies which tactics your company will use to get your customers to know, like, trust, and buy from you.
If you've built an in-house marketing team, they may wish to create separate plans for each tactic, for example:
A lot of big companies have annual marketing plans. That's why I wrote the 1-Page Marketing Plan. It's something you can review every six months and only update when necessary.
As mentioned, there are many good reasons why your business must have a marketing plan. As the business owner, you need to own your marketing strategy. So it's vital that you're involved in the writing of your marketing plan. Although it can be challenging to build out, it's essential to your business's success. So, make it a priority.
Do you have the goal of building a six figure coaching business? Click the link.
Wanting to Hire? 3 Ways to Find Great Talent
To work with great talent, you need a strong, systemized recruitment process. Try these three strategies for hiring remote workers.
How do you find great remote workers? Does your recruitment process consist of posting an ad on a job marketplace and waiting for the perfect candidate to apply?
There are plenty of hiring strategies to use, but this method is not the best move these days.
It's like signing up for Tinder and getting hundreds of matches while your competition meets their match through a trustworthy mutual friend. You can still find "the one," but it'll take a lot more time, money, and effort.
A remote team is only as good as the people in it. So if you want to work with great talent, you need a strong recruitment process.
Here are three of the most effective hiring strategies you can use to find great remote workers and build a strong and talented team:
I've worked with many businesses, and one of the first questions they ask me is, "Whom should I hire first?"
Now, let's delve deeper into what your organizational structure looks like.
Are you the center of your team? Do you:
If you handle most of these things, you’re a huge bottleneck for your team. Entrepreneurs are ideas people. You come up with goals, plans, and solutions for a profit. You don't have to train every team member or answer questions that don't involve you from the get-go.
So what works best is to hire from the top, down. But what do I mean by that?
To hire from the top, down means your first hire must employ the rest of the team and run the future team.
There are two reasons for this:
So again, remove yourself as the bottleneck and hire someone you can trust to hire and run the rest of the team. If you need a reason why you should hire a team, check this out.
This is next question I often get asked and I have two choices for you:
Once you're ready to find your first hire, here are three things you should consider first:
Among these three, budget is the most pressing factor for entrepreneurs. Do you already have a figure in mind? For your first hire, you can choose either of these two, depending on your budget:
Now, if budget is not an issue or your top concern, you can choose based on the candidate's skill set.
Copywriting is central to marketing and success. It touches everything. In every single campaign, you're going to have words—either on a page, video, social media, email sequence, and so on.
Copywriting translates into many other good things that can bring to the business as well. It builds your image, brings out the personality of your brand, and boosts your digital marketing game.
Even if ultimately this person won't be doing all the copywriting, they do need to understand what compelling copy looks like.
They need to be able to understand how to put a message together because if your team leader can't communicate effectively, it'll negatively impact the internal team and everything you put out into the marketplace.
Marketing has become much more technical. You've got CRM systems, content management systems, websites, and landing pages.
Technophobes (anyone who's scared of technology) won't succeed in this role. You need someone who's willing to be trained to learn how to use different platforms. You also want them to implement systems. Learn more here.
As I said, you need someone who has leadership skills because your first hire is in charge of hiring and running your remote team.
As your team leader, they're going to be responsible for the delivery of your projects. You want to make sure they're able to manage your team and deliver projects on time and on budget.
Trust me, an arrogant, know-it-all person can bring down a team. I've always found that the best hires are always teachable and coachable. You need someone who can learn new concepts, accept new ways of doing things, and just run with it.
It might sound cliché, but you need your first hire to be a self-starter. You need someone who can work autonomously without needing to be constantly babysat and asked how things are going all of the time.
Communication serves as the foundation of every facet of your business. You need someone who understands the grounds of their work, who's willing to reach out for help when they need it, and who can create a positive work environment within the team.
As the business owner, your role is to always look at the big picture. It’s up to your remote assistant to pay close attention to all of the small particulars when working on projects. This results in high-quality work with little to no errors.
