Roundpeg | Small Business Marketing | Indianapolis » Lorraine

Life Without Lorraine

Lorraine — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 10:34:48 +0000

As Lorraine has become a nationally recognized speaker, she’s spending more time out of the office, traveling the country. It’s great knowing she’s out there promoting our brand across the U.S., but the change comes with challenges-and growth opportunities for those of us left behind.

Business at Roundpeg starts with Lorraine. She’s the cog in the wheel, so it’s not uncommon for us to include her on every single business decision. Our’s is a fast-paced business, and sometimes things don’t go exactly according to plan. When thingsdo go wrong, or simply take an unexpected turn, my first instinct is to run to the boss so she can get me out of whatever mess I have created. She is out safety net, but when I depend on her, I know I am taking her time and energy away from what she’s working on and I am inhibiting my our own development.

When she is not here Taylor, Allison, and I are responsible for the success of Roundpeg. We have to trust our judgement, and make decisions. We have to be fearless. Slowly, I’m learning to figure things out for myself. I’m learning to trust my judgement and make decisions which affect our clients and our business. And I’m learning to do so without fear. ( It helps to know Lorraine will back my decisions. She may tell me later how she might have handled if differently, but she will support commitments I make to clients in her absence. )

For that reason, Lorraine’s speaking tours have been a blessing in disguise. The other VP’s and I are learning we can make the right decision most of the time. There’s a REASON Lorraine trusts us. We’ve had to grow up and realize the more ownership we each take in Roundpeg’s success, the more we will see that success become a reality.

Looking down the road, I’m excited. I can’t wait to see our entire team grow as problem-solvers, decision-makers, and eventually, corporate officers.

If anyone sees Lorraine out though…please let her know when she gets a chance, I have a couple questions…

Grow Your Business By Turning Away Customers

Lorraine — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 10:11:06 +0000

In the Indianapolis metropolitan area, there are 65,000 companies with sales under $1 million. 65,000! The reality is I can’t serve all these small businesses.

To use my time well, and do the right thing for my clients, sometimes the best thing to do is to turn the project over to a competitor. I know that sounds crazy, giving up a project especially, in a tough economy, but when it isn’t a fit, I have learned it is better to walk away.

Seth Godin had a great post recently on this topic. He argued passing a project to someone else better prepared to handle it will actually raise your image with that client. He said:

This is when you earn the right to be seen as a trusted adviser, not a self-interested shill. Two months or two years from now, when you interact with that person or organization again, he’ll remember that you were the one who spoke up on behalf of the competition, the one who helped us find a better fit, the clearly disinterested adviser who helped us choose between the two remaining good choices.

To make good suggestions, I work hard to get to know my competitors. I understand their weakness and their strengths so I can pick the best candidate for my client. I have good working relationships with companies like SpinWeb, Miles Design, and Deep Ripples. Each of these companies are best in class, and beyond their skills, I know they will treat my prospect the way I would have .

I am in this business for the long haul. So if I miss one sale, but in doing so, I establish my self as a trusted adviser I know it will be worth it in the long run.

Social Media: Repetition, Repetition, Repetition.

Lorraine — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 10:38:11 +0000

At BlogIndiana I heard an interesting statistic : Approximately 75% of the visitors to your blog or website are first time visitors. This didn’t sound right, surely people were coming back again and again. But I checked my own statistics and sure enough, 72% of my guests were first timers.

All that new content I was generating, was it going to waste? If I just wrote the same post over and over again, who would know? Well I believe it isn’t going to waste, because every post builds SEO bait. At the same time, the practice is improving my writing skills.

The fact that 3/4 of my audience is new every day presents an interesting challenge. If his is the first time you have arrived here, I want you to know a bit about us. – At Roundpeg, we are focused on small business. We write about marketing, social media, pr, web design, and business planning. Occasionally we show off samples of our work, and link to projects we do for our small business clients. Look around, we hope you will enjoy your stay, and maybe come back and become part of the other 25%

However, if you are part of my regular audience. I am glad you are back.. On this visit, I hope you will take the time to share some of your thoughts. What keeps you coming back?

Bring Your Date Home!

Lorraine — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 10:04:05 +0000

As Facebook expands their reach, launching a geographic platform ( Facebook Places) to compete with foursquare, it raises once again the question – Is Facebook All You Need? With custom fan pages, the simple user interface, the ability to take messages viral, why do you even need your own blog or web site?

