We Don't Cost a Dime...

There are many business items that are expenses which require a full financial review as well as budget analysis but we don't happen to be one of them.

We don't cost our clients a dime, in fact we typically make them at least 3 times what they pay us.

Think of us like a sports agent - we're here to make you money. That's our full time job!

Since I spend quite a bit of my time meeting with prospective clients and then following up to get them to move forward with a strategy, it always seems to boggle my mind when a deal is a touch slow or it's being treated as an expense.

When we have an opportunity in our agency to invest money into something that will make us more money, I personally clear the approval lines and get the finance people to cut the check because income lines need to be lightening fast and disbursement lines for expenses and budget related items need to be relatively slow and thorough.

My point here is this, review every financial item within your company and separate them in two columns:

1. Expenses that cost money but are required and related.
2. Expenses that drive revenue.

Once this is done you can prioritize and make the 2nd column items urgent. Buying a few desks can wait - put the urgency on income related spending!

The Art of the Follow Up....

These days people are busy.... Busier than ever. This isn't to say more productive than ever, just busier. They are on iphones, facebook, downloading apps, juggling work tasks and projects, trying to keep their heads above the ocean of emails, handling personal problems, dealing with company problems and the list goes on.

Call it dispersed or distracted or even unorganized but whatever the case, your communication to them is not impinging or making an impact or getting a response. Well, before you get too discouraged realize that the above listed items are diverting your message and causing chaos which is part of the problem to why you are not getting a response.

Too often I see salespeople burn deals they are working on simply because they have "followed up" and not gotten a response therefore the deal is cold or dead. While this seems rather logical... It is not. You must keep clearly in mind the facts above that people are busy and easily distracted.

Your job is to be organized for yourself and your prospect to follow up diligently over and over to stay on the prospects radar and keep interesting the prospect until you have gotten a response and can move the deal forward.

Following up could be by phone, email, Linkedin messages or connection requests, Skype, facebook, Twitter or anything else. Just focus on getting yourself in front of the prospect and on their radar however appropriate in order to keep reminding them until they are ready to commit time and energy to whatever it is that you want to discuss or propose.

I apply the above and consistently get comments of appreciation for my diligent follow up because without it.... They would have forgot. This isn't to toot my own horn but rather to point out that while it may sometimes seem like the prospect is not interested... The fact is, they are but they are simply too busy or distracted to respond. So always be diligent and follow up until your prospect is ready to discuss, this will dramatically improve your sales.

All things to all people...

The thought of being all things to all people consistently mystifies me. I see agencies who are clearly traditional PR houses and have extensive expertise in traditional PR and media, recently add things like social media, new media, seo etc etc. I also hear these same agencies tell their prospective clients things like "oh, ya... we handle that too" or "yes, we can take care of the social". My first question is .... What is "the social" - please define.

So far I have only seen people and companies that are very good at a niche do extremely well and have yet to see watered down companies do well at everything. Michael Jordan is an incredible basketball player.... But baseball.... Soccer.... ?

Companies that focus on what they are good at and know in and out do very well and are truly the companies to deal with for a specific need. If I have a need or a want regarding men's suiting, it's a certainty that I will get better knowledge, customer service and recommendations from a niche fine mens suit store rather than going to macy's. While macy's is a good store and has a wide variety, you won't find the very best in mens suits or in expertise regarding mens suits.

If you need a litigation attorney.... go get a litigation attorney and don't try to get a general law firm that possibly can handle your litigation needs and since you are hiring them anyway... maybe they can also do your legal papers and corporate filings and on and on. This strategy will lead to mediocre results and if that is what you are searching for... well you can find that by the hoards. However if you want the very best solution to handle your exact needs or problem, my suggestion is to go with the niche specialized people or companies. It's a smart move all around.

You wouldn't put all of your HR work and recruitment work on your treasury or admin people because they are somehow related would you?

I would much rather be surrounded by incredible niche people and companies that I work with that do incredible work and get the desired outcome I am going after because they know their stuff rather than trying to find the one company that is trying to be everything to everyone jamming every service under one roof trying to make it all fit rather than truly focusing on what they are good at.

Adding a face to personal relations...

While having breakfast at Paradise Bakery today I noticed a person in business attire come in and look around the entire room clearly trying to locate the person he was supposed to be meeting with. He looked over at me as if I might be the person he needed to meet with and then walked over to another person in the restaurant and said "Hi" and asked if he was Tony and the person replied no. Looking puzzled and slightly awkward, he then decided to sit down and wait.

This sort of thing happens everyday. Meetings take place in local restaurants every single day with people who have never met and don't know anything about one another including the way they look.

This made me immediately realize the value and importance of the Social Media Press Kit. I personally feel every single business person should have one. The above scenario would not have occurred because they both would know what one another looked like and also a little about each person which would give the relationship a head start and allow them to get into business without the awkwardness upfront.

The Social Media Press Kit is a relationship tool that is meant for this very type of circumstance. It includes contact information, social media profiles so one can learn about you, video introductions or a promo video about the company, a bio with vital information, real time twitter updates and photos for the person the SMPK belongs to which helps add a face to the name.

Here are two links that explain it:

http://whywebpr.com/smpk

http://whywebpr.com

It's such a simple tool to have and use that builds relationships and improves overall communication which ultimately is the essence of business. Oh, and if you would like to start a relationship with me, please visit my Social Media Press Kit here - http://whywebpr.com/robertcornish