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Articles Tagged with: revenue

April 26, 2019

Part 2: Connections, Collaboration and Collectives – how relationships build business and revenue

By Charmaine Hammond, MA, BA, CSP

The previous blog spoke to the power of pre-written introductions that showcase your expertise so you can make it easy for people to introduce and connect you to potential clients and prospects. Part 2 will focus on two other strategies to build business and revenue.

2) Update your LinkedIn Profile. Your profile on LinkedIn should be updated regularly. Add new experiences, post and write articles on LinkedIn regularly, engage in discussion groups and on other people’s posts, and, ensure that your profile has all necessary information about you and your expertise. Make it easy for people to find you by using keywords, and, explaining your expertise in different sections of the LinkedIn Profile. Ask people you have worked for to provide you with LinkedIn recommendations, in fact, this should be part of your business system requesting recommendations when you have completed working for the client.

3) Share examples highlighting your expertise in social media, your blogs, in your presentations and webinars, articles and on media. People remember stories, and stories connect people. Examples are a great way to help people understand what you do and who you serve.

These three strategies can help you create systems for ease in your business and increase your business opportunities through sharing what you know with who you know.

April 22, 2019

Connections, Collaboration and Collectives – how relationships build business and revenue

By Charmaine Hammond, MA, BA, CSP

What you know is just as important as who you know.

You have heard the old adage “it’s not what you know it’s who you know” and while it has some truth to it, I have also learned after 21 years in business, “what you know” matters. People hire experts – professionals who are skilled and have a specific set of expertise. The business may come your way or find you because of who you know (e.g. through referrals, good gossip and introductions) however, it is your skills and expertise that make it easier for people to say “yes”.

Do your connections and champions have a solid understanding of what you do, who you serve and your credentials, skills or expertise? When they do, it makes the referrals and introductions they make for you all the more powerful (and more helpful to the person receiving the introduction to you).

Here are a few ways to build the “who and what you know” strategy into your business.

1) Create several versions of a pre-written introduction you can provide to people when they are referring or connecting you to potential clients, media, etc.. The person can personalize the introduction they send for you but you want to ensure your introduction highlights the expertise. Make it easy for people to be a champion and connector for you.

Here’s an example I wrote to show the difference. Imagine I am sending this introduction to a colleague I know that I think would be a perfect fit for one of Pamela’s events or to be a client for Pamela.

Hi xxxxx

Please meet the incredible Pamela Chatry. She hosts exquisite events and works with Entrepreneurs to grow and scale their business.

That sounds okay, it “bigs” Pamela up a bit, but doesn’t really give the person who will be reading the introduction email (and has never met Pamela) get a sense of her expertise and why I am connecting them.

Or how about this one:

Dear xxxx;

Please meet the incredible Pamela Chatry, respected business strategist and advisor, and trusted colleague of mine. Not only does Pamela host exquisite events to connect Entrepreneurs and businesses but her events provide the attendees with essential information to grow and scale their businesses. Pamela has also successfully coached many entrepreneurs/business owners through her proven step by step business advisory process, masterminds, events and round tables. I am connecting you both as you mentioned you were looking for support to take your business to the next level, and from what I know (and continue hearing through Pamela’s client testimonials), I think you and Pamela having a call together might be a great way to start.

Happy Connecting,

Charmaine

Watch for Part 2 of this blog to learn the other 2 steps to increasing your business through Connections, Collaboration and Collectives.

February 14, 2018

Writing a Book Helped Build the Success of My Business – An Author Success Story with Diane Rolston

You’ve probably heard that writing a book can help your business, but that can raise so many questions. How exactly does a book grow my business? Where would I fit in the time to write one? What is my best option for publishing?

In this blog series, we interview authors who have successfully written, published, and leveraged one (or more) books to strategically build their businesses. Many of these authors will be featured at our upcoming Book Publishing Boot Camp on March 6th, where you can find out exactly what it takes to plan, write, publish and market a nonfiction book that can boost your business, showcase your expertise, and build your personal or professional brand.

