Author Archive
Monday, August 31st, 2009
Don’t miss Wednesday’s teleclass with guest expert Success Coach Pam Narvaez, who will talk about pioneering your own path and what it takes to get there. Be there with your list of questions and all ears as she candidly discusses whether changing career paths is the right thing for you, and what to watch out for along the way. Register now!
Date: September 02, 2009
Time: 4:00pm EST (3:00pm CST, 2:00pm MST, and 1:00pm PST)
Topic: Reinventing Your Career: How to Look Before You Leap
Pam Narvaez
Tags: A Red Bench, Angela Ploetz, Christa Wagner, Managing a business, Pam Narvaez, Red Bench Members, Red Bench Program, Teleclasses
Posted in Goals, Red Bench Members, Teleclasses | No Comments »
Thursday, August 6th, 2009
As professional organizers, we are always looking for new products to share with our clients and here’s one I came across the other day (from a friend on Facebook). The company is called SpiceTable and the product is SpiceCare; a spice storage system.
With the SpiceCare system, “You keep spices them fresh and simplify storage–in containers as distinctive as the spices they contain.” The SpiceCare System is sold as a convenient boxed set or as individual containers, allowing you to build the perfect size spice collection for your needs. Extra screens, lids and labels are also available to help you manage and organize your growing collection.
SpiceCare could be a potential product choice for clients with limited storage space, clients who needs to see things to know they are there and clients who enjoy aesthetically appealing products on their kitchen counter. Check it out and let us know what you think!
Tags: A Red Bench, Angela Ploetz, Christa Patchen Wagner, Christa Wagner, Organizing Products, Professional Organizer Training, Professional Organizing Training
Posted in In The Know-What's Hot In Organizing | No Comments »
Monday, July 20th, 2009
I recently saw a report on CNN that focused on what was in and what was out during a recession. According to Christine Romans of CNN, what is out is: teen apparel, cameras, high end baby products, and bottled water. Even disposable diapers are down 4% from last year! Wow!
So what is in? Spending money on lipstick and high end cosmetics is up. This may be attributed to vanity and escapism. I believe if women are tightening the purse strings on their wardrobe budgets they may be loosening them on cosmetics which have a smaller price point then a new pair of shoes. What else are people still purchasing? According to the CNN report: i-phones, specialty pet supplies, vegetable seeds, romance novels, vitamins, and insect repellant are the hot items of the summer.
The report states “Conspicuous consumption is now seen as bad manners”. This is great if you are in the business of helping clients to stop over buying and start reducing their purchasing!
It seems like people are looking for more of the experience. Is that what you are offering? Is there anything you can do with your marketing language that can suggest more of an experience for your clients?
Tags: A Red Bench, Add new tag, Angela Ploetz, Christa Wagner, Marketing, Maximize your marketing, Professional Organizer Business
Posted in Marketing | No Comments »
Thursday, July 16th, 2009
In last week’s blog Are You Chasing Away Clients, I talked about the rule I learned in telemarketing training back in my college days, “three no’s and you go”. I discussed how in your third attempt to get in contact with a non-responsive client that you should define that you will not be following up with them again but that they can contact you.
But what if you are actually speaking to the client over and over again and you are not getting a “yes”? On our recent teleclass Relationship Marketing with Donna Smallin she shared with us that she called someone 7 times over two years before they agreed to have a meeting with her and then they hired her for a two year time period. Wow! The key to her success was persistence and permission. Each time she called this person she asked him “would it be okay if I check back with you in a couple of months?” Each time the prospect said “yes”. When you get permission to call someone back you don’t feel bad about calling them because they told you it was okay. In last weeks article Are You Chasing Away Clients, that situation pertains to a non-responsive client, or someone who you keep trying to contact and never can get through to them via phone or e-mail. In Donna’s example the situation pertains to a client you are actually speaking to who is telling you that they are not ready to use your services right now. These are two very different situations.
To sum it up, if you have a non-responsive client use the “three no’s and you go” rule of thumb or if you have a client who is not ready to commit you can use the “would it be okay if I check back with you in a couple of months?” technique.
Don’t forget, we’ll be learning more on How to Sell Without Being Salesy from Helen Graves on our August 3rd teleclass.
Do you have a favorite tip? We love to learn and share.
Tags: A Red Bench, Angela Ploetz, Audio recordings, Christa Wagner, Continuing Education of Professional Organizers, Donna Smallin, Helen Graves, Marketing, Professional Organizer Business, Red Bench Program, Sales, Teleclasses
Posted in Marketing, Sales, Teleclasses | 3 Comments »
Wednesday, July 8th, 2009
I’ve recently listened to several people speak on the topic of “selling” and one thing that keeps coming up is that you should not “chase” your prospective client. So what does that mean exactly? Of course you need to “ask for the business” and you have to follow up with your prospects. So what’s the right mix? How do you know if you are chasing a client?
