Category Archives: Virtual Assistant

How to Overcome the Debilitating Feeling of Business Burnout

Burnout is a sickening feeling.

It’s like a fog envelops your brain, making it difficult to focus and work. Your muscles tighten up as you enter “fight or flight” mode. Slowly, or suddenly, you feel completely drained (usually at the moment you most need to be alert and high functioning!)

Many of us start to shut down as we feel burnout, becoming less and less effective. Or we double down, trying to push through only to end up a jumbled mess of exhaustion.

There’s a better way. Burnout can be overcome with some positive steps. In fact, burnout can actually be a great thing!

Why You Need to Embrace Burnout

No one wants to feel burnout. But sometimes we need to feel burnout.

Burnout feels awful. Awful enough to be a catalyst for promoting positive change. It can force you to change poor work habits (like working through lunch). Or cause you to reassess your priorities (like too much office time and not enough family time). Or even make you re-evaluate whether your current job or projects are what you should be doing.

If you feel burnout, there is a reason! Pinpointing the source helps you find the best solution (and maybe even some good old self-reflection and positive change making along the way).

Burnout Cause One: Utter Exhaustion

Your brain is fried. You yawn all the time. You drag your tired body to work, pushing through the fatigue only to drag your tired self back home before collapsing on the couch. You know it isn’t sustainable, but how do you stop the grind?

Option One: Exercise
Right now, the last thing you want is to go workout. But that may be exactly what you need. Get your blood flowing (preferably by exercising outside). It can generate enough energy in your body to get a second wind for work. And, it will facilitate a much better night’s sleep, which can help you feel less exhausted the next day.

Option Two: Aromatherapy
Aromatherapy involves inhaling essential oils (liquids from natural extracts like flowers and fruits). The scent interacts with our body, helping to cause benefits like improving your focus and stimulating your brain. One research study found that lavender and rosemary reduces cortisol levels (the hormone released in fight or flight mode that can be a big mental drain). Smelling certain oils can help give you the jolt of energy you need in a healthier way than turning to excessive caffeine.

Option Three: Taking Time Away From Work
Working too many hours and sitting at your desk too long is just setting you up for exhaustion. Make sure you move throughout the day. Even a few minutes stretching or walking around the office each hour can make a big difference in your energy level. Try to always physically leave work for your lunch break. If you struggle to leave work at work, plan a weekend getaway far from wifi.

Burnout Cause Two: Lack of Motivation

Right now, you just cannot seem to get going. It’s like every fibre in your body is pushing against the task at hand. You feel burnout because you feel no motivation for your work.

Option One: Remind Yourself of the Goal
Shift your focus from the task at hand to the end result of completing the task. If you are saving up for a vacation for example, set your desktop photo to the location. Pull up Instagram photos of fellow travelers enjoying their time. Reminding yourself of what you are working towards helps you get motivated to start working.

Option Two: Reflect on Your Expectations
Sometimes our lack of motivation comes because the sake seems insurmountable. No one wants to start on a mission they are doomed to fail. If your output goals are unrealistic, it can lead to burnout. Set better goals to help avoid losing motivation.

Burnout Cause Three: Feeling Overwhelmed

When it rains, it pours. Right now, there is so much going on that you feel exhausted just thinking about it. Too much is demanding your focus and energy until nothing gets done at all (or gets done poorly).

Option One: Write it Down
Sometimes just writing down everything you need can help you feel less overwhelmed. After you list out your to-dos, assign everything a deadline. Make sure you set reasonable goals. Once you get your action plan in place, it will be easier to not waste energy thinking about everything you need to get done. Instead, you can focus on getting it done.
Option Two: Delegate
If you have too much on your plate, clear some of the plate off! Delegation can help give you back your sanity and make your business run smoother.

Option Three: Try Proactive Strategies
Resist the urge to shut down and give up. Instead, try these 5 strategies for when you feel overwhelmed in business and in life.

