12 Feb
 February 12, 2021 08:00 am  Customer Service    
PJ Weiland Customer Service

How to Create a Business with Heart

How to Create a Business with Heart

HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY!

In this era of increasing digitalization, it’s easy to lose that human touch in daily interactions. From chatbots to standardized email responses to self-order kiosks, businesses are automating all kinds of customer experiences.
But is that what customers really want?
Not really, according to a recent study that showed 73% of consumers claim customer experience is the biggest deciding factor in their purchase decisions and brand loyalties — ahead of product quality and price” (Gabriel Swain, Insightly blog 2020).
Giving customers a sense of personalized service is a sure way to build positive experiences, retain customers and prompt word-of-mouth referrals. There are opportunities to engage in conversation, demonstrate attentiveness, and show gratitude in all areas of your business. Here are some ideas to get you started.
12 Ways to Add a Personal Touch to Your Business
  • Add photos of real people to your marketing.
  • Empower your employees to act as advocates for your business.
  • Show your playful side as well as your business side in online communications.
  • Promote user content.
  • Send handwritten correspondence whenever possible and appropriate.
  • Create a home for online communities to discuss issues and share ideas about your business or service.
  • Send welcome or thank-you gifts to loyal or new customers.
  • Consider hiring a professional social media team.
  • Don’t be afraid to talk about setbacks or failures.
  • Rewrite emails to be more conversational and less sanitized.
  • Insert names and customer-specific information in your marketing outreach.
  • Stay relevant and authentic.

If you would like to learn more about how this might apply to your business, let’s talk:

Schedule Meeting

05 Feb
 February 05, 2021 08:26 am  Communication    
PJ Weiland Communication

Connect with a Story That Sells

Connect with a Story That Sells

“If your stories are all about your products and services, that’s not storytelling. It’s a brochure. Give yourself permission to make the story bigger.” – Jay Baer, content marketing strategist
There’s no doubt facts significantly influence purchasing decisions. And, if you were selling to a machine, facts are all you would need to close the deal.
But cognitive research shows that when humans make decisions, they use both parts of their brain — the part that does the conscious logical thinking and the part that does the subconscious emotional processing.
Stories Are More Memorable than Information Alone
Stories provide a framework that engages both parts of the brain. A good story doesn’t just demonstrate how you, your products or your services function in a real-life situation, a story can also inspire trust and address barriers.
Here’s an example. An HVAC company tells prospective customers, We’re available 24/7 if you should ever have an emergency. The thing is, a lot of HVAC companies say this. That’s because customers worry that their furnace will go out in the middle of the night when it’s 10 degrees, or the air conditioning will fail on a 90-degree day.
The owner who tells the story of what his company did to save the day for a customer whose air conditioning went out in the middle of a graduation party with over 50 guests on a hot summer night, is the one people remember when they decide to purchase a new furnace or air conditioning unit.
Types of Stories
The type of story you tell depends on the context and your audience. To help you decide what type of story might be effective, ask yourself what action do you want to prompt your audience to do. Then, think about experiences you’ve had that demonstrate that behavior.
If you’re trying to inspire your sales staff to be persistent, for example, tell them a story about prospect you pitched for years before they finally became a customer. If you want to convince a customer that you/your company/
product/service is better than your competition, tell a story that shows the difference between what your company does and others do.
Build a Story Library
You may already be telling stories every day without consciously thinking about it. But planning ahead will enable you to tell the most effective story for the situation and to remember the most important points.
You won’t need a new story for each situation– a handful of stories should cover most situations. And there’s a benefit to telling the same stories again and again – you’ll greatly improve your delivery.
Start by identifying the situations where you can tell stories and what you want to achieve in those situations: customers, employees, networking events, and others you might routinely interact with.
It’s not necessary to write out your stories word for word– in fact, writing just a few bullet points is actually a more effective way to remember the story and avoid sounding scripted and artificial.
Aim for telling stories that last about 2-3 minutes at most. Unless you are formally speaking at an event, you won’t want to monopolize the conversation.
One last note: be prepared to listen to stories, too. Storytelling is contagious, and once you share your story, your audience may want to share one of their own.