We begin with Diane Rolston, author of Dynamic You™: The secret code to being confident, wealthy & successful.

What is your book called? Do you have more than one?

The 1^st book I wrote came out in 2017. It’s based on my program called Dynamic You™. Like the program its purpose is to help women unleash their Dynamic Woman™ by learning and applying the 9 Pillars of successful, confident, and wealthy women.

Dynamic You Book by Diane Rolston

Then this year in 2018 I created the Dynamic Year™ Action Guide because it helps you create a Dynamic Year™ by focusing your mind on success & giving you more time & energy for your life & goals!

I’ll be launching a few books in the next 18 months:

The 1^st being my philosophy of the importance of ditching titles which is blended with a real behind the scenes story telling style of my personal journey.
The 2^nd will be curated stories of Dynamic Women™ who have unleashed their Dynamic You™ because I’m inspired by seeing others do great things and get over adversity.
Then I’m looking at a 3 book series that shares secrets of what I’ve learnt in leading, training and coaching thousands of women and how to apply them.

Why did you decide to write a book?

With Dynamic You™ I wanted the impactful work I do in the program to reach more people and be easily accessible. A $20 book does that and can be given as gifts. Also, with my background in training and education I wanted my clients to be able to read the content printed along with watching the videos I provide them in the program so it covers all learning styles.

The Dynamic Year™ Action Guide was created to support the work my clients do in the Dynamic Year™ Program. The program is a once a year occurrence and so not only were they having a hard time remembering what they had accomplished, the learning was also slipping through their fingers rather than capitalizing on it everyday. By having the Action Guide you will be on top of your achievements so your confidence will be boosted, you’ll apply what you’ve learnt so you’ll find it easier to have more success and feel motivated everyday.

You are a busy entrepreneur! How did you fit in the time for writing a book?

With Dynamic You™ I didn’t have time nor the patience and energy to sit behind a computer and type it out. I looked at my core competencies: training, leading, coaching and got into the magic of those activities and then I used the audio from the video trainings and the group coaching sessions when I taught my program. I had them transcribed into 170 pages and then added and edited to make the book what it is today.

Also, there was a sense of urgency to get the book done because as an International Speaker I was booked for Keynote in Washington and the organizers wanted to buy 350 copies of my book for their Women in Business Conference attendees and I didn’t want to miss out on that awesome opportunity.

What was your business model before the book? Has the book changed this? If so, how?

The model has always been speaking, coaching, and running Dynamic Women™ in Action and now I just added in the books to each of those areas. I didn’t write a book to be an author. I wrote these books to support my clients and get my messages out there. They are tools for growth and almost everyone can buy a $20-30 book.

In my business books are now another revenue stream. They also help people get to know me through a smaller investment of time and money, so they then can decide to work with me in one of my programs or privately. I also use then for back of room sales when I’m leading events with DWA, speaking on someone’s stage or running a coaching program. They also make great gifts for friends and family along with appreciation presents for companies to give their employees and clients.

How has the book leveraged you and/or your business to greater success and increased its reputation? If so, how?

Having a book adds another level to your expertise because if you know enough that you can write a book about it you must be an expert on that topic. I am an expert on being a Dynamic Woman™ and living a Dynamic life so it makes sense that my book is about being Dynamic and it fits with my branding.

I believe everyone is capable of writing a book, but not everyone has done it so it puts you in a class of your own. As I said earlier, books are another revenue stream, but not only that they are also another marketing stream, social impact stream, tool for my customers, PR magnet and many other benefits. They’re also an important philanthropic part of my business because it’s how I give back. I created the “More Than One Campaign” where women in shelters and transition houses receive my books. They can feel the love of those who donate the books and receive support and coaching from me in the words they read.

What advice would you give to a business owner or professional who is sitting on the fence about writing a book?