Option Four: Examine Why You are Overwhelmed
Try to get at the root cause. Are you not feeling competent? Take some online classes or get guidance from a mentor. Are you feeling like there are not enough hours in the day? Try to jumpstart your productivity or delegate. Identifying what triggers feelings of being overwhelmed can help you prevent them in the future.

Burnout is exhausting. It can even be debilitating! But with some proactive steps, you can come out the other side. You CAN get everything done WITHOUT losing your sanity. If you can use a little extra help with managing your business, Alpine Small Business Solutions is here for you! We offer services and coaching to help you feel confident and in control with your entrepreneurial life. Just give us a call or shoot us an email today.

Top 12 Benefits of Hosting Webinars & Teleseminars and How It can Boost Your Online Business

Webinars and Teleseminars are fantastic business building tools that many marketers unnecessarily hesitate to take advantage of. They aren’t as daunting as they seem, and even the shyest of us can become confident in hosting them.

Webinars vs Teleseminars: What’s the Difference?

team-1480072__180Teleseminars came first as a way to share information between parties that are not in the same physical location. Teleseminars are fully audio based learning, with the audience listening in through a telephone or computer. Webinars, on the other hand, use audio and visual learning with the listening in through a computer. Each medium offers its own advantages and disadvantages.

The Benefits of Webinars and Teleseminars

  1. You’re immediately seen as the expert. You are in the position of a teacher, which comes with a certain amount of credibility at the start. As you speak and share great content, your credibility will grow. When you’re seen as an expert, consumers turn to your website, follow your social media pages and blogs, and purchase your products and services.
  2. Increase brand awareness. Some attendees of your presentation might’ve joined because of their interest in the topic without knowing about your organization. In your presentation, you can educate them on what your company does and how it can provide value to them.
  3. Gain reusable content. No need to reinvent the wheel! The information you gathered for your presentation can be reworked into blog posts, newsletters, e-books, social media posts, audio files, etc.
  4. system-1527680__180A large potential audience. Traditional seminars can cost more money to attend, plus require travel hassles and costs. This can keep individuals from attending. A webinar or teleseminar can be attended from the comfort of a home, making your potential consumer base significantly larger.
  5. Discover new contacts. Individuals who sign up for your presentation can be fellow industry experts to network with or potential customers to connect with.
  6. Distinguish yourself from your competition. Webinars and teleseminars are especially valuable if your competitors are not offering them. You’ll be set apart as an expert who offers more value to customers than your competitors.
  7. Direct more individuals to your site and social media profiles. In your presentation, draw attention to your website and social media profiles as a way for the audience to get more information after the presentation. If your presentation is received well, many people will want to check out your other pieces of content.
  8. Another avenue for sales. In your presentation, you can briefly mention different products or services offered by your organization. Even if only a few people make a purchase, it’s still revenue gained in addition to the other benefits.

Is a webinar or a teleseminar better for you?

It all depends on your audience. Asking yourself some key questions will help you decide which option is the best fit.

  1. Am I worried about audience attention span? If so, do a webinar. Webinars allow the use of visuals, which can not only improve audience learning but can help keep the audience engaged throughout your presentation.
  2. stress-540820_640Would I benefit from audience engagement/feedback in the presentation? Webinars offer tools, such as polls and chat rooms, to gain instant audience insight and encourage audience engagement. Not all presentations need this interaction though, and you can get feedback through post-presentation surveys.
  3. How much time do I have to prepare? Webinars require more time to create given the need to create engaging visuals that correlate to what you are saying without detracting from it. If you’re more limited on time, a teleseminar is the way to go.
  4. What technology does my target audience have? To access a webinar, audience members need a computer with a reliable connection. To access a teleseminar, audience members simply need a telephone or computer. Keep in mind technical difficulties are much more prevalent on webinars than teleseminars.

Worlds tend to collide. Webinars frequently offer a call in feature that will allow your audience to simply call in and listen as well. So you can experiment with what is best for your audience.

Keep in mind that sometimes when getting starting doing a webinar, it can be distracting trying to present with people chatting or trying to engage with the technology features. It might be best to have someone monitor the room while your focus on your presentation. Your monitor can interrupt at appropriate times for questions, or help read questions to give you a break in speaking.

