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Giving away high value, free content is at the core of a successful prospect attraction strategy and hosting introductory seminars as a component will send the performance of your strategy into the stratosphere.  Consider an intro seminar to be a bite sized chunk of your full service offering that you use to build awareness, grow your mailing list, in short to engage a group of prospects in a longer term communication to establish yourself as the go-to resource.

Anatomy of an intro seminar

If you offer accounting services your intro seminar might consist of an hour long discussion of proven ways to survive an audit, a problem people with a sizable enough net worth (your target) are more likely to face and information they would find truly valuable. Once you settle on a good intro topic, its time to promote and host your seminar.

The nuts and bolts…

There are a number of ways to do this but the methods I recommend are using either a teleconference service (Free Conference Pro or Free Conference) or a web conference service like DimDim or Goto Meeting. With these services you can host free or low cost meetings from 20 to literally hundreds of seats. Even with a topic and virtual location nailed you still need an audience to make this work, right?

This is where I say “told ya so” to the people who looked at me cross eyed when I told them a year ago to do everything possible to build a strong mailing list and develop relationships with market influencers through social media.  The relationship building process is not simple but investment in building your web networks pays dividends when you need support promoting your event.

About ten days out start sending free seminar announcements to your mailing list.  At the same time enlist your influential partners on Twitter, Facebook and Linkedin to announce your event to their respective followings. If you are new to online networking and don’t yet have a list, consider a joint venture arrangement with someone who has a good sized list.  In return for tapping your JV partner’s list and promotional support you could offer a % of any deal closed or some other value proposition. Trust me this is not the time to think cheap. A good JV partner with a connection to a strong following is worth their weight in gold. Any money you fork over will be a lot less expensive an more effective than a full page ad in any major media publication.

Bonus prize!

All of the free seminar tools I mentioned offer call recording capability that will almost instantly render an mp3 file of your seminar.  Look at this mp3 file as a gold nugget offering you a free information product that you can use as an incentive to grow your mailing list, a credibility building giveaway for new prospects or a tool for your referral alliance partners to give to their clients and promote your business in the process.

The intro seminar is a little-known, yet incredible tool that is Tylenol for your “I need more customers” pain.  Okay, lets get it started!

Chances are if you see me tapping away at my BlackBerry I am not sending some goofy text message to a friend. I am probably composing the next blog post, brainstorming teleseminar ideas or preparing a testimonial for my website.  It is this last item, testimonials that I want to explore today. 

By using your phone to compile client testimonials you will create more social validation for your business and justify to your significant other your purchase of that cool, new gizmo. This process is so insanely simple that once you understand it your website will become filled with the social proof needed to influence prospects to become profitable customers and clients.

Voodoo Soup: What you will need

1. Smarphone: iPhone, Blackberry, Droid or any phone with a camera and audio recording capability
2. Audio record:  Knowledge of your phone’s recording process
3. Photo:  Break out the instruction manual and memorize the procedure for taking and naming photo files

Get ‘er done!

Any time you find yourself in front of someone you have wowed (a client, business associate, network group member, you get the point) ask that person if you can take a few minutes of their time to capture their experience with you. Once they say yes (charisma assumed here) whip out your phone and snap a photo. One captured, rename the photo (your client’s name/testimonial) for easy retrieval later.

In this next step turn on your phone’s voice recorder and begin the interview.  Ask your evangelist questions like:

1. How did (insert your name) help you?
2. What does (insert your name) do that is not easily imitated?
3. What would you like others to know about (insert your name)?

Be sure to put the phone close to your mouth when asking questions and close to your fan’s mouth when he or she answers. This will isolate your talent’s voice against distracting background noise.

As social creatures we are biologically wired to seek the opinions of others to help us shortcut the decision making process. Give your website visitor’s the opinions they seek and simplify the social proof gathering process by using your phone to collect enthusiastic raves about you and your business.

What do you think about your phone now?