JUST DO IT! Here are three secrets to get you there:

Change your mindset! Writing a book is not as hard of a process as you think. What I’ve found is that what is unknown is scary and putting yourself out there can cut into your confidence, but when you are led by someone who has done it and you break it down into manageable parts you can get it done.
Get creative! Don’t think you have to sit behind a computer and write it. There are other options; such as, dictating a book, having a ghostwriter, compiling articles and blogs you have already written – it’s not that hard.
Get help! Hire people who have done it and also who know how to pull out of you a vision for what it is and hold you accountable to the process. Recently my client who wanted to write a book for years just handed her manuscript to her publisher. After she did she said to me, “Diane thank you for helping me do in a few months what I wasn’t able to do for years! The clarity, confidence and accountability you gave me really made the difference.”

BONUS TIP: Stand in what you know and understand you have a job to do in sharing your knowledge, information, story and gifts.

I’d love to know or help you figure out, “What’s the message the world needs to hear from you?”

March 15, 2016

The Nice Business does Finish First

A Common Courtesy Plan for Increased Business Revenue

By Pamela Chatry

I’m fed up! I am tired of rude people, rude drivers and general rudeness in our world. Whatever happened to common courtesy and manners?

Now, let’s make this societal ‘rudeness’ issue a business planning issue. Do you, the business owner, know how much money is being left on the table and customers lost, because you, the business owner or your employee is perceived as rude or impolite? Is common courtesy a lost art form in your business? Do you know if your inquiries and customers are receiving enough thank-you’s or you’re welcome’s? Are calls being returned in a timely manner? Is there enough public or private acknowledgement for work produced? Are people being ignored?

Here’s a story to demonstrate the lack of common courtesy in business. Not long ago, I reached out to fifteen business owners to continue carrying on discussions that we had initiated together, to arrange for further contact, or to refer them onto services that they had indicated they needed. Out of the fifteen, only two acknowledged me and responded in a timely manner! Frustrated? You bet. Each of those communications had taken time and ‘big girl’ wages to produce. Remember, I wasn’t selling them anything and, in all likelihood, this contact could also have brought them direct financial results. However, it was firstly about plain old-fashioned person-to-person relationship building and the creation of business champions.

Do you think I will now refer those who didn’t respond? Never! I consider them rude and unworthy of my recommendation.

We keep hearing that people are too busy, that we need to personalise communication the way people demand, with choices such as texting versus phone or email. However, in my opinion, the biggest issue is what I refer to as, “Selective Prioritisation”. “Selective Prioritisation” is defined as giving first response to those who scream the loudest or can give us instant gratification. We are all guilty of it. If we see an email that asks for a quote on a product, we choose to respond to it immediately because we don’t want to leave money on the table. However, when an email arrives, and that person wants to set up a call to discuss possible business opportunities, chances are we never get back to them. The call has been moved down the list of priorities, as there is no immediate benefit or gratification.

So, do you want your business to stand out and increase revenue? Have you ever heard of a Customer Service Plan? How about developing a ‘Common Courtesy’ Plan?

Here’s five strategies to help you design one:

Commit to saying ‘thank you’ to everything. It doesn’t need to be done in person. It can be a card, a call, an email, a text. Just express gratitude.
Acknowledge every email, every call, every text and do it in a timely manner. Remember you don’t have to take action upon the request. You only have to recognise the person’s effort and not ignore them. If you have time to post on Facebook, you have time to respond to an email.
Create a gratitude campaign and attach time frames on it. If they purchase from you or refer you to someone, what is the first gratitude step? 2nd Step? 3rd Step? What is the gift? Who is responsible for the actions?
Design company ‘Gratitude’ scripts. Don’t assume that every employee knows how to say thank you.
Develop a company policy that eliminates ‘Selective Prioritising’. Teach your people to recognise that every inquiry, every human contact, has the possibility of being a revenue generation opportunity. Perhaps not right away, but at some time. Patience and appreciation will pay off.

Building a successful business is all about building referral champions. If people are treated with courtesy, appreciation and gratitude, they will remember. It is what will help your business to stand out in a positive light in a very rude world.