If you would like to learn more about how this might apply to your business, let’s talk:

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29 Jan
 January 29, 2021 08:00 am  Strategies    
PJ Weiland Strategies

Make Virtual Connections More Meaningful

Make Virtual Connections More Meaningful

“Success at anything will always come down to this: focus and effort. And we control both.”

— Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johson

Some of us are no longer working remotely full-time, but nearly everyone running a business today is meeting via Zoom or other video conferencing programs at least some of the time.
Whether you’re using virtual meetings to address employees, collaborate on projects, conduct sales calls, provide customer service, or network, these ideas will make your virtual connections more meaningful.
Engaging and Inclusive Employee Meetings
Keep cameras on. When one or more individuals have their cameras off, there’s a sense of disengagement. Ask everyone at the start of the meeting to turn on their cameras and keep them on. Background noise, on the other hand, can be distracting, so also ask participants to mute themselves when they’re not speaking.
Try an ice breaker. An inclusive activity that prompts everyone in your group to participate is a great way to be sure everyone gets a chance to talk. An ice breaker can be as simple as asking one question and inviting each person to respond.
Follow an agenda. When everyone has the same understanding of the structure of the meeting, it’s easier to stay on topic. Covering everything on the agenda helps make the meeting feel more productive and valuable to your employees. If they have a sense that your meetings don’t accomplish what they were set out to do, or that there’s a lack of order, they’ll check out.
Who’s on first? If you are leading the meeting, try asking “directed” questions when possible, by saying the name of the person who should respond. When participants don’t know who should respond first, there’s usually some silence and confusion until someone jumps in. You can make everyone feel more comfortable speaking by saying something like, “Let’s hear from Jane first, and then Mike and Anne.”
Memorable One-on-One Meetings
Take turns. In your one-on-one meetings, try to avoid monopolizing the conversation. Insert pauses, ask questions and listen without interrupting or talking at the same time. When someone delivers a monologue in a virtual meeting, it’s difficult for the listener to stay focused for extended periods.
Create a Positive Impression for Sales, Customer Service and Networking
Put your best face forward. Many of the same rules that apply to meeting in person apply to meeting with them virtuall. One difference is on a video conference call, you have an opportunity be promote your business by putting your business logo in the background, either by using a real “branded” setting in your work place, or by creating a custom virtual background.
Be prepared to share. During the call, you may want to share a document or images of your service or products on your screen with your audience, so be sure you’ve closed out other tabs and files before the call. If you plan to demonstrate products on the call, have them at hand so you don’t have to get up to look for something.
Extend the call beyond the screen. Explore opportunities to create a sense of surprise and delight either before or after a virtual sales call by extending it beyond the screen. For example, set up a meeting with a prospect for a “virtual” coffee and then send them a Starbucks e-gift card in advance of the call with a note confirming the meeting.

If you would like to learn more about how this might apply to your business, let’s talk:

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22 Jan
 January 22, 2021 08:00 am  Marketing    
PJ Weiland Marketing

How Will You Market Your Business in 2021?

How Will You Market Your Business in 2021?

If you haven’t started promoting your business on YouTube yet, this is the year to consider making your on-camera debut. Video has become the most popular and powerful communications medium in the world. According to Forbes, more than 80% of all internet traffic is video.
5 Compelling Reasons to Consider YouTube Marketing for Your Business
  1. Boost your visibility. The data says it all: YouTube is ranked #2 for most-visited websites in the world, and #2 for search traffic. And, because YouTube is owned by Google, not only is there an opportunity to reach a bigger audience, your videos on YouTube get better search results and boost your SEO through Google-friendly keyword tags.
  2. Your content never dies on YouTube. The YouTube website offers a well-established, well-known destination where you can send prospects to learn about your business, from any device, at any time. You can build a large library of videos on the platform — much more content than you could economically archive on your own website.
  3. Videos give a face to your brand and demonstrate the value of your business. Introducing yourself on video translates into a sense of familiarity and trust that makes prospects feel more comfortable about taking the next step and contacting you directly.
  4. Video produce higher conversion rates. When you consider that 65% of folks are visual learners, and 30% are auditory learners, there’s a reason videos are more effective in converting to sales than text alone.
  5. You can reach new audiences outside your usual target audiences. In the same way people use Google to search for what they need, YouTube users conduct searches for products and services. This opens up opportunities to reach people your other marketing messages may be missing.
Put YouTube marketing to work for you in 2021! For inspiration, I encourage you to check out my YouTube videos for entrepreneurs and business owners.
Are you ready to add YouTube videos into your marketing mix for 2021?