In order for your website to deliver a regular stream of new business it needs a regular rotation of fresh content and updates. In addition to a dependable content management system that enables non-technical users to manage updates you will need bodies, human beings to keep the store shelves straight.

Your dream team

The number of people you assign to website maintenance duties will vary depending on update frequency, the number and variety of required changes.  Simpler business models can get away with a single site manager but more complex sites will require a larger team with more diverse skills. No matter your organization’s size below are some categories of content that will require your team’s attention:

1. General updates: Home page changes, product promotions, etc will require regular updates to keep repeat visitors engaged.
2. Newsletter management:  A veritable digital magazine, your newsletter will require an editor to decide what makes it into each addition, someone to write stories, add images and links.
3. Blog updates:  Blogging once a month or even once per week won’t cut it if you want to build a loyal following.  Think production of three to five new posts per week, editing, offsite promotion for each post and now we are at the front door of a successful strategy.
4. Email response:  That’s right if visitors can inquire, they will and you had better be prepared to respond.
5. Online store updates:  Someone has to manage store items, track orders, manage fulfillment, provide customer service, etc.
6. Tracking/reporting: To determine if your web strategy is working you have to know how it affects traffic numbers and conversion rates (the % of visitors taking a desired action).

What to look for…

I know this is a lot more than you expected but you would be hard pressed to find a successful business devoid of hard work.  No matter how you cobble together your team (outsourced or internal manpower) the team needs to bring these skills to the dance:

1. Graphic design skills:  Images are a huge part of your message; so the ability to edit, crop and adjust artwork is important.
2. Copywriting skills:  Perhaps the most overlooked but most important skill is the ability to write in a persuasive way.  Hey, the goal here is not pretty pictures but sales!
3. Organizational skills:  All of this effort takes coordination and working towards hard timelines.

If your website is going to inspire buyer trust, generate repeat visits and drive new business having a capable maintenance team in place is an indispensable piece of the model.

Bonus prize inside

Bringing on the right virtual assistant, one skilled in the kung-fu of web maintenance can be a boon for small shops with limited resources.  Listen to our seminar to get the skinny on working with virtual assistants to maintain your website and download the seminar audio file and next action worksheet while you’re at it.

Are you pulling out all the stops to convince website visitors to become buyers vs. browsers but getting no traction? To get people to buy at your site requires more than flash and pop; in fact flash usually does little more than get in the way of persuading buyers. Often the action you should be aiming for is not a purchase but something else.

What, I don’t want people to buy?

Settle down, of course we want site visitors to buy but with the exception of the most motivated prospects the act of purchasing is a longer-term decision making process and to influence the decision you must get your message in front of your prospect multiple times (8 at least) before overcoming purchase inhibitors (apathy, fear, uncertainty, competition, etc).

What action should I prompt?

Good question, to overcome resistance consider motivating your site visitors to join your mailing list, subscribe to your blog’s RSS feed or agree to receive blog post updates via email.  The marketing team at Oprah Magazine brilliantly frames it as, “inspiration in your inbox”. By doing this you lower the initial cost of doing business with you, reduce buyer fear while at the same time sending a regular stream of informative content that establishes you as the authority among the voices competing for your prospect’s attention.

How do I get them to opt in?

Another excellent question because to make this work you must create a compelling reason to join your lists.  To encourage mailing list registrations, consider the following incentives:

1. Give away a free informative e-book in return for an email address
2. Give a free audio transcript of one of your seminars
3. Offer free telephone seminars where an email address is required for notification

If you don’t direct your site visitors to take some action at every point of interaction, guess what? They won’t! Build up an inventory of useful content and use it to leave visitors with no option but to take action.

It looks like the Google guys are at it again making our lives better or taking over the world depending on where you sit.  With the official launch of Google Wave this week, Google has made an attempt to bridge the chasm between email, wikis, instant messaging and social media creating a truly interactive communications system where groups can collaborate to make decisions, create documents, flush out new ideas and catalog the entire process.