English is the most widely spoken and written language in the world. So, if your first hire doesn't know English (or the language you do business in) well, they can't effectively communicate with you and your team.
Like I said, you need tech-savvy people who're willing to learn how to use new systems and equipment.
Look for a dependable remote assistant. Find someone who can deliver within the deadline and create high-quality deliverables you’ve agreed upon.
Growth potential is an important quality in your first hire, and willingness to learn shows that capability. This person must be willing to undergo training or mentoring for career progression.
I believe that you should hire on attitude first instead of experience or skill level. Why? The idea is to hire good people who are open to learning new things—people who are not stuck in their old ways of working.
To give you a better idea, consider hiring someone who's a bit more of a blank slate. They've got a great attitude, are willing to learn, and are open to new ways of doing things. You just need to train them to do things the way you want them done.
So, don't hire. Invest.
You should invest a lot of time and money in training your team.
“Now what if they leave?” people always ask me.
Let's turn it around.
"What if you don't train them and they stay?"
That's going to be a bigger loss for you. You'll be in a world of pain if your team doesn't know what they're doing and they stay in the business.
So, invest in them. And the other thing is, if you’re treating people decently and you've got a fun work environment, it's unlikely that people are going to leave unless they have major life changes.
If you want to find great talent, start by letting your network know you're hiring. I actually found my team leader through my network. All I did was write a job description, post it, and wait for referrals to come. You can also use referrals to get new business. Back to hiring.
Then, my team leader hired everyone else. It's the most efficient and cost-effective way to look for top talent. Putting trust in your team leader just shows that you're involving them in your company’s growth.
Aside from referrals, you can also post on platforms like LinkedIn, UpWork, and Onlinejobs.ph.
Rather than waiting for great talent to miraculously discover your business and beg for a job, redirect your efforts to strategically sourcing them. So to recap, you must:
Sourcing top talent is essential to the future of your business. If you want to get two steps ahead of your competition, hire the best candidates in the market because a solid, dependable, flexible team is the backbone of a successful business.
But finding great talent is only the first step. Now you need to build a work culture that makes them want to log on each day and do good work. To learn more about how to create that awesome work culture, check out this link.
19 Linkedin Profile Tips: How to Create A Good LinkedIn Profile
LinkedIn is a gold mine of high-value leads. To attract them, you need to optimize your profile. Just follow these LinkedIn profile tips.
Once upon a time, many moons ago, LinkedIn was a glorified online resume platform for recruiters and job hunters, but that's long since changed.
Today LinkedIn is the largest professional network in the digital landscape, and if you're not on it, you're missing out.
Through LinkedIn, you can promote yourself and build a solid network of professionals who can add value to your business.
And the best part? It’s completely free.
If you're into B2B marketing, it's the top channel to use. In fact, 97% of its users utilize LinkedIn for their B2B marketing efforts.
What you might find surprising is:
Simply put, LinkedIn is your go-to platform for building your personal brand, generating more leads and scaling your client or customer list. It's an asset.
So, how can you make a good first impression? Start with your profile In this blog, I'm going to share my best LinkedIn profile tips for creating and optimizing your account. This step-by-step process is really quite simple to do.
If you want to stand out on LinkedIn, you need an awesome profile—one that speaks directly to the needs of your target audience.
Now you can have an individual LinkedIn profile or a business profile.
Either way, the profile section tips I share below can be applied to both.
Without a doubt, a great LinkedIn profile starts with a good profile picture.
LinkedIn profiles with photos get more views, messages, and engagements rather than faceless ones. It gives the idea that you're dealing with a real person and not a bot.
So your first step is to add a profile and background photo.
Profile picture:
Cover photo:
Here's an example of a nice, presentable profile and cover photo. As you can see, it easily depicts who you are and your branding.
Now, you have to pick your photos carefully. Career experts say that LinkedIn is a platform for professionals. It's not the right platform to show off your significant other or duck face selfies. Here's another reference to look at.
Aside from your name and eye-catching photos, people will most likely look into your headline. This is similar to your Facebook and Instagram bio, where you can describe who you are in 120 characters or less.