The Answer … Control!!

While Facbook is an amazing tool, it is their tool, not yours. It is their game, their rules, and they can change the rules any time. This message was hammered home to me in several different presentations at BlogIndidana last week.

After building a significant following on Facebook, Scotty’s Brewhouse had reached the maximum number of friends. Giving up most of their traditional marketing, they had come to rely on the platform to stay in touch with customers, promote location based specials and build a following. Yes they have a website, but it is their fan page and twitter stream which really allows them to connect with their clients.

When they reached their maximum Facebook shut them down. Now they were able to rebuild, but they had some significant scrambling to do, and some customer connections were lost forever ( not many, but some)

FBML!!! – Facebook launched FBML – A quirky tool which allowed developers to create really cool Welcome pages as part of the fan page. I have met several designers recently who argued with FBML, they would never need to build another “real website” . Not convinced it would replace traditional websites, we still took on the challenge of learning the quirks of FBML. The result are some some really cool fan pages:

roundpeg
startingpoint
Lipstick on the Rim ( This is my favorite)

The problem – Facebook is moving away from FBML – The first warning something was in the air, was a notice pages needed to be resized. So all of our designs have been downsized to 530 Px from 730. Not bad, but definitely not something I wanted to do. But the bigger issue? They are abandoning FBML. So now, instead of working on new projects, we need to find another way to add the custom tabs, and rebuild our sites and the ones we have created for our clients. Their game, their rules, their toys.

As I was researching this topic, I found a blog by Jeff Bullas with one more reason: Facebook is not forever ( Think AOL). Sooner or later something else will come along. Their obsolescence becomes yours. With your site, you control, when, how and why you morph.

Have I given up on Facebook? Absolutely not. It is a powerful tool, which allows us to connect our clients with their constiuacy and DRIVE THEM TO THE CLIENT WEBSITE. That is the bottom line,: Think of Facebook as a giant party, where you can meet lots of people, maybe even the love of your life.. Meet them at Facebook then bring them home to dance!

Want to Boost Sales? Give Stuff Away!

Lorraine — Sun, 29 Aug 2010 12:22:13 +0000

Whenever I go to the mall, and walk by the food court, there is always that guy, handing out samples of the Chinese chicken. Why? Because if you don’t know what you are hungry for, very often a little taste is enough to convince you to buy an entire plate.

That same try before you buy strategy works in many industries, particularly when the product or service is really unique or radically different from competing products.

For example networking: Today, after more than eight years in the market place, most people are familiar with Rainmakers. That was not the case, eight years ago. Our model was so different, it was almost impossible to explain on paper or on-line. It is one of those things you had to experience to understand. To overcome the low understanding of our model, we started offering “free passes” to our events.

The result of our free trial program – We lost some revenue at the door, since guests no longer had to pay the first time they attended, but we had significantly more guests. the average event had an increase in guest count from 5 to 15. Since our closing percentage (guests who became members) remained the same, we tripled the number of new members each month.

That’s the key.. use free trials to introduce the product, build a loyal fan base, and offer an option for more services of a reasonable fee. It the value is there, you wil have no trouble earning the fee.

FREE TRIALS! Have you figured out how to use them in your business?

#32 Squirrels and Whales

Lorraine — Sat, 28 Aug 2010 18:47:55 +0000

Not all customers are equal. One of the keys to a successful business is identifying which are the best fit for your business. In this week’s podcast I talk about squirrels ( companies which are too small) and whales (companies which are too big)

Thanks to Matt Nettleton of Trustpointe, for his inspiration for this image!

Back to School with Roundpeg Radio

Lorraine — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 14:00:12 +0000

The temperatures and the leaves are starting to fall, as the kids return to school, so back to school songs are in the air.

Or are they? You decide this week as we look for your suggestions of Autumn and back to school songs. We’ll start off at 10 am with Van Halen’s Hot for Teacher and Pink Floyd Another Brick in the Wall, to get the day going, but the rest of the day is up to you.

As always we will be live until 3 PM today. Then play list will be up all week. So send your song requests to @roundpegradio.

NOTE: The widget takes a minute to load, and you’ll have to refresh to see the new songs. Make sure your speakers are on!

Lessons from BlogIndiana

Lorraine — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 10:38:16 +0000

I have had the weekend to process my thoughts about Day One of Blog Indiana. First comment: Noah and Shawn once again put on a great show. This years event was absolutely the best, and I am sorry I couldn’t participate for both days.

