Last week we talked about the most popular posts of 2011. Those superstars got retweeted, shared and reaped loads of traffic. But there are other posts. Good posts, full of interesting information and terrible jokes, that for whatever reason never got much attention.

So we’re going to give them a second chance. Here are the Roundpeg staff’s favorite blog posts from 2011 which you may have missed:

Peter: Would You Jump Off the Roof for Social Media?
Heidi Cohen’s strategic questions offer a key to satisfying and successful social media engagement. Many people don’t think they have anything to write or talk about. That’s just not true. The rewards of reaching out with social media are worth a quick brainstorm to figure out what’s interesting about you. The tips in this post are a great primer for anyone looking to get started with social media.

Allison: Don’t Be Good at Social Media
When you spend all day mired in the echo chamber that is social media, it can be easy to get caught up in being “good” at social media. But that’s not the point at all: the point is to build loyalty, brand awareness and sales. It’s an important reminder for everyone.

 Jenna: Pick Your Palette
Color theory is undeniably one of the most important aspects of design.  The colors we choose when creating a logo, web design etc. can evoke so many different emotions, it is important to choose them wisely.

Lorraine: How to Discipline Your Boss
I love this post because it gives you some insight into the very strange and very special relationship I have with Allison.   It is also a great how-to for other young employees on how to sell their ideas to supervisors.

Rebecca – Whatever Happens, Happens for the Best & Moments
As the “mom” of the Roundpeg crew, I overlook our little family. Our little white house is filled with such positive energy it is usually a refreshing change from my legal address which is too often these days filled with hormonal teenage angst. So, when “my” boys decided to spread their wings and fly, it left us all reeling. Their final blog posts still move me to tears but they are also happy tears as we hear back from both Taylor and Jay and follow their travels on Twitter and Facebook.

We write a lot of blog posts for Business Notes from Roundpeg. We average eight to ten posts a week, on topics we think small business owners will care about: marketing, social media, networking, web design, strategy and team building.  Some posts are serious and some are informative, some of the posts are sentimental and others are rants.

Each of the members of Roundpeg writes posts from time to time and we regularly invite guests to join us as well.   The blending of our different voices has created a blog which really represents who we are as a company.

We watch our statistics to see which posts get the most traffic and conversation.  There are always a few surprises, like the little posts we thought were “throw aways” that generate lots of interaction.  Here is a list of the most popular posts we have added to the blog this year.  Notice how many different authors have content in our top ten.

1. Keep Visitors Coming Back  Getting people to your website is only the first step. To be an effective part of your marketing strategy, your web design must look good,  engage visitors and give them reasons to keep them coming back again and again.
2. What Do You Say?  Make Podcasts Part of Your Web Design Inspired by  Bill Catsky, we began a weekly podcast.  This post is about how we did it and how it is working.
3. Hike Through a Work Flow – A guest post by Bill Lundy discussing  why every business should periodically review its key workflows looking for ways to improve quality, lower cost or save time.
4. Why I Am Mean to Interns - Allison explains her unique management style.
5. Blasts from the Past - Our intern Brittany Wright spent some time digging through the archives of our blog.  She wrote a post sharing what she learned about SEO from these old posts.
6.  Web Candy When you go to check out in the grocery store, do you ever grab a candy bar from those tempting shelves near the registers? What if your website could do the same thing?
7. Hardworking…Really? The process of interviewing and hiring interns can be tedious and tiring when they all say the same thing
8. Faces of Roundpeg, Kyle My Teacher  Part of a series of tributes to Roundpeg employees (past and present), customers, friends and others who have been an important part of our first ten years. This segment is about Kyle Lacy.
9. Twitter is Supposed to Be Easy  New kid on the block Peter shares some of his early Twitter lessons
10. Even Dead Fish Float  A guest post by my sales coach, Matt Nettleton.

On a regular basis I get a call or email from a prospective customer inquiring about the cost of our social media or web design services. And despite the fact I have been in business for almost 10 years, I always hesitate before I answer.

Why? Because price is never really the issue. I have found that when people are buying something they have never purchased before, they fall back on price. What they really want to know is can deliver what they need. When I get a request for for quotation, I always insist on a brief conversation before I shoot a number out there. Without it, I don’t know what they need.

After almost two years of training with Matt Nettleton at Sandler Trustoint, I have my questions down.

• Exactly what do you want. All too often we assume customers are talking bout the same thing we are, but they are not. Their expectation of big or small may not be the same as ours. To find out I ask
• Why do you want to do this. This is probably the most important question. The why gives you insight into their goals. Sometimes, what they are asking for won’t really meet their needs, it is better to find out on the front end
• What is your time line? Need it fast? Rush charges may apply. There is nothing worse then starting something and finding out we have an unrealistic deadline. It is harder to go back once the project starts to change that
• Did you have a budget for this project. We can quote services at a range of prices, but having a ball park helps narrow down what type of program we offer.