You can try out both and see which better fits your teaching style. Remember that the different methods work better for different audiences, so by learning both you open yourself up to reaching more audiences. You’ll be most effective if you can do webinars for certain topics or audiences and teleseminars for others.

Want help crafting a webinar or teleseminar? Alpine Small Business Solutions is here for you to help with any aspect of small business building. Just give us a call or shoot us an email today!

5 Reasons Why Hiring a Team Will Cost Less Than Doing Everything Yourself

When considering hiring a team, the sticker price of salaries can look shockingly high to the small business owner. I really can do the social media management, administrative tasks, sales, everything myself, they think, so how can I justify spending this much on salaries for a team?

It goes back to the phrase we’ve heard since childhood. Just because you can does not mean you should.

Sure, logistically you can manage it all yourself. But in the long run, hiring a team will cost less. (Why wouldn’t you chose the more cost effective option?)

Struggling to conceptualize how hiring staff members saves you more money than doing it yourself? Here’s five reasons why teams lead to better bottom lines.

  1. Teams bring expertise.

You want your organization’s work, from marketing to customer service, to be of high team1quality. That high quality requires two things: education and experience. Before you can create a thriving social media presence, for example, you need knowledge of social media marketing tactics and trends. A Hootsuite certification costs $300, an online community college class costs around $1,000 . . . the costs of the required training add up fast for a business owner wanting to do it all. And the online world is constantly changing. Instead of paying for training in every area of business building, hire employees who are already trained.

Granted, a salary costs more than seminars and classes. But high-quality work comes from employees with knowledge and experience. It takes a few years to consistently create solid marketing content, to develop a charismatic confident customer service approach, etc. You can get your company by on your average attempts in these areas as you gain that necessary experience, or you can hire an experienced employee who can provide that quality work from the start.

  1. Teams bring efficiency.

Henry Ford revolutionized production with his assembly line approach with each team2employee performing one task in the production process. This allowed them to gain a mastery over the task and complete tasks faster than if they switched from different task to different task.

Your business can benefit from the same approach. An employee who lives and breathes social media will be more efficient when they are immersed in social media tasks all day long than a boss who switches from social media to sales to running a meeting back to social media.

  1. Teams work for lower salaries.

The hourly wage for a secretary is lower than the hourly wage of the CEO. If you’re completing an hour of administrative tasks as the CEO, it’ll cost your company more than if a secretary completed the same work. Your time is money, so don’t waste it on tasks that can be completed cheaper by someone else (especially someone else with more experience and more efficiency!).

  1. Teams bring creativity.

There was one standout winner of Superbowl 2013: Oreo. During the game, there was a team334 minute blackout. Oreo’s team collaborated and created a tweet with a photo of an Oreo and a caption “you can still dunk in the dark.” Within an hour, it was retweeted 10,000 times. It’s still used years later as an example of solid marketing in college classes.

That tweet was not created by one person. The creativity that occurs in a group brainstorming session can be invaluable to generating ideas for your business. Teams of people bring unique experiences, perspectives, and approaches that can result in better ideas. And better ideas lead to better results and better business growth.

  1. Teams allow the business to grow.

When you first begin a business, a one or two employee model can work. Heck, even Steve Jobs started with one fellow staff member. But as the company grows, so do your obligations. There will be a point where you feasibly cannot manage more clients while still effectively managing marketing, sales, accounting, administrative services, etc.

team4Bringing in a team allows you to delegate, freeing up your time to guiding the company to growth. As genius as Steve Jobs was, even he couldn’t manage Apple alone very long before it began impeding its growth. For your business to expand, your employee base needs to expand.

Don’t be the obstacle that is standing in your way. When you hit a point that you can’t do it all yourself, you are impeding your own growth. Get out of your way. Get help. More people doing everything can bring in more money.

A team does save you money in the long run. If you’re looking to add team members to manage social media or administrative services, we’d love to help! Our experienced and knowledgeable staff can assist you in any aspect of business building, simply shoot us an email or give us a call today.