If you would like to learn more about how this might apply to your business, let’s talk:

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15 Jan
 January 15, 2021 08:00 am  Planning    
PJ Weiland Planning

Three Major Business Trends for 2021

Three Major Business Trends for 2021

We have good reason to be optimistic about the future. With the distribution of the Covid vaccination, we will see people returning to the activities and businesses they were forced to avoid due to social distancing.
But keep in mind that some of the innovative business practices that evolved during the pandemic are expected to continue into 2021.

TREND 1: TOUCHLESS

Whether it takes the form of curbside delivery, home delivery, remote working, or zoom meetings, we will continue to have less face-to-face contact.
What this means for you: continue to rely on digital platforms to connect with your audience and deliver seamless customer experiences. Even if your business requires in-person contact, look for ways to innovate digital interactions.
Many new tools to facilitate digital communication, remote working, virtual training and video conferencing are emerging. Conduct an internal review to evaluate your online presence:
  • Does your website need updating or a total redesign?
  • Are you offering people an opportunity to learn about your business and stay in touch with you through a newsletter?
  • Are you using video conferencing creatively to provide alternatives to in-person experiences?

TREND 2: INFLUENCERS

Consumers are increasingly embracing recommendations from social media influencers — these are people who are paid to endorse brands and products on Instagram, Twitter, YouTube and TikTok. A Twitter research report showed that 40% of study participants reported they purchased a product after seeing a social media influencer using it. In fact, participants were more likely to rely on an influencer’s recommendation than one from a personal acquaintance.
What this means for you: Use social media to communicate information about your business and leverage testimonials and endorsements from customers. A steady stream of short videos is one of the most powerful tools you can use to persuade prospects to become customers. Motivate your customers to share their photos of their experience with your business.
Many pet daycare businesses do a good job of prompting customer engagement online when they post photos of the pets they care for. It’s hard for a proud pet owner to resist liking and commenting on an adorable photo of their beloved pet, and when customers like photos, by default their social connections see that authentic, meaningful engagement with the business and take it as an endorsement.

TREND 3: TRAVEL

A number of industries, including airlines and major event producers are predicting a significant return to travel once the Covid vaccine is widely available.
What this means for you: Into the early part of 2021, people will continue to be based in their home location with little or no movement, and sales of travel-related products and services will remain depressed. But things will change dramatically when everyone feels it safe to travel, attend public events and gather in large groups. Plan ahead for your business to be ready to pivot quickly when this shift in mobility occurs.
Need ideas for integrating these trends into your strategic planning for 2021?

If you would like to learn more about how this might apply to your business, let’s talk:

Schedule Meeting

06 Jan
 January 06, 2021 11:00 am  Planning    
PJ Weiland Planning

Ask Yourself These 4 Questions to Boost Your Business

Ask Yourself These 4 Questions to Boost Your Business

“Look at questions as keys on a key ring. Questions might unlock doors. The bigger your key ring and the more keys you have, the more doors you can unlock.” — John C. Maxwell