What if the prospect won’t chat, just wants the quote or suggests I send my questions in email? I typically refuse to quote. Why? If they won’t communicate with me during the sales process, they won’t get better once the project starts. It is hard to say no, but in the long run, I want to save our time for clients who will work with us so we can do our best work.

The week has flown by, and ended with a bang!  Last night Lorraine’s interview on NPR aired.  We spent much of the day sharing the link with friends, family and customers.   If you missed the broadcast you can still listen to the program here.

And if you haven’t been here for a week or so, here is a run down of the other content you missed

Saturday – Guests Wanted
Lorraine’s been blogging for approximately four years. Rarely is she at a loss for words, but blogging seven days a week can be a challenge. The Roundpeg crew (interns included) help out with the blogging on a regular basis but we like to feature guest bloggers on a regular basis. Interested? Read this blog for more information.

Sunday – Keep Visitors Coming Back
To be an effective part of your marketing strategy, your web design must look good,  engage visitors and give them reasons to keep them coming back, again and again. This post has tips things to include on your web site to keep visitors coming back for more.

Monday – The 5 Stages of Grief: Client Loss Edition
Alison shares her lesson of letting go when a client decides to leave the agency.

Tuesday – The Elusive Page One
A web design does not guarantee page one on Google, but here are a few ways we’ve improved on our ranking.

Wednesday – Keeping You Safe…From Bad Web Design
One of our newest web redesigns is for a client company who needed to communicate a virtual encyclopedia of information. The best approach was to go with a clean, simple layout to ensure that visitors are not overwhelmed when they arrive on the home page. A well organized navigation structure directs visitors to the information they are seeking.

Thursday – Why Small Business Owners Need Social Media
Lorraine explains why small business owners can benefit from the use of social media.

Have you sold as much this year as you were hoping to?  There is still half a year left to meet your sales goals.  If you aren’t sure how to get your small business sales activities started, tune into our sales conversation with Matt Nettleton for tips on how to get your sales process moving.

About Matt: A part of the team at Trustpoint, he is my sales trainer, and is responsible for some pretty big shifts at Roundpeg.  We are currently running 60% ahead of last year in revenue, and profits are up even more than that.  I have come to trust what Matt has to say about sales.  Just be warned, he is direct, says what he thinks, and isn’t afraid to call you out when he thinks you are blowing smoke.  Our podcast next Wednesday, July 13  is sure to be lots of fun!

Do you have any comments, questions, or tips about sales? Post it here, send it to one of us on Twitter or Facebook, or call in during the show at (805) 285 -9865. Remember to use the #hashtag #MTFW on Twitter, so your comments will be added to our Keepstream below.

The call will be live from 10:30 – 11:00 on Wednesday, July 13. You will be able to listen to the program from my station on BlogTalkRadio.com And then,  you will be able to hear the recorded program from the player below.  If you have a question, you will be able to call in: (805) 285-9865.

When I was in high school, I spent three years working at a telemarketing agency. It was exactly as horrible as it sounds. However, every situation has its benefits. I became accustomed to,  and even okay with hearing the word “no” (which prepared me for the next ten years of getting turned down for dates). I also developed the ability to pick up on verbal cues and adapt the way I conversed with prospects.

Selling a client relationship isn’t like selling a ten dollar pamphlet over the phone. In our business, prospects aren’t just buying your services, they’re buying you. It’s a much more in-depth decision, driven by both logic and emotion.

Long-term decisions mean a long-term decision making process. As a sales person, you’re forced to develop something you’re probably hard-wired not to possess…patience. Working at an Indianapolis web design firm, we exercise this patience on a daily basis.

Yesterday, we closed a web design project, on which we began preliminary conversations with the clients about three months ago. The client is a partnership made up of five different partners (which means five different decision-makers.) We had to convince five people of  two things:

1. Roundpeg had the capability to satisfy their needs
2. Roundpeg could build a relationship that would be beneficial for both of us.

I’m not someone who likes do go out and hunt. I don’t have a typical “closer’s mentality”. For me, the most satisfying part of my job is the fact that I get to build relationships that last. In our industry, relationships are the difference between success and failure.

What’s the sales process like at your company? Is it driven by your products or services, or by the relationships you build in the community?