Imposter Syndrome and How to Overcome it as a Small Business Owner

As a small business owner, you encounter your share of battles to overcome. But sometimes, the biggest battle is your own internal monologue.

I can’t actually do this. I feel like an imposter pretending to be cut out for this life. People think I’m qualified, but if they only knew…

These defeating thoughts are common in people with imposter syndrome, which tends to be found among highly successful and high achieving people.

AKA: you!

Imposter syndrome acts like a crippling sickness that keeps us from being bold in our personal and professional lives, robbing us of growth, success, and even happiness.

It’s a terrible thing to experience. But, it is something that can be conquered!

What Really Is Imposter Syndrome?

Imposter syndrome is a term often thrown around and splashed in click baiting headlines, leaving people confused as to what it actually is (and whether they’re affected by it).

Imposter syndrome was created in the 1970s by psychologists Pauline Clance and Suzanne Imes, who described it as a feeling of “phoniness in people who believe that they are not intelligent, capable or creative despite evidence of high achievement.”

Did you catch the irony? It’s those who are capable and qualified (evidenced by their previous high achievement) who doubt themselves to a debilitating degree.

Basically, imposter syndrome is a terrible, gut-sinking feeling experienced by motivated and successful people that keeps them from taking action out of a false perception of their own inferiority.

It’s important to note that imposter syndrome is not humility. Humility is an accurate view of your self-worth. Imposter syndrome is a skewed view of your “lack” of ability and success.

It’s also not the same as having a realistic perspective. Being a realist means your lack of action comes from the potential risks outweighing the potential benefits. Imposter syndrome, however, keeps you from acting because you falsely believe you’re not capable.

Imposter syndrome is the little troll on our shoulder feeding us lies about our potential. It keeps us from being the best small business owners we can be. We hesitate to take our company in a new direction…because we’re the ones who must lead it there. At networking events, we keep to ourselves because we don’t think we can offer anything of value to potential connections. Our own lack of confidence can rub off on our employees, making it harder for them to be bold and daring.

When we buy into lies about our capability, our business suffers. And more importantly, our mental and emotional well-being suffers. Imposter syndrome has no place in your life!

How We Perceive Success

One of the root problems of imposter syndrome comes from an inability to internalize previous success accurately. Remember, imposter syndrome happens in people with high success. Our brains have to justify the poor views of ourselves against the list of objective successes, and it does so with two approaches.

Our brain says we just got lucky. Our success isn’t due to our own efforts, we were just in the right place at the right time. Often, our brain tells us we shouldn’t take a chance because the luck we’ve been coasting on may run out.

Or, our brain says our success isn’t really that big of a deal. Our accomplishments are overblown in the eyes of others. So, we shouldn’t get cocky about trying, because really, you’re an imposter for believing you’re capable of high achievement.

If one (or both) of these mindsets resonates with how you perceive your success, then you’ve identified the first way you can overcome imposter syndrome. It’s hard, but you need to consciously work on reframing how you view success.

It’s okay to celebrate and take pride in your success. In fact, it’s important for your confidence’s sake to view your success accurately. (That means recognizing the role your ability and hard work played!)

Try this exercise. Physically write out past successes. Then write out how your talents, skills, and time got you those successes. It’ll help you fight the “it was just luck” or “it really wasn’t that impressive” defeatist thoughts. When you experience imposter syndrome thoughts, review the list. It’ll be a little pep talk from you to you.

Other Strategies for Overcoming Imposter Syndrome

There are a few ways you can work to get imposter syndrome out of your life. Try the ones that appeal to you (or try them all and see what helps). It won’t happen overnight, but you can work to a life free of imposter syndrome.