Here is a simple exercise that can dramatically boost the performance of your business in the coming year.
This exercise will help you clearly articulate your goals and inspire you to do what it takes to achieve your goals.
All too often in our day-to-day we get consumed or even overwhelmed by short-term needs. We lose sight of the big picture, which can lead to a loss of purpose.
The questions I am asking you to integrate into your daily routine are designed to help you reaffirm what matters most.
Ask yourself these four questions to discover the bold, strong moves that will propel your business forward.
1) What will I do today that I will be proud of one month from today, one year from today? When you position that question correctly, you stop thinking about the short term and the fire fighting. It helps you focus on strategic planning.
2) How can it get better than this? Answering this question will challenge your thinking about the status quo. It enables long-term thinking about your tools, growth and strategic planning
3) If failure only had minor consequences, what would you undertake? This question asks you to reflect on what fear is stopping you from doing right now. Business is not graded pass-fail; there is a spectrum of consequences to actions you take. You have runway to test ideas and think about what you can take on to grow your business.
4) What would happen if you took your foot off the brake? This speaks to a fear of success. Are you holding back because you doubt your ability to handle success? Do you think that if you move too fast or are too bold moves or have too many irons in the fire, you might fail. That kind of thinking hinders growth. I work with clients to plan for that success, whether it’s staffing, inventory or other needs to meet demand. Good decisions often come with fear and excitement — that’s a sign you’re thinking big.
High-quality questions demand high-quality answers and lead to high-quality actions. Discover the bold, strong moves will propel your business forward.

If you would like to learn more about how this might apply to your business, let’s talk:

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30 Dec
 December 30, 2020 08:00 am  Goal Setting    
PJ Weiland Goal Setting

Make Your Business New Year’s Resolutions

Make Your Business New Year’s Resolutions

“Cheers to a new year and another chance for us to get it right.” — Oprah Winfrey

As 2020 comes to a close, it’s an understatement to say this was a year like no other.
I get that the pandemic environment may have seriously challenged your determination to keep the resolutions you made a year ago, but I’m asking you to join me in leaving 2020 behind and looking ahead with great optimism to 2021.
My deepest wish is for all of you — my valued clients, associates and friends – health, happiness and success.
Why You Should Make Resolutions
One important lesson we learned in 2020 was that the ability to pivot and transition quickly is critical in this business environment. So, if the new normal is things are always in flux, why bother making resolutions?
Even though we stressed change was the key in 2020, making New Year’s resolutions for your business has benefits:
  • The holiday season provides a break from the daily grind that enables us to step back and take a wider view of our current situation
  • A new year is like a blank slate that offers us a chance to re-set our minds and behavior
  • The start of a new year naturally boosts our spirits and energy
  • Resolutions inspire us to stay consistently focused on the tasks necessary to achieve our goals
  • The act of making resolutions is a first step towards getting unstuck
Need more inspiration for making your business resolutions for 2021? Get tips you can use now from my YouTube channel.

Happy New Year!

If you would like to learn more about how this might apply to your business, let’s talk:

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18 Dec
 December 18, 2020 15:07 pm  Strategies    
PJ Weiland Strategies

What’s Your Touches to Sale Number?

What’s Your Touches to Sale Number?

“Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time.” – Thomas Edison

When is it the right time to stop pitching someone? When do touches cross the line into being a nuisance? Stalking?
How Many Touches Are Enough?
There used to be a rule: it took X number of touches to land a sale. One drawback with the rule was, however, that no two experts agreed on the right number. One sales guru said the magic number was 7 while other consultants hedged their bets and said anywhere between 7 to 13 touches. One online articles says 28 to 62. So, which is it?
What Are Sales Touches?
Before we answer the question of how many touches are enough, let’s review what we mean by touches. Touches, or touchpoints, to sale are quite simply making contact to close a sale.

The reason touches are so important is they enable your prospects to get to know you. Here are a few key examples of what touches accomplish:

  • Generate awareness of what you offer
  • Build prospects’ trust in you
  • Introduce your philosophy
  • Gain credibility for your offering
  • Allow you to better understand prospects’ needs
  • Help prospects solve their problems
  • Demonstrate your reliability
  • Keep you “top of mind”
  • Prime the pump for the purchasing decisions
The New Rule Is There Is No Rule
With all the heavy lifting touches do for you, why would you risk stopping before you know the prospect truly isn’t interested? All too often we assume folks don’t want to hear our message or we’re concerned people will perceive us negatively, even when there’s no evidence. They may just not be interested or have a need you can meet at this moment.
I have had many experiences where I’ve been providing content and information to folks for 1, 2, 5 and even 10 years before they reach out and tell me they want to work with me.
Trust the Process
Setting a specific number of touches may not be particularly useful. First, it depends on what you’re selling: Is it a big-ticket item? Are you offering a long-term service relationship?
My advice is don’t worry about what is the right number of touches or when to stop. Send out your message and allow recipients to inform you when enough is enough. They can unsubscribe or inform you via email or a call.
Until that happens, it’s entirely appropriate to continue sending your messages. You may want to segment them into a less frequent contacted group, but don’t remove them from your list entirely.
Check out my YouTube channel for my latest tips on managing all aspects of your business.