Indianapolis Web Design

Does your website need a little attention? Are you turning off clients, prospects and search engines?  Do you know?  Give us a call to talk about a web audit or redesign

One of the first articles I submitted to Ezine Articles was entitled Super Size Your Sales. Originally written for an HVAC industry publication, it has been modified slightly, but almost six years later it is still one of my most well read articles. Inspired by a statistic I found in the book  ”Meaningful Marketing” by Jeffrey Stamp and Doug Hall I explored the idea of  how building purchase volume instead of frequency.

The original statistic:  When trying to build annual loyalty (obviously this refers to an industry with multiple purchases annually) focusing on purchase volume rather then frequency is 3.9 times more effective.

Why? Your competitors are always there, offering your customers, even your best customers something new.  So the research shows when the customer is in a buying mode, help them buy more. That second chance may never come.

How can Small Businesses Grow Sales with these strategies?

Offer customers incentives and reasons to increase purchases

When your customer is ready to buy, offer incentives to purchase more.  You earn more profit and can balance your costs when clients sign long term contracts or larger packages. Share some of the extra profit in the form of savings back to your customers.  Also offer incentives, such as discounts on multiunit purchases to encourage them to buy more now.  Remember, your competitor may offer them something else tomorrow.

Do you want fries with that?

Have you noticed that when you walk into a McDonalds and order a hamburger the person behind the counter asks, “Do you want fries with that?”  McDonalds significantly increased their sales by simply training their employees to ask the question,

You can use this same tactic to grow your sales.  Start offering accessories and extra services with every sale. Clearly list these options on every proposal with the benefits spelled out for your consumer. The research shows that if you don’t mention it up front, you may not get a second chance.

The Meal Deal – Another McDonalds Strategy

McDonalds realized  most customers wanted a drink, fries and sandwich. They developed a packaged pricing structure and today almost everyone orders a “# 1, 2 or 3.

Bundling can work for your business too.  Combine accessories and service contracts into the purchase price as standard. Offer only slight discounts to leave out an accessory and most consumers will buy the whole package.   This bundled approach allows you to offer an extra service ( which costs you very little) “free” with complete system sale.

Don’t’ stop with the Meal – Offer a Complete Package

View your product from the customer’s perspective. Consider all the pieces they will need to use, implement or enjoy your product or service.  Consider offering these related products, either directly or through a strategic partner.  When you do, your customer will have fewer reasons to go elsewhere.

What types of services should you offer? If you sell a product to new homes, consider offering a $25 coupon for a landscape company or nursery with every system you sell. Or maybe a gift certificate for carpet cleaning, or floor refinishing. Your customers will appreciate the little extras.

These extra services don’t have to be an expense item for you. Many companies pay referral bonuses. Talk to service provides about giving you the coupons for free instead of the referral bonus. And, if you are smart, you will give them coupons for your services as well.

These are just some examples of ways to grow you your business by building customer loyalty. What would you add to this list.

When I found this cartoon on www.glasbergen.com.   It made me smile and wish I really could train my customers how to buy from us.   Life would be so much easier if they would come to the sales conversation with:

• Specific definitions of what they want
• Realistic expectations of  how long it will take
• An appropriate budget to cover the cost of the project

But after 18 months in the Sandler Trustpoint program with Matt Nettleton, I am pretty sure that is not going to happen.  So instead I continue to work on my sales skills.  I have learned that The problem the customer brings is never the real problem.  So an organized approach to the sales  process which includes specific questions and a willingness to simply ask why is required to uncover the real issues.    This is hard for me, because I am teacher and want to demonstrate my expertise, and jump to the solution, but I am working on it.

What issues are holding you back from being a better sales person?

There is a mounting body of evidence that social media has a positive impact on the sales process. In a recent post on the Social Media Examiner, Nichole Kelly shared eight methods of evaluating the impact of your social media activities.

One of the most interesting, was the idea of a control group. She suggested comparing two groups of prospects; one that has, and one that hasn’t interacted with you through social media. In her example, prospects exposed to social media before (and after) filling out lead forms, were significantly more likely (175% to almost 740% ) to become customers of Care One.

She also looks at retention rate, cross sell and customer saves. In each case, social media played an important role in solidifying the relationship with the client. How do you stay in touch with clients and prospects today? Do you follow them on Facebook or extend offers to Linkin?   While I am comfortable adding any prospect to my LinkedIn circle or following them on Twitter, it seems presumptuous to “friend” them on Facebook, but I would be comfortable inviting them to become fans of ours.

What do you think?  Where does social media fit?

Some clients are easy to work with, others make you feel like you have to jump through hoops just to make a sale. On days when I feel as if I am running in circles, I will stop and watch this video and suddenly, things seem much easier.