Keep it clear and direct as much as possible. Remember, confusion creates a bad impression. People don't want to waste time trying to guess what it is you do.
Best practice, use short and simple search terms. It takes a few seconds to skim a LinkedIn headline, so make sure yours is meaningful for your prospects.
If you're struggling with creating your own headline, you can use this formula:
[Your job title/what you do] | I help [your prospects] to [how you can help them] to [result].
This is how it looks.
If you're limited to 120 characters when describing yourself in your headline, you can write as much text as you want in your “About” section.
Now you can elaborate on what you do, how you can help, and what results you can deliver.
But before I get into that, I want to make one thing very clear. Your about section isn't really about you. It's about how you can help your ideal prospect to get results. So make the focus about them.
Here’s what your “About” section must include:
Take time to write your “About” section. Not a lot of people know this, but you can actually use it as your lead magnet. Here are some tips in drafting your own:
After going through your About section, people will scroll down to see your “Experience” section. This is an important part of your profile as it shows your work history and proves your credibility and competence.
Employment history differs among people, so it doesn't matter whether it's written short or long. Maybe you own multiple businesses or have different roles in your company. If this is the case, explain each business or role further by adding:
Most importantly, link your role to your company page on LinkedIn. Make sure your LinkedIn company page is complete because people will check it too.
See for yourself.
Every single LinkedIn profile has a profile photo, headline, description, and a list of experiences. But only a few spend their time:
This is what I meant by optimizing your profile. Aside from your basic information, these boost your image and branding. Use these optimizing tips to gain a competitive edge and stand out from the rest.
All new profiles have system-generated URLs composed of random letters and numbers. So if you want to optimize your URL, you have to change it. A long string of random characters is unsightly. So it's best to keep it short and customized. Here's how to change your profile URL:
It may take time for search engines to detect the updates you've made to your LinkedIn profile. If you haven't seen any live changes, reload the page.
Your accomplishments matter. It shows your commitment to your field and how others recognize your efforts.
This profile section must include outstanding publications, honors and awards, courses, projects, and organizations.
Here's a profile tip that most people forget. LinkedIn recommendations are a great feature to highlight statements from people who enjoy working with you and are happy to recommend you.
Even if you're not a job seeker at the moment, 76% of B2B buyers prefer to work with professionals who have displayed recommendations on their profiles.
You're lucky if you get a recommendation from your clients, mentors, or colleagues without asking for it. But most of the time, it’s a give-and-take situation. Write a recommendation for someone and ask if they would write one for you.
Or better yet, you can ask for it through email. You can use this template, do your tweaks and send it to get recommendations.
Hey [Name],
Feels like it’s been years since we last spoke. [You can insert some personal notes.]
I was hoping to ask a favor. I’d massively appreciate a recommendation when you get the chance. And I’d be happy to write one for you in return.
Keep in touch and let me know how things are going.
Just like any other word-of-mouth, it should be genuine. It should come from someone who knows you professionally and can describe your strengths, character, and skills.
Optimizing your LinkedIn profile is made even better with new updates. In 2020, LinkedIn launched the Featured section which allows you to showcase the best work samples you're proud of. This can vary to:
Now how does this new section differ from the Activity section on your profile?
The Activity section shows all your activity for the past 45 days. This includes your posts, articles, likes and comments on other LinkedIn posts. With the recent update, you can find it just below the Featured section on your profile or LinkedIn feed if you choose to enable it.
What makes the Featured section different is you can pick and curate the content you only want other people to see. Meaning, you have full control over what to include and exclude in this LinkedIn section.
So now that you've learned about the basics and set up LinkedIn essentials on your personal profile, let's take things to the next level.
LinkedIn is one of the top five sites (Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, Wikipedia) that Google regularly indexes. This means that you have to apply SEO to your profile if you want to appear in search results more often.
This won't only help you gain better search visibility in native LinkedIn searches, but also in Google searches. Just think about seeing your name on the first page of Google. That looks interesting, isn't it?