I have stacks of notes, (ok Megs of digital notes) lots to think about and lots to share. Here are just a few of my key takeaways from the day:

@JasonFalls – Social Media Explorer opened the conference with a presentation on making social media a conversation. I have heard Jason speak on several occasions before this, and I always enjoy his sensible approach to social media. Friday was no exception. There was so much content in his presentation, but the core was the idea that you need to build trust. And the things you do to build trust on line is not all that different then what you do to build trust off line. More from this session
IU East is a small school, making big waves with social media. Taking an integrated approach, tying their media together ( print and eResources) and getting everyone, even the Chancellor of the university involved they are one of the most engaged universities. Sure IU Bloomington, has many, many, many more students connected to their fan page, but when you look at real engagement : Likes and Comments per post compared to the total number of fans, IUE outperforms Bloomington. This session really made me think about who are my peers and competition on line. It may not be companies of the same size at all.
Jeremy Dearringer, the CEO of Slingshot SEO, had some interesting information to share about what affects your online reputation. What stood out most for me the most was how quickly negative information can spread. 70% of surfers will click on negative result first. You have to have a lot of very positive information to combat a little negative press. The other really powerful element was the fact that people search for company names more often then key words. And when they do, the conversion is significantly higher.
A look behind the scenes at Scotty’s was great. While I was sorry I didn’t get to see @brewhouse himself, he was well represented by Bruce McClain. And that was an important part of the message – To be successful, your social media strategy has to grow out beyond the owner!

That is just a start. There are a few more longer posts in the works with themes inspired by other sessions. And I can’t wait for the video to see what I missed. what did you learn at BIN2010?

Warm Up Cold Calls with Power Teams

Lorraine — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 02:52:45 +0000

I have been a student of Matt Nettleton’s at TrustPointe for almost a year now. Almost every week he mentions, suggests, or commands that we make phone calls. While I have never learned to love them, I have learned to make to them.

But whenever possible, I try to make warm calls instead. I try to rely on my referral network, and power team to make connections to the people I need to meet.

Who are my Power Team? This is a loose group of business professionals who offer complementary services to my target customers. I schedule one-on-one conversations over coffee and lunch. As we talk about projects and customers, opportunities arise: without directly soliciting a referral directly, things happen!

Do you have a your own Power Team? Here are a few tips on how to build one.

Start with your customer.

Regardless of whether your product or service is for an individual or a business, your target customer has needs beyond what you can provide. Think about other products and services your customers could or would purchase on a regular basis. For example if you are an electrician, then a plumber, roofer, or landscape company would be a potential Power Team members.

As you attend networking events, be on the look out for great Power Team members. While customers are always nice, a great Power Team member will create more opportunities for you in the long run!

Be Selective

It takes time to build an effective partnership, one which brings value to both companies. Don’t rush the process. The closer you work with this strategic partner, the more your image and theirs become entwined together in the mind of potential clients. Carefully evaluate potential partners; selecting companies which will they treat your clients the way you do. Build relationships with companies you will be proud to send your best customer to.

Is Your Storefront Customer Friendly?

Lorraine — Sat, 21 Aug 2010 12:18:20 +0000

I started my professional career in a retail environment; first on the sales floor, then as a buyer. I learned all phases of the sales cycle. How to”

Create advertising which drove people in the door
Arrange displays and signs to capture the attention of shoppers and lead them deeper into the department
Approach shoppers, offer suggestions, upsell,and get the sale
Manage returns and customer satisfaction issues.

Thirty years later (yes it really has been thirty years) I apply all those same skills to web design .

Instead of print and radio I help clients create internet advertising to drive people to the site. Targeted messages, intriguing offers and attractive graphics still move people to action.
Instead of paying attention to displays, I focus on navigation, and page features. Where to place graphics, and how large the graphics should be is an integral part of site design. As a sales manager, I carefully placed items which might sell together next to each other. I use related links to other parts of the site, which bring visitors deeper and deeper into the content
Special offers and conversion forms allow you to connect with customers, identifying specific interests to you can ” find a belt to match their dress” .
Today it is easier then ever to monitor customer opinion, through surveys and feedback forms.

Same skills, different applications, so when I am stumped for an idea to finish out a web project, I simply walk the aisles in a retail shop. Of course, I usually have to buy something too.