  1. Remember that you’re not alone. Be reassured that many people experience imposter syndrome. Even famous people like Tina Fey, Kate Winslet, and Maya Angelou all struggle with it! Other people have felt exactly as you do right now, and other people have conquered your battle, too.
  2. Don’t think more success is the answer. Some people think they just need to rack up a list of more achievements to feel more confident. But, the problem with imposter syndrome isn’t a lack of success (since it happens with people who are very successful). It’s not being able to internalize accurately those successes. Imposter syndrome won’t go away with more success.
  3. Hear from others’ experiences. When we buy into the “I’m the only one feeling this way” trap, we’re left feeling powerless. Books like Sheryl Sandberg’s “Lean In”, which talks about common fears of women in the workplace, can help us feel empowered knowing we aren’t alone. You can also read celebrity quotes on imposter syndrome to see how others feel.
  4. Express your expertise. Find ways to position yourself so you’re sharing what you know with others. It can help you realize you know more than you give yourself credit for. You can serve as a mentor for someone involved (or interested in) your industry. Be an active participant for industry-focused Facebook or Google+ groups, answering questions and offering advice. You’ll see that you know more, and are capable of more, than you thought.
  5. Lean on loved ones. It’s scary to admit you’re struggling, especially to people who exalt you for your abilities. But your friends and family can be an invaluable resource, working as your cheerleaders talking down negative self-talk. You can also reach out to people experiencing similar struggles, supporting each other and going through the process of overcoming imposter syndrome together.

It’s terrible to feel imposter syndrome, but it can and will get better! Remember, you ARE capable, smart, talented, and you absolutely can do this.

Why A Tripwire Is Just What Your Marketing Plan Needs

Ready to turn more leads into customers (and really, who isn’t?) Then you need to implement a tripwire into your marketing plan.

A tripwire is simply an enticing low-risk offer that provides low cost entry into your sales funnel. Leads and prospects are immediately turned into customers. These customers can then be turned into repeat customers through strategic upselling. And the best part? Customers who buy once are more likely to buy again…you just have to get that first sale.

The Psychology Behind Tripwire’s Effectiveness

sales1Tripwires utilize the persuasion principle of consistency. People have a need to rationalize their behavior as consistent, whether they are aware of its impact on their decisions or not. After they agree to a small request, they become more likely to agree to a similar but larger request. They start to feel safe with your company and products. It’s why you may find yourself picking your friend up from the airport a few weeks after you agreed to pick him up for a social outing. As long as the second larger request is similar in nature to the first smaller request, it’s likely individuals will comply.

So let’s apply this to sales. Buyer Bob buys a low priced guide to optimizing blog posts for SEO from a marketing business. A week later, they receive information on a thorough content marketing course. Because Buyer Bob already purchased the tripwire (the smaller request), he is more likely to purchase the service (the larger request).

The Components of a Tripwire

A tripwire needs to be enticing. Your buyer has a problem and is looking for a solution. You need to offer value to help ease her pain point. Leads should look at your tripwire offer and see how it’s perfectly tailored to meet their need, and how they can’t pass up this great resource.

sales2A tripwire also needs to be low risk. It’s great if a costly service meets the need of your leads, but if you can break that service in to something more low-risk for the buyer, they can dip their toes in the water before dunking their heads. The cost needs to be low to kickstart the lead-turning-into-a-customer process. A tripwire sale ideally is $20 or less (more if your services and products are on the high end of pricing). Rarely does a sale of a tripwire result in a profit (and can even show as a loss), but the value in a tripwire sale isn’t in the immediate financial gain, but it’s ability to form a foundation for an upsell. Many marketers think of this more as paying for a lead.

A small upfront cost usually works better than a free offer. This shows your leads are good and serious about what they need. People often question the quality of a free offer, while they view a lower priced product as a quality item on sale.

Making a Tripwire Sale

Begin by creating the tripwire, which meets the needs of Buyer Bob related to the larger product/service you’re wanting to sell. Find their pain point and how you can solve it. The tripwire can be physical or digital. You can sell a product/service that stands alone (a health food store selling a cookbook hoping to upsell high-end kitchen appliances) or use a fragment of your product/service (a yoga teacher selling a lesson from her course hoping to upsell the entire course).