Now, let's talk about LinkedIn SEO.
If you're familiar with how digital marketing works, then you probably know how important keywords are in SEO.
And this is also applicable when optimizing your LinkedIn profile.
So how do you start?
You have to make sure that the keywords you'll choose are those that people use when searching for your products and services.
For example, if you're a dentist, you can include the long-tail keyword "dental care and dental services" in your job title. Then on your job description, you can include relevant phrases like "general dentistry, cosmetic dentistry" and other variations of these.
Now, here's a tip to remember.
Be careful of keyword stuffing. Just place relevant keywords naturally in your LinkedIn profile.
Do you want to give your LinkedIn profile a boost?
Building quality backlinks is the answer. Now what should you do?
You have to link to your LinkedIn profile from your own website. This is extremely effective if your website has a high domain authority (DA).
And if you're guest posting on other websites, use this opportunity to link back to your LinkedIn profile. You can simply use your author bio to get backlinks.
This technique helps your profile rank higher in Google and even in LinkedIn itself, resulting in high visibility.
Sure, you've already filled out your LinkedIn profile with everything people need to know from you. What's next?
Apply SEO to your profile through content marketing. Meaning, you must post relevant and valuable content.
This is a fantastic way to interact with your LinkedIn connections. Also, this drives traffic to your blog post, web content, whatever.
Now aside from posting your own content, consider sharing content too. Have you read a piece of content from someone that you find valuable? Share it. This creates a domino effect—helping you reach a wider audience effortlessly. It's also one way to build a better community.
LinkedIn shows the groups you're part of on your profile. In return, this helps the platform to know more about you and what search results are relevant to you.
So take time to look at some groups relevant to your industry and join them. Ask questions or provide valuable answers to other people's questions.
This is one of the most effective ways to grow your LinkedIn network.
Participate in the conversation, and people will start noticing you. Now if you do this consistently, you'll eventually boost your reputation as a thought leader.
LinkedIn search results heavily depend on your network of colleagues, business contacts and friends.
So does this mean it has its own search engine? Yes.
And just like any search engine, LinkedIn also considers a few ranking factors to get your profile on the first page.
This includes the number of connections that your profile has.
For example, if you're one of my colleagues and I searched for keywords related to your profession, I'll probably see your profile on top of the results.
Remember, LinkedIn is also a social media platform. The goal here is to connect to as many people as possible.
Although this is what you have to do, you still have to be careful about who you connect with. More connections may mean higher ranking and visibility on your LinkedIn profile, but the wrong connections are up to no good.
Prioritize getting as many 1st level connections as you can. 2nd and 3rd level connections can also boost your network. Avoid directly connecting to LinkedIn members who are out of your network. Make sure you check every profile who wants to connect and see what value they can offer to you.
Are you looking for an underrated LinkedIn SEO hack? Here it is.
Google indexes images just as it indexes web content. So for every image you upload to LinkedIn, you must also name it with a keyword or phrase that's discoverable online.
This is the role of alt texts. Add alternative texts (alt texts) to all the images you post on your LinkedIn profile or feed. This helps voice-over screen readers to know what the image is all about.
So for example, if you're name's John Doe, you can rename the image with your profession.
Now before you do this, I want you to think of a very important matter. Are you running a company or building your personal brand? These are two different things. So if your personal brand matters more, consider using your name as alt texts to your LinkedIn images.
In my case, when you search for "Allan Dib," I'd like to have most of the results to show my profile picture.
Let's get this straight. Hashtags aren't only for Twitter or Instagram.
LinkedIn might be a social media network for professionals, but it also uses hashtags.
So take advantage of it. Add hashtags when posting articles and other forms of content on LinkedIn. Users can find you when they follow a hashtag you use. This is a fantastic tool because it just means that others don't necessarily have to follow you so they can see your posts.
Are you looking for ways to optimize your job search? Here's another overlooked LinkedIn feature that you should check.
Use the endorsements section to boost your LinkedIn SEO game.