My web development team is spread out over several continents and having the ability to collaborate, pulling in rich content from the web and documenting the process for future reference has real potential. But before you get too excited, the devil is in the details. Even if your business team is not as geographically diverse you can use Wave to make your posse more effective and to build relationships with customers and clients.

Smiley Face: Wave benefits

1. You can keep waves private, invite defined groups or let the public
   in
2. In real time you can drag and drop web content into the wave (video, google maps, photos, etc)
3. Co-create documents with your team
4. Embed waves in your websites and blogs to add fresh content
5. Pull people together to quickly make decisions and document the process (the playback feature shows a recording of a wave’s history, how the wave was built up)
6. Wave robots can interface with other systems like Twitter that have an Application Programming Interface (API) enabling interaction with social web communities.
7. The translation robot enables real time translation, so you can communicate with people who don’t speak your language

Thumbs Down: Negatives

1. You will need other tools for voice and video chat
2. Requires the Google Chrome browser (with a special plugin), Safari or Firefox browser.  Currently there is no support for Internet Explorer which is a bummer for a product touted as anywhere/anytime access
3. With large groups it can be challenging to make heads or tails of the communications stream, the wave
4. There are no controls to pause input from your wave guests, so the “conversation” can really get out of hand quickly

Is Wave the future of web communication and collaboration?  Well, I’m not ready to cancel my Twitter or DimDim (web conference) accounts just yet.  After a few generations of refinement and evolution I believe Wave will become a useful tool for business cooperation but for now it feels a little like the iPad, a market test for the integrating multiple tools.  Add voice, video, tighter integration with the Google Apps environment and I think they have something but what the heck, it’s free!

Ever wonder what pops up when your name or the name of your business is Googled?  I suspect your prospective customers do. In fact, your Google results are fast becoming one of the most important measures consumers use to determine if they want to do business with you and taking control of the results Google delivers can be a fast track to establishing authority.

How this all works

Seth Godin in his book Linchpin refers to this phenomenon as the “Google You”. What he isn’t speaking to is search engine optimization, the art and science behind getting your site found by  search engines.  Your Google You comes into play once a prospect has already picked up your scent and wants to verify that you are edible.

Let’s assume someone is tipped off about your widget by either referral, an advertisement or through some other raised hand.  At this point your prospect will probably head over to Google to research your company looking for proof that your widgets are the cat’s meow.

If you have done a good job of marking your company, you will have left all sorts of digital bread crumbs that lead prospects from their research right back to your door.  Press mentions, guest blog posts, Twitter updates and helpful YouTube videos should fill the pages of your prospect’s search leaving no doubt that you are the one.

Eyes open now?

Don’t worry we all have to start somewhere and if you haven’t yet cultivated your web persona, here’s what I suggest doing first:

1. Buiild your media list: Grab your virtual assistant and start building a list of local newspapers, magazines, news programs and blogs that your prospects consume and include the contact information for reporters and editors covering your area of focus.
2. Online press releases:  Submit press releases to PR Web and other online distribution resources. Be sure to submit releases about awards your firm receives, new product launches or recent business growth as these facts are big influencers with prospects.
3. Guest blog:  Reach out to the bloggers on your media list and pitch completed posts including a byline that links back to you.
4. Update profiles:  From Linkedin to your local Chamber business listing make sure your profiles are updated and peppered with customer testimonials.

Bringing it home

As social creatures we are hard wired to shortcut the purchase decision-making process and Google is the front door and often the only door your prospects will use to determine your worth.

What does Google say about you?

If you are like me you were not raised on an entertainment diet of World of Warcraft or Nintendo’s Mario Kart and you can still remember the story of the Pied Piper; the little guy who traveled about the countryside playing a repetitive, hypnotic tune that none of the mice could resist.   Today I will reveal to you the mystical secret that Mr. Piper used to gain sway over his audience and how you can do the same with visitors to your website. Okay, get your thinking caps on and sharpen your number two pencils. Put down that DSi!!!

