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If you’ve been looking at any of my posts here about how to use LinkedIn, and you want to find out more about how to use LinkedIn as a tool for business development and sales, I’m running a workshop all about this on 2nd July in Brighton. It’s more of an advanced class in LinkedIn, for people who have been using LinkedIn for a while as a networking tool, and want to move on to using it more proactively to help them to make sales.
The session is run by the nice folks at Brighton and Hove Chamber of Commerce as one of the Bite Sized Learning sessions, and so has the ridiculously cheap price of just £25.
What the session will cover
I’ll be looking at:
- How to build your online presence
- Finding the right people for your sales hit list
- Using LinkedIn for introductions
- Using LinkedIn as part of your business development process
- Some great tips and tricks on how to manage your pipeline
Plus the famous (?) pincer movement trick of business development – it’s probably worth coming along to the session just for this.
How to book
Book directly with the Brighton Chamber booking page. And don’t forget to stay in touch with other business training and tips, by signing up to my newsletter, and/or following me on Twitter
I’m always looking for ways to make life easier and more productive for my business advice clients, and I like to share some of those tips and tricks with you here on my blog.
One app I’ve found which would be good for clients who have to send large files to customers is Sharefile. It’s used mostly by big companies, but there’s a basic package which puts it firmly in the reach of smaller businesses and freelancers – I always like it when us smaller companies get to use the same tools as the big boys, but at small business prices.
If you’re a photographer, a graphic designer or an accountant, you’ll often be sending largish files over to clients. And often these will be files with confidential information, your clients won’t want their new logo ideas or their management accounts leaking out anywhere online. In particular, they need to know that the information you’re sending them is completely secure, because part of their relationship with you is built on completely trusting you and your systems. Lots of people are currently using Dropbox for this, but Dropbox has been criticised for its security issues, so Sharefile seems to offer a more professional looking alternative.
Sharefile seems to have much better security than other file sharing or ftp software, and because they make a big thing of the security, that’s good for letting your customers know that you take them seriously.
Have a look, and let me know what you think.
I’ve been asking myself what my clients really want, what they really, really want. Once I could get rid of that annoying Spice Girls song, I was able to think about this a lot more clearly.
We all make the mistake of thinking that our customers want what we want to sell them. But that’s not necessarily true. When I go to a restaurant, as a customer, it’s not actually the food that I want, or even the good service. What I want is the experience of going to the restaurant. Maybe I want some quality time with my partner, or an exciting taste experience. Maybe I want a good night out with friends. Whatever it is, the restaurant has to give me that experience, not just nice food and a friendly waiter.
What do you want from the Joy of Business?
- You want to learn how to make your business great
- You want to know what to do to make your business great
- You want to feel confident in what you’re doing, and know that this is the right thing
- You want to make good money, and have fun while you’re doing it.
You don’t just want a business advisor. You want someone who is on your side, and can help you to make your business great, and make sure that you’re doing the right things, not the wrong things.
What do your customers want?
What do your customers and clients really want? Is the meal or the experience of going out for the meal? How can you tell the difference?
I’ve been catching up with asking clients for testimonials for my website. These are two which made me laugh out loud.
Tim Simpson from Plunge Productions in Hove offered several versions of his testimonial:
Short and punchy…
She looked at our business, understood it, then made it grow.
Contemplative…
If we’d never been introduced to the Joy Of Business, goodness only knows what kind of pickle we’d be in by now.
Forceful…
Call Julia, Meet Julia, Thank Julia.
Effusive…
We at Plunge have been searching for years to find a Business consultant and mentor who truly understood our needs as a business. Finally we met with Julia and Ohmigod; she opened our eyes to how our business works and what we could do the develop its true potential. She’s simply amazing. Wow!
Capitalist…
She’s a bargain. A few consultations and now we’re rich. RICH I TELL YOU. RICH!!!!
Sarcastic…
Yeah, running a business is such a joy!
And Sarah Carter from WorldWide Performers offered:
Working with Julia is like having a second superior brain which is bigger, better, smarter and more experienced than mine and which can think logically and accurately when mine is ready to hit the G and T. She has helped me turn business ideas into real opportunities and has given me the confidence to make decisions which I would have found difficult to make on my own. I recommend Julia wholeheartedly though, if you are going to have a meeting with her at her place, take some milk just in case.
One of my business advice clients came out with this phrase recently.
We were talking about what the most effective sales and marketing activities for his company would be.
He said, “I’ve only got 100 energy points in a week. I need to use those points in the best possible way to get the fastest results.”
The idea really struck me – we’ve all only got so much time and energy to spend on our businesses. And we need to be just as careful of our energy points as with our money.
People running small businesses are often very prudent with money. We wouldn’t throw fivers out of the car window. But often we can be profligate with our energy points, throwing them away as if they grow on trees.
How will you be spending your energy points today?
Thanks to Michael Divers for his idea..
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Julia Chanteray at The Joy of Business helps small businesses to develop and grow. She uses her years of experience of running successful businesses to advise, support and mentor businesses in Brighton, Sussex and London.
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