This validates all the skills you've posted in your LinkedIn profile. It's also a great place to add target keywords within the skills on your list.
So the key here is to get more endorsements for a few, handpicked skills instead of few endorsements for many skills.
Recruiters use LinkedIn to find candidates. Use endorsements to impress them. Having social proof gives you a higher chance to land a job.
For business owners and recruiters, the Open to Work LinkedIn Banner is a great way to quickly find new talent.
Instead of posting a job and waiting for candidates to apply, you can directly approach a potential employee to see if they'd be interested in new work opportunities.
If you're looking for a new job, this signals to your network that you're serious about making a move.
To add the Open to Work banner, watch this instructional video.
Demonstrate your technical skills and know-how by taking a LinkedIn Skills Assessment. There are a number of skills tests from various industries that you can choose from.
Once completed, the skill badge is then added to your LinkedIn profile page to help recruiters in their job search.
I’ve worked with a lot of influences and coaches during my career, and there’s one thing we all have in common…we invest in ourselves.
I’ve spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on 1:1 and group coaching, virtual courses, business books, and speaker events.
I do it because I know there are better ways of doing things, and I’ll only discover them if I’m continuously learning.
So you can use the LinkedIn Learning section to add new skills to your resume.
As a business owner, it's always handy to at least understand the inner workings of things even if you aren't handling it yourself.
Catherine Gladwyn - Taking women from employment to enjoyment and beyond. Let me show you how to become an in-demand Virtual Assistant - VA Mentor since 2018 and Multi-Award Winning Bestselling Author
Andy Barden - We write really cool stuff for your socials.💥Or we can train you to write even cooler stuff for yourself.💥Your complete social media strategy partner for training and managed ghostwriting services.💥
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So optimizing your LinkedIn profile is the first step to attracting more high-value leads. Before reaching out to your prospects, make sure that:
It all starts with providing your personal information. Take it a step further by optimizing your profile with a customized URL and sections for your accomplishments and referrals. This section is vital because it's other customers or clients vouching for your business so fill in your LinkedIn referrals section. We cover how to systemize referrals here.
Then move forward with implementing an effective strategy to connect with individuals you know personally and those you want to connect with.
So start with these LinkedIn profile tips and let me know how it goes.
The Ultimate Guide to Converting Leads to Sales
So you've got a bunch of leads. Great. Now, what do you do to get them to convert into customers? I'm going to show you...
A lot of businesspeople believe sales is about convincing a lead to become a customer. Nothing could be further from the truth.
I'll make it simple for you. I saw this quote by Peter Drucker: "Marketing aims to make selling superfluous."
That doesn't mean you should axe your sales process entirely. Rather, selling to leads should be easy and simple—not pushy, cajoling, convincing, and all of those things that you typically associate with sales.
So to help you increase your sales pipeline and lead conversion rate, I'm going to share a few truths your sales team can implement today. But let's start with a little myth-busting.
Say you make 100 cold calls daily.
It's possible to get 20 leads to commit to an appointment and convert 10 people to customers, right?
Yes, it works. But it's a hard slog. It's soul-crushing. Not to mention it's an inefficient and counterproductive sales strategy.
So sales is not a numbers game. It's a performance game. It's about how your sales team deals with people who want what you've got.
"No" is a tough pill to swallow, but it doesn't stop a lot of salespeople from overcoming objections. Die-hard salespeople tend to push qualified leads who aren't ready to purchase over the line.
So don’t skip steps in the sales process; it will position you as a pushy salesperson.
Instead, focus on nurturing a lead in your funnel. Keep the communication lines open, and when they’re ready to buy, convert them to a customer.
Everyone has seen the movie Glengarry Glen Ross where it's all about closing the sale and making the deal at any cost.
This is an old sales tactic. And it's a losing strategy. Being aggressive positions you as needy, and it reeks of desperation. Instead, use your marketing efforts to get leads into your sales pipeline.
Salespeople typically face an uphill battle to win customers and generate more sales. In my 20-year career as an entrepreneur, I've learned that conversations are more likely to lead to sales. That said, there is a right way to approach conversational sales. Start here.
