Setting up a “Success Tracking Practice” by @tobyberesford

Many organisations need a success tracking practice, they just don’t realise it yet.

As any Team Sky cyclist will tell you – it’s great to be able to rely on the Team Sky staff team and the array of coaches on everything from telemetrics to nutrition.

Think about having your own team of performance coaches at work – wouldn’t that be fabulous?

Well some organisations are already well on their way – PwC, the United Nations and others – have set up success tracking programs, initially targeted at social media success. Employees can sign up to the program and they get personalised tracking scores combined with peer networking and coaching advice to help them succeed at social media.

The success tracking approach is one that you can introduce into your own organisation, or as a consultant, you can provide as a service to your clients. All it needs is a blend of coaching and attention to numerical feedback.

Learn more in this slide deck:

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Making Your Website Profitable Again

Perhaps you had a relatively popular website in the past, or maybe you’ve just lost some customers and, as a result, you’re not getting as much profit as you’d like from your business. Contrary to what many people have been preaching, a business website is not a sure way of improving your business’s exposure and driving sales. Sure, you might be able to provide some information and you might even have the patience to setup an eCommerce platform to allow customers to buy you products. However, that doesn’t mean your website is going to be popular the moment you publish it onto the internet.

Is your website draining money or making you money?

Unless you have a well-trained financial advisor or you’ve had practice managing your books, you probably don’t have a clue if your website is actually making you money or not. Many online businesses actually gain most of their profit from sales, advertising revenue and even affiliate marketing. However, if you’re a local business with a physical location, then chances are you’re probably not relying much on the internet at all.

In times like this, you have to consider if your website is actually draining time and money, or if it’s actually a profitable addition to your business. The best way to do this is to use analytics. For instance, by tracking the number of users that visit your website and then monitoring if they actually buy something or if they go on to look at the physical location of your store. This is what’s called conversion rate. The idea is that you compare the number of unique visitors on your website to the number of people that actually bought something from your store.

With the help of a third party such as Lightbox CRO services, you could potentially drive your online sales with a mix of marketing, website optimisation and social media growth. It’s a complicated process which is why many companies offer a turnkey solution for your website troubles, and it’s always recommended to consult a third party before tackling the challenge on your own and potentially making it worse.

Rekindling interest in your website

One of the best ways to improve your website’s relevancy is to get involved with communities. For instance, if your website is based on a specific topic, such as a blog about cats or a website that reviews movies for you to watch online at websites like gomovies, then get involved with those related communities.

For example, head over to a movie community and speak to people about the latest releases, subtly hint your blog and try to get recognised. If you’re working hard to expose your brand on social media, then you’ll have readers flocking to your website assuming you have a unique opinion about what you review.

If your website is a business one that sells specific products, then consider sending review products and samples to prominent bloggers, video content creators and even publications in order to get a review. The more you expose your business, the more profitable your website will become and the more likely you’ll get repeat customers.

Taking The Ricky Gervais Out Of Your Workplace

We’ve all been there before. We’ve all witnessed a scene in the workplace reminiscent of ‘The Office’, either due to gross incompetence, a human resource disaster involving inappropriate behaviour between colleagues or simply a lack of productivity widespread amongst all staff members. Of course, failures in the office can rapidly start to trickle down into the very core operations of a business and could have big consequences for the smooth running of your corporation.

It’s your job to keep things in order as the employer and shut down avenues which are leading to consistent and continuous problems within the business, time and time again. It’s your job to boost productivity. If you want to avoid feeling as if your office is part of a failing business in a Ricky Gervais sitcom, then here are some tips to help bring the office environment, mentality and the business as a whole back up to scratch.

Identify strong and weak employees.

Unfortunately, you may have to let some people go. When low levels of productivity spread across a team, it’s unlikely that all those people you hired just so happened to simultaneously become incompetent. Some have claimed that there is proof for toxic employees being “contagious” to other members of staff in a company. One bad attitude can affect everyone else’s attitude, and the domino effect really takes hold of a business quickly after that. You need to go to the source, find any workers who have forgotten the meaning of professional conduct and let go of anyone who is ultimately bringing the whole team down. You might be surprised to find that the entire mood of the office lifts after you do.

Create a fun environment.