The Piper’s Secret?

He would never tell you this but the Pied Piper’s success lies in the theory of thought repetition which puts forward the idea that by implanting a suggestion in a person’s mind you give it structure and turn it from a wish into an expectation.  To make this work in your businesses you must find a “truth-message”;  a statement speaking to a proven, factual solution that your business delivers to a real problem your prospect faces. As a website development firm our truth-statement is that people do business with those they like and trust and to win new business your website can and should build trust. Your truth-statement will be different but you get my point. Truth-message in hand, you then implant this message in your website visitor’s mind by creatively presenting it in a way that your prospect can’t argue with or resist. Your next task is to repeat this mantra until it becomes tangible in your prospect’s mind which is why businesses without a web content strategy (regular blogging, monthly newsletter distribution, informative seminars, etc.) will fight upstream to establish their message.

When choosing a product or service your prospects will ask friends, do online research and look for clues that a provider can deliver the promise. Decision making is a process that takes time, so be like the Pied Piper repeating your melodic song, your truth-message to your audience and customers will follow you instead of you chasing them.

What is your song?

Super-Man had impenetrable skin, super strength and X-ray vision. Your business has a super-power too, some great value you deliver to customers that your competitors can’t replicate.  Our website clients regularly tell us that we changed the way they think about what a website should do for them. Where clients used to see their site as a product or service showcase after our engagement they learn that their site can be an interactive discussion not unlike a face to face dialogue where trust is established and prospects want to choose them.  In order for your business to succeed online you must find or develop a super-power and wrap your website in a package that communicates it.

Become more than your product or service…

One of the easiest ways to develop a super-power is to write articles, produce videos and audio seminars (mp3’s) that show people how to use your product or service. Just do a little bit of extra work to develop and document tactics and strategies that make your offerings more effective. A hairdresser might create a video that shows clients how to properly maintain their hair style in between salon visits.  A home cleaning service might provide product reviews on the best air filters for controlling allergens.

By developing a super-power your business becomes more than the product or service.  It becomes a resource that customers want to talk about.

I am partial to metal claws but what is your super-power?

On Thursday’s live Q&A call virtual assistant Ninja Angela Myrtetus and I pulled out some Kung-Fu in the form of a few light bulb moments to help any business owner get unstuck and reclaim the calendar time needed to focus on winning marketing programs to build your business.

Seminar files…

1. Live Q&A mp3 download
   To download right mouse click on the link below and select flie > save as
   
   
2. Next action worksheet: view/download

Additional information

1. 5 Tips for hiring a virtual assistant
2. Twellow (Twitter Yellow Pages): http://www.twellow.com
3. O-Desk (Contractor Community):  http://www.odesk.com
4. International Virtual Assistants Association:  http://www.ivaa.org/

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This is nuclear-grade stuff that you don’t want to miss, so join our mailing list to be notified of upcoming Live Q&A call.

If you are like most business owners you never have enough time to complete all the tasks necessary to make your business thrive.  Blogging, sending a monthly newsletter and hosting seminars are great ideas but you just don’t have the time, right? Like you I have struggled with this same dilemma as have many of my clients, which is why I decided to pull together a free Q & A conference call with a very smart person to answer all of your questions about hiring and making the best use of a virtual assistant.

Hiring the right virtual assistant can literally free up hours in the day by removing tedious tasks from your plate but the key is hiring the right person and having a plan to organize your VA’s work. 

Free Q&A Call….

On Thursday May 6th at 7pm, EST I will be joined by super VA Ninja Angela Myrtetus president of Independent Projects to answer all of your questions about working with a VA to reclaim your calendar and turn your business around.

Space is Limited…

Because the call is free we have to keep seats to a minimum, so register today.