If you would like to learn more about how this might apply to your business, let’s talk:

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11 Dec
 December 11, 2020 08:15 am  Productivity    
PJ Weiland Productivity

Try This Game-changing Productivity Hack

Try This Game-changing Productivity Hack

“Focus on being productive instead of busy.”

– Tim Ferris

One of the most common complaints I’m hearing these days from business owners is “I don’t have enough time.” Whether it’s keeping up with their planning, marketing or billing, there’s never enough time.

Even in normal times, the deluge of calls and emails constantly threaten to make us lose our focus on doing the things that are really important for our businesses to thrive.  Now, with the pandemic continually adding new layers of complexity to running our businesses, it’s no mystery why it’s more challenging than ever before to get things done.

Today, I’d like to share with your a game-changing productivity hack that will help you be more efficient. This system works for me and I’m confident it will change everything for you.  It’s surprisingly simple and easy to adopt, but it will take your productivity to a new level.

Think about all the times you need multiple tabs and documents open to perform a task. When you’re copying information from one document to another, you have to toggle back and forth between multiple spreadsheets and maybe even a website on a single screen. And, if you’re working on a laptop, as many of us are, the screen space is pretty small.

There’s got to be a better way, right?

The Magic of Multiple Monitors 

There is, and the answer is multiple screens. In my office, I have a computer set-up at my desk consisting of three screens. In the middle, I have my laptop. On the left, I have a monitor that slightly larger than my laptop screen. It’s a basic HP model, nothing high-tech or fancy about it. On the right, I have a small TV that’s been retired from my home. This 32-inch model doesn’t have the latest bells and whistles, but it makes a great large monitor.  This was not a big investment, but the returns are huge.

No More Toggling

With this set-up, there are many options for multitasking. For example, I can be talking to a client on Zoom call on one screen, looking at their website on another screen, and writing notes on a third screen. Another way I leverage the multiscreen set-up is to keep my email inbox open on my left screen, and from time to time glance over at it to keep up with incoming emails. This not only saves me the seconds of clicking on a different window every time I want to check my inbox, it is much less of an interruption to my flow and concentration. Then, I can use my other two screens to work with documents that I need to reference simultaneously in order to do my task.

Do More in Less Time

You might be wondering, is adding an extra screen or two really a game-changer? The few seconds it takes to open a new window may seem insignificant, but you’d be surprised how the seconds quickly add up to minutes and hours when day after day you’re constantly toggling back and forth on a single screen. Think about how much time you’re worth per hour, and then imagine getting extra minutes of real work done for every single hour you work at the computer.

Improve Your Accuracy

When you copy and paste data from one spreadsheet to another on a single screen set-up, you can lose your place and waste seconds making sure you pick up where you left off each time you toggle back and forth. With multiple screens, you keep multiple documents open simultaneously and spend less time finding your place.

For me, three screens is the magic number, but two screens might work for you. Either way, your productivity will dramatically increase over your current single screen set-up.  Once you’ve tried this, I am sure you’ll wonder how you ever put up with working so slowly on one screen.

Check out my YouTube channel for more game-changing tips on managing all aspects of your business.

If you would like to learn more about how this might apply to your business, let’s talk:

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02 Dec
 December 02, 2020 10:00 am  Appreciation    
PJ Weiland Appreciation, Marketing

My Gift to You: Immediate Online Impact for Local Businesses

My Gift to You: Immediate Online Impact for Local Businesses

“We make a living by what we get. We make a life by what we give.” ― Winston S. Churchill

In appreciation of all the local business owners who provide our communities with unique places to eat, shop and enjoy, I’m offering a unique gift of my services to boost your online presence.

Check out my special Present of Presence video on YouTube now, then call to receive your gift from me.
 
 
 

If you would like to schedule a complimentary coaching session, 

please send me an email.

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