An office cannot function well without well-functioning people, which is why you should be striving to create a workplace in which it is fun for your employees to work. This doesn’t just have to include a fish tank in the corner, beanbags for chilling out or even an ice cream machine in the break room, though all these things would likely boost employee morale. Still, simply allowing your workers freedom with the dress code, freedom to go out for a bit at lunch or simply to get creative with their work station means the now-happy workforce will liven up the office environment for you. It’s people who create a pleasant environment more so than even the most contemporary design style.

Get out of the rut.

An employer and the average employee are both bound to become unmotivated and uninspired when the day to day operations of a company become routine. Business is about constantly striving towards growth and new goals, but neither is possible if you forget to push your company forward. Productivity levels are bound to drop and people are bound to let standards slip as soon as they have nothing left to which they can aim. You need to break the routine and challenge your employees, as this is what people need in order to kick their brain into action and force themselves to work hard. If you tell them to do something they haven’t done before, your workers will be out of their comfort zone and desperate to work towards finding some level of balance again, which will get them pumped and ready to go.

Remove hazards.

Perhaps one of the biggest pieces of advice is that you need to ensure your office is efficient on a practical basis. Companies such as Ellis Whittam could provide help with creating a safe, healthy workplace. Hazards can lead to lawsuits when an injured employee hires a workers compensation lawyer or a personal injury compensation lawyer to seek compensation, but, even if legal action is not taken, a failure to meet the basic safety requirements that a person would expect when working in any sort of workplace is going to tarnish the overall reputation of professionalism that your business is trying to project. Having some sort of safety net in place to prevent such incidents and respond quickly if something bad should ever happen means that your firm is choosing to portray the image of an organised, safe and caring company. You should also consider the fire protection design of your workplace, make sure to contact professional fire protection engineers for this. You can check here to learn more about fire protection and the importance of fire barriers.

Redesign the office.

The aesthetic of a working environment affects everything involved with the way the people within that environment operate. If you want to look around the office and see more than half-asleep, zombie-like employees then you need to be developing surroundings which foster a healthier and more alert mindset in the people you employ, we suggest to Click here – Eco umbrella and add this great element to your office.

Using warm, natural lighting rather than blinding, artificial lights means fewer headaches and better concentration, for example.

Even the design of the chairs can have a practical benefit, as ergonomic chairs look nicer and are far more comfortable for employees. Ergonomic design also fosters healthier joints, which means fewer aches and pains and higher productivity levels. 

Communicate well with employees.

A company is nothing without leadership, and a failure to connect with your workers whether that involves understanding their issues or simply directing them in terms of what they should be doing within their projects is a failure to lead the company properly. You need to be valuing the hard work of your staff, as this will not only let them know that they’re doing something important, but it’ll motivate other members of staff to try harder in order to get the recognition they deserve too. Offering rewards such as bonuses or perhaps even a promotion to those who work exceptionally well is a great incentive for people to reach higher.

Bring the team together.

The best workforce is one which is valued individually and as a collective. Perhaps some members of staff flourish through solo work, but the company needs to be acting as one unified entity. You should be encouraging cooperation before competition, as it is other businesses within the industry which are your competition. You need to be ensuring that members of your team value and respect one another, even if they sometimes lock themselves away and work alone. The key is that everybody moves in the same direction, and therefore the business moves in the same direction. Methods like implementing office uniforms can actually form a team spirit and give them a sense of pride for the company that they belong to. 

Social Media: The Perfect Testing Ground For New Products?

social media

If you have a new product idea – software or physical – then you should consider using social media as a testing ground. It’s a great way to gauge reaction, and it can help you build an enormous buzz to build up to launch day. In this guide, I’m going to take you through several ways you can use social media to test the water on your new product’s popularity. Read on to find out more.

The basics

First of all, make sure you have a product to talk about. In an ideal world, you will have everything ready to send out or sell straight away. But, prototypes from a plastic injection moulding company or beta software can often be a great pull, too. You also need to concentrate on priming your audience for some big news. People love to be ahead of the game and will take a lot more interest in your product if they believe they are getting insider knowledge or exclusive info.

Teaser shots

Next, use the good old art of photography to share teaser shots with your followers. If you are creating a physical product, it is worth hiring a professional photographer to make your images as striking as possible. They will be able to create moody lighting, and give your photos a lot more impact. For software on online products, a screenshot can work in your favour. Again, just give a little glimpse of what people can expect, without revealing too much. The idea is to build excitement and to keep people coming back for more and sharing your news on their feeds.

Take notes

Make sure you are taking notes of any reactions that your audience is giving you. You might find some interesting ideas that you can apply to your product, or it could even open up a market that you hadn’t considered before.