Or try this low-key method to achieve these goals.
Have you ever attended a sales training? Sometimes, they talk about things like being enthusiastic and energetic when communicating with leads and customers. If this is your personality, there's nothing to worry about.
But if you're putting on a fake smile and trying to drum up an excited sales voice to convert a lead to a customer, you're only creating pressure for yourself.
Don't fall into this trap. Be authentic. People want to do business with real people, not fakes.
A great way to sell more starts with positioning.
You have to position yourself as an expert—a trusted advisor—who has your customer’s best interest at heart. You're their confidant, someone they can trust to help solve their problems.
The ultimate goal of sales is to get to the truth.
Let's admit it. You can't convert all of your leads into customers. It's a matter of compatibility. You have to figure out if you're a good fit for a prospect. And you do that by qualifying your leads.
Some prospects will tell you they either don't have the budget, are not interested, or are not ready to buy now. Your sales team needs to be open to hear these objections and accept them.
If your instinct is to push the sale and counter objections, you're only creating pressure. This drives leads away, which affects your lead conversion rate.
Aim to sell only the next step in your buyer's journey, not the final step.
This is a common mistake among salespeople. When they offer a sales deal, they skip to the final stage in the sales process. They focus on getting leads to sign on the dotted line as quickly as possible.
And again, this is a poor sales tactic. It makes your marketing campaigns redundant, and it defeats the purpose of building your sales funnel. So rather than shortcutting the sales process, sell only the next step.
Besides defining a professional salesperson's psychology, I have two key action strategies to help you convert leads into sales.
How you position your business is vital. Leads will take you at your own appraisal. Focus on positioning yourself as an expert and a trusted advisor. It gives potential customers the impression that you're the best person to consult with, analyze a problem, and offer a solution.
Resist the urge to discount. You're unintentionally driving away high-value leads. If your marketing is targeted, you'll attract interest from more qualified leads. You won't lose customers, and people will still buy from you.
So rather than discounting, consider:
Most leads have been burned before by dodgy salespeople. They were probably pressured to buy and regretted the decision afterward.
So most of your leads have learned to put their defenses up, and trust becomes a major barrier to sales.
To counter this roadblock, try to reverse the risk. Take the risk on yourself rather than putting it on the lead. This will help build trust and remove the friction from the sales process.
Here are three risk reversal tips to help your business convert leads to sales.
I'm not talking about generic ones like satisfaction guarantee, money-back guarantee, whatever. They barely work.
Now, if you say you can double their money back if your product doesn't work. That's powerful.
It builds trust and confidence with your prospect because there's nothing to lose. If they're not happy, you fulfill the guarantee, and they move on. And if they're happy, you naturally convert leads into sales.
Many businesses are moving towards the subscription model. I'm talking about Netflix, streaming services, and similar companies.
One-off purchases still work, but subscriptions have become super convenient for most customers.
For example, to get a prospect to experience your product or service, you can offer a free trial on your website. If they love it, this lead will sign up and become a customer. This is the power of creating a subscription-style service. You benefit from regular, monthly transactions. It never ends.
Give your leads the opportunity to test drive your product or service before they buy.
This works because reciprocity is a strong instinct. If somebody does something for you, it's normal to feel that you need to return the favor.
It gives the impression your company is willing to take risks to win their trust. So if the customer likes your offer, they won't hesitate to pay and do repeat business with you.
Lead conversion is more than getting thousands of visitors to your website or thousands of comments on your blog post. It's about capturing and nurturing the right leads and converting them into customers.
Get rid of old habits that barely work. Think about how you can use targeted marketing to drive qualified leads to a landing page on your website and get them to fill in a form and opt-in to your CRM. Re-engineer your sales process so your team focuses on leads at every stage in the buyer's journey.
Follow your sales process. Whatever marketing tactic or strategy you use, it must be aligned with your sales pipeline. Do one step at a time, and you'll get a high conversion rate.