Once you’ve got your tripwire, pitch the sale to leads. After the leads purchase the tripwire, you can either make the upsell pitch immediately or wait a set amount of time. salesWhichever way you choose the important piece is to follow up. You have a hot buyer…check in when him. Certain tripwires are set up well for an immediate pitch (while you’re buying this dog teeth cleaning, get your dog groomed and covered with flea and tick prevention at the same visit). Others work better as a follow-up (now that you’ve completed our first course, sign-up for the entire program). Find what meets your sale best.

Not all tripwire sales will result in repeating customers, just like not all lead pitches result in sales. The key is focusing on leads with the best possibility of converting from a tripwire sale to an upsale. You’ll be surprised, though, at how effective tripwires can be in creating new and lasting customers. This is where you are starting to build that bond with customers. Make them love you from the start and create a brand evangelist.

If you’re ready to implement tripwire sales into your marketing plan, but could use some guidance, we’re here for you! We can assist with any aspect of business building and strategy, including creating and marketing effective tripwire sales. Simply shoot us an email or give us a call today.

 

What Is a Sales Funnel and Why You Need to Apply It to Your Business Today

For businesses, sales are the foundation on which everything is based. Without a product or service to sell, your organization wouldn’t exist! An effective sales strategy is crucial to the survival (and hopefully thriving) of your organization, and guess what; a great tool to help is a sales funnel.

The Idea Behind the Sales Funnel

1397585A sales funnel is an analogy used to explain how the sales process works. It serves as a visual representation of how an individual moves from knowing nothing about your organization to becoming a loyal customer and hopefully brand evangelist for you. The mindset of a sales funnel views sales as a proactive process of making customers (as opposed to the more passive process of finding customers). The underlying goal of the sales funnel is to convert those who are unaware of your organization to happy customers by finding as many quality leads as possible and getting the percentage of people who go through the funnel as high as possible.

The Stages of the Sales Funnel

Many different takes on the sales funnel exist, but this is the simplest and (I think) most effective way of viewing it.

  1. The lead: The sales funnel begins with individuals who are in your target audience. They may be interested in what you offer, but have no contact yet with your organization and are unaware of what your organization offers. This part of the funnel is the largest, so it’s important to utilize a variety of effective lead-gathering strategies. You just have to show them how you can solve a problem for them…maybe one they didn’t even know they had!
  2. The prospect: At this stage, you’ve made contact with the individuals. They are aware of your organization and how you can meet their needs. They’ve expressed some interest in your organization that merits you pursuing these potential customers. Often times, prospects are simultaneously evaluating their other options, so it’s important to clearly showcase what sets your organization apart from your competitors.
  3. The committed: After all your hard work and negotiations, these individuals are now persuaded. They possess the means and desire to purchase your product/service, and all that’s left is working out the logistical details, such as a contract. Individuals at this stage can still back out though, so proactive effort into quality customer service is needed to prevent them leaving.
  4. The customer: Finally! These individuals happily buy your product/service and become a customer. In situations where contracts need to be renewed or purchases made again, the customer will enter a re-evaluation phase. In some respects, they become a prospect again since they can now evaluate their other options. Effective customer service will minimize the amount of time and effort they spend weighing alternatives, and ideally they will be such a satisfied customer that they renew the contract or buy more of your product right away. Remember, it is much easier to have a repeat customer than generate a whole new lead. Keep those customers happy. If you have a good customer base, they will become your cheerleaders. You know what that means…FREE MARKETING!

Reasons to Utilize the Sales Funnel

  1. It’s an effective measurement tool. Sales funnels allow you to measure the number of individuals at each stage, the percent of customers made from leads, and the average time it takes to move a customer down the funnel. Gathering these metrics provides you with a more holistic method of comparison to gauge successful sales efforts than just sales completed. After enough time using the sales funnel, you’ll be able to see a baseline of what you can expect from your sales team. Deviations from this baseline will show you what works well or what needs to be improved in your sales strategy.
  2. It’s a tool to measure the company’s health. A well-flowing sales funnel (accounting for external influences like the economy or the off-season of selling, of course) reflects an effective sales team and strategy. A sales funnel functioning well shows your company is doing well. A sales funnel functioning poorly can be an indicator that changes need to be made to improve the health of the organization.
  3. It showcases what areas need to be targeted to get adequate numbers. Ideally, the numbers will always be high at every phase. The reality, however, is that the numbers fluctuate often. Using a sales funnel highlights areas that should be targeted to get the numbers to where they need to be for effective customer recruitment. If you see you’re lacking leads, you can put more resources into lead generation. If you see you have enough leads but not enough are becoming prospects or committed, you can put more resources into bettering your pitch. If you see enough customers aren’t returning when contracts need to be renewed, you can put more resources into customer service.