 

Offer opportunity

Once you have created a little buzz about your product, consider offering your audience the chance to get their hands on it. You can do this via a competition, or a draw where you put the name of everyone that shares your page with others into a hat. It’s a great way to build up even more of an audience and get more eyes on your product.

 

Send out the first batch

Now you have a bunch of people who want to use your product, take down their details and send it to them. As part of the T&Cs, you can ask them to share their thoughts with you on your social media page, or their personal blogs. Again, it’s a great chance for you to spread the word even further. And, given the product is free for the recipient, they are likely to be more positive with their opinions.

 

Use video

You can also create a video about your product – they are popular, and give people a more in-depth look at what you are trying to do. If your video – and product – is good enough, you can almost guarantee it will spread like wildfire.

As you can see, social media is a fantastic tool for testing out the marketability of a new product. Make sure you are using some of these tips – and let me know the results!

Taking Your Company to Another Level

How to do improve your business and make it stand out these days? Well, the best thing to do is try to elevate it to another level. And the only way to do this is to make sure you understand what the business entails, and how to run it perfectly. Take a look at these ideas for how you can take your company to another level. Try to make sure you action these as soon as you possibly can.

Learn the Ropes

We could all stand to learn a bit more about the process of running a business. And that’s why it’s sometimes a good idea to go back and learn the ropes. It’s not that we forget the basics; it’s more that we forget their value. The simple stuff is often overlooked in favour of focusing on the more complicated parts of running a company. But, sometimes the basics are just as important, if not more so. So make sure you take the time to learn or relearn what is required to run a company.

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Go Digital

If you haven’t already made your business digital then God knows what you’ve been doing! The digital landscape is the future of not just business, but the world! So, you have to get your business up and running on a digital platform as much as possible. Make sure you have plenty of computers in your offices. Get social media training and do as much digital marketing as you can. In fact, try to make your business into a fully digital entity as much as possible. You will certainly reap the benefits of doing this.

Working From Home

As the world changes and becomes more digital you need to make your business more flexible. You need to be able to run it at any time of day or night no matter where you are. And the best way to achieve this is to make sure you work from home. That’s not to say that you have to start a home business. You can still have offices, but you should allow working from home. This can turn you into a 24/7 business if necessary, and gives you more time to connect with your clients and customers.

Image By Pixabay

Look After Staff and Clients

The best businesses out there are the ones who look after their own. That means you’ve got to look after your clients, but also, your staff as well. Turn yourself into a company that people are excited to be associated with. Develop a reputation as a great organisation to work for and do business with. The corporate world is so full of companies that are just concerned with chasing money. So think about how much positive attention you can draw by being thoughtful and considerate. People like to be well treated by companies, and they will reward you with loyalty.

All of these approaches will help you to take your company to another level. You want to separate yourself from other businesses and stand out. And all of these tips will help you to make improvements to your brand as much as possible. You always need to look for ways you can elevate and improve the brand in all that you do.

 

How Content Transforms Salespeople [Infographic]

Forget the sleazy salesperson stereotype.

Today’s most successful salespeople act as thought leaders and industry experts, connecting prospects with content. They challenge buyers to be on the cutting-edge of their industries.

But unfortunately, many people still harbor a negative perception of sales reps. So what’s a salesperson to do? Load up on content.

This infographic explains how content helps sales teams build relationships that lead to revenue.

Use content to create revenue

Are You Ready For Social Selling?

What is social selling:
Social Selling is the process of finding and connecting potential leads and prospects via social media to increase sales.

The Aberdeen Group define social selling as the utilisation into one of three techniques. These three techniques include Social Collaboration, External Listening and External Participation.

There are many studies available that demonstrate why you need to evolve your traditional methods to involve social media, none more important than this. On average – 60% of the purchasing decision has already been made, prior to a sales person being invited to the discussion.

Someone is educating and providing insight to your clients – is it you or your competition?

You want more? Ok…
Seventy Two percent of sales people who use social media outperform those sellers who are not using social media
Thirty Six percent of companies who have a social selling team are more likely to achieve quota.

To get started on your Social Selling journey – here is a great Infographic to start you off for LinkedIn

Are You Ready For Social Selling

So, are you ready for Social Selling. Why not try these additional resources : 10 Steps for a Rocking Profile

SPEAK UP! I CAN’T HEAR YOU: Insights from a Social Seller by Louis Richardson

I have had the privilege of speaking along side Louis and I have been reading his blog posts for some time now, “Creativity Crisis“. Social media is an untapped power to many sales people, so his latest SlideShare presentation was one I had to share here.