It’s important to know your limits. How many times are you going to try to get in touch with the client before you stop? We get this question a lot! One rule of thumb to follow is: “three no’s and you go”. I translate this as: if you try to get in touch with someone three times and you never hear back from them it’s time to move on. But before you delete that prospect from your address list be sure you communicate your action with them. In your third and final e-mail or attempt to contact a non-responsive prospect be sure to say something like: “Because I know you are so busy I want to check in with you and be sure that you are still interested in… As a Professional Organizer the last thing I want to do is waste your time and clog up your inbox. If I don’t hear back from you within a week I will not follow up with you again. Or you can simply e-mail me back and let me know a time that we can speak or if you would like me to follow up with you in one month.”
Of course you would add greeting and closing remarks, but you get the idea. The main point is not to chase the client and to define the ending in a way that is sincere and let’s the prospect know the ball is now in their court. The chase has officially ended and you couldn’t sound more pleasant to work with. The chances are when the prospect is ready they will call you back.
I’ve also learned from many speakers that being able to sell is really about being yourself and building relationships and we are fortunately to be interviewing Helen Graves on August 3, 2009 who will help us understand this even more. This is going to be a great call! I love hearing different people’s perspectives on selling and then figuring out how to make them work for me. What works for you?
Tags: A Red Bench, Add new tag, Angela Ploetz, Christa Wagner, Helen Graves, Sales, Teleclasses
Posted in Sales, Teleclasses | 4 Comments »
Monday, July 6th, 2009
We are thrilled to announce that Helen Graves will be our August 3rd speaker. Christa and I had a call with Helen two weeks ago and in 45 short minutes Helen was able to offer us some fantastic advice! We put some of her tips into place immediately. Thanks Helen!
Helen is dubbed the Grand Poohbah of Crackerjack Online Marketing Strategy. She has a fun approach to sales and says “the most important belief to nurture is that marketing can be fun!” Now that is a shift in mind set! Have you been thinking that marketing is fun? Don’t miss this call to learn how you can make marketing and sales fun AND increase your business. Personally, I can’t wait!
Tags: A Red Bench, Angela Ploetz, Christa Wagner, Helen Graves, Marketing, Sales, Teleclasses
Posted in Grow Your Business, Marketing, Teleclasses | 1 Comment »
Wednesday, June 17th, 2009
Is anyone else’s head swirling when trying to figure out which marketing tactic will work best for you? How do you keep connected to your clients or potential clients? There are e-mail newsletters, Facebook, Twitter, Linked In, networking events, blogging, e-mail, phone calls and even sending clients a card or hand written note. Christa and I recently interviews 8 experts for our Embrace Social Media TeleSummit and as expected each expert has their own take on which tool is the BEST way to draw new clients.
After interviewing many people on marketing here is what I have come to realize:
1. There is no magic one size fits all solution. What works for one will not work for everyone. You can’t just copy what someone else is doing and expect to have a successful marketing campaign.
2. Find your sweet spot and embrace it! One of the biggest learning’s I had from the TeleSummit is that most of our speakers did all forms of social media marketing a LITTLE bit, but they did one of them BIG. They had their favorite and that is where they put most of their attention and that is where they saw their best results.
3. Use other types of marketing to support your main marketing effort. Again, most people use many different types of marketing, but they simply use it to supplement their major focus area. Of course you are going to practice multiple marketing efforts, but you don’t have to dedicate equal amounts of time to each of them.
So what will you focus on? Internet marketing, face to face marketing, relationship marketing? We would love to hear your thoughts.
Tags: A Red Bench, Angela Ploetz, Christa Wagner, Embrace Social Media, Maximize your marketing
Posted in Grow Your Business, Marketing, social media | 2 Comments »
Monday, June 15th, 2009
Rise Above The Rest Using Relationship Marketing
Relationship marketing helps people remember who you are and what you do. It sets you apart and lets your clients know you care about them. It helps you drive more repeat business and referrals, so you can spend more time doing what you love. Unlike traditional marketing, it’s easy to incorporate relationship marketing into your daily schedule. And it yields a high rate of return on your investment, which is little or nothing. To grow your business, you simply need to remember one thing: Everyone you meet wants and needs to be appreciated. Attend this teleclass, with expert organizer and author
Donna Smallin, and learn how to implement a simple strategy for staying connected with clients and prospects, how to maximize the impact of your current networking, advertising and sales activities and how to enjoy more repeat business and referrals. You may even have more fun marketing!
Click here for call details.
Tags: Angela Ploetz, Christa Wagner, Donna Smallin, Teleclasses
Posted in Grow Your Business, Marketing, Teleclasses | No Comments »