Follow Louis on Twitter.

SPEAK UP! I CAN’T HEAR YOU: Insights from a Social Seller from Louis Richardson

 

How to master the art of LinkedIn rejections by Rob Wilmot

Rob Wilmot 

I often get asked about the etiquette of turning people down on LinkedIn; whether it’s a request for a connection, recommendation or introduction, it’s really important for your reputation that you deal with these situations correctly. In this article I share with you my own personal experience and the questions I’ve been asked along the way.

How to decide if you should accept an invitation to connect or not

Ask yourself:

  1. Do I know them well enough?
  2. Can I trust them? By accepting their invitation to connect you’ll normally be granting them access to view your immediate connections.
  3. Does the addition of this connection strengthen my network?
  4. Will this person know people that I would benefit from an introduction to?

If you’re answering yes to most of the above, then accept. If you have any no’s creeping in then perhaps you shouldn’t.                              

Dealing with the invites that you don’t want to accept

It’s OK to say no and it is actually a lot more polite and gracious than simply ignoring an invite. You should also remember that though it might not be the right time to connect now, things may change in the future. The best rejection I ever got was from someone I invited to connect after we had hooked up on Twitter. It went something like this…

“Hi Rob

I usually only accept invitations to connect from people I have already done business with or by introductions and recommendations from others in my network. However I look forward to reading your Tweets and getting to know you better that way.

Kindest regards

Bill”

I was pleased because Bill took the time to send a response and showed respect for our current relationship on Twitter, which continued to develop to the point where I eventually got an invitation to connect from him.

The point here is that if he had ignored my invitation to connect, it’s highly likely that I would have felt rejected and not continued our conversations on Twitter, and that would have been a big missed opportunity. It’s simple human psychology – we all like to feel valued and none of us like to be ignored.

How to decide if you should give a recommendation or not

People will request recommendations from you. The test here is: would you give them a reference offline for a job or for a tender?

Turning down a request for a recommendation

Don’t be afraid to turn down a request for recommendation, but do it kindly and with a positive attitude. My friend and top blogger Chris Brogan suggested that I use this approach…

“Hi _____

I’m honored you asked for a recommendation. Thanks for thinking of me. Because I haven’t worked enough with you professionally, I fear my recommendation wouldn’t be useful.

Rob”

Honesty really is the best policy, and when I’ve done this I’ve actually had messages back thanking me for taking the time to write. Being up-front like this creates a mutual respect, and strengthens relationships.

How to deal with requests to make an introduction

People will want to get to reach out to a connection of yours by using the LinkedIn introduction tool.  I try to help with introductions as often as possible as it creates trust and gratitude within my connections. But often you might not feel it’s appropriate to make an introduction. The test for this is simple:

Do you know the person asking for the introduction well enough to introduce them to your other connections? Can you vouch for them?

Your first instinct is usually the right one when deciding this.

Declining a request for an introduction

If you don’t feel comfortable making an introduction, for whatever reason, then don’t. Hit the decline button, but always decline politely. For example:

unfortunately, on this occasion, I don’t feel that I’m best placed to help with an introduction…”

Declining an introduction

You’ll no doubt at some point receive an introduction via someone in your immediate connections. The decision to accept is often clean cut, e.g. if someone is offering you a paid engagement or making/offering you a service that you definitely need. But sometimes you will receive an introduction regarding something that is just not a right fit for you.

If you’ve received an introduction but don’t want what they’re selling or are unable to help, don’t just ignore the introduction. Hit the decline button and write a polite note. For example:

“I’m sorry, but on this occasion, I don’t feel that I’m best placed to help you…”

Declining to make or accept introductions

It’s a respect thing; being courteous is just good manners. If someone asks you to make an introduction and there is a practical reason to decline, do so in a timely manner. If you don’t hit the decline button, you’re locking up one of the introductions from the quota of the person who’s asked for the introduction. Anyone with the free LinkedIn account can only make five introductions per year and so they are a valuable commodity, especially as outstanding introduction requests don’t expire for six months.

It’s over to you…

There is no rule book for managing your LinkedIn connections. As with networking face-to-face, try and treat people as you would wish to be treated yourself; be courteous and polite and people will value you all the more for it.

Add to the conversation – drop a comment below and say hi

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