A sales funnel is a great way to improve the effectiveness of your organization’s sales strategy as well as improve your system. Want help in implementing the sales funnel into your sales strategy? Alpine Small Business Solutions is here for you! We would love to help with this (or any aspect of business building). Simply email or call us today.

3 Ways a Tripwire and a Marketing Funnel Work Together for Optimal Conversion

A marketing funnel is great. A tripwire is great. Using them together, however, will supercharge your conversion rates.

Ready? Let’s get started.

What a Marketing Funnel Is

A marketing funnel is the process where people go from just discovering your brand to buying your goods and services. The stages are

  1. Gaining awareness of your brand
  2. Gaining interest in your brand
  3. Gaining desire for what your brand offers
  4. Taking action (buying a product/service)

Marketers use tools to nurture leads along each stage of the funnel. Visitors to your site can give their email in exchange for a free downloadable guide (gaining awareness). A follow-up email gives them a curated list of relevant blog articles on the site (gaining interest). A follow-up email to that gives them a case study showing the benefits of your products/services (gaining desire). A follow-up email to that gives them a coupon to buy your products/services (taking action).

Marketing efforts should be done to coax people along this funnel. After all, if you aren’t driving sales eventually what is the purpose of your marketing?

What a Tripwire Is

A tripwire is a strategic way to get people to enter into your funnel. You present a potential customer with an appealing low-risk and low-cost offer. Think of those e-books sold for $1 or a marketing course sold for $10. The deal is too good to pass up!

Tripwires play off of human psychology. We have an inherent need to view our behavior as consistent. If we agree to a small request, we are much more likely to agree to a larger similar request (think about when you find yourself agreeing to help a friend move after agreeing to give him a ride the other day).

When customers make a small purchase with us, they become significantly more likely to make a larger purchase with us. In fact, many companies actually offer tripwires where they lose money initially. They know they will gain it back soon with larger purchases.

Using a Tripwire and Marketing Funnel Together

These two marketing tactics work hand-in-hand in a circular relationship.

  1. A marketing funnel directs to the tripwire. Before a customer can act on the trip wire, they need to know it exists. Insert the marketing funnel! You can use the marketing funnel to direct people to the end action: acting on the trip wire. Social media, blog posts, emails can all give that push towards buying the trip wire. Not everyone will make it from gaining awareness to making that purchase. But strategic marketing can help get more people to that purchasing point.
  2. A tripwire directs people to the marketing funnel. It’s like there are two marketing funnels. A small one designed to get the tripwire bought. Then a larger one designed to get those big purchases where your income comes from. A tripwire can be the first stage of the marketing funnel: awareness. Maybe the customer knew nothing of your brand. But they say your discount Udemy course (the tripwire). After purchasing the course, they became aware of your brand. Then they received targeted emails providing valuable content (generating that interest). Then they received more targeted emails describing your products/services (generating that desire) before being prompted to act (generating that action). This customer went through your marketing funnel because of your tripwire.
  3. A tripwire increases the chances of purchases. Remember the main benefit of a tripwire? It increases the chances of people making larger purchases with your organization. A tripwire does more than guide people to your marketing funnel. It increases the chances they make it to the final stage of the funnel!

Creating tripwires and marketing funnels are an important part of your sales strategy. But they can be a bit tricky for novices to create. That’s where Alpine Small Business Solutions is here for you! We provide sales funnel services using the tripwire and marketing funnel to effectively increase your conversion rates. Give us a call or shoot us an email to chat about your options today!

The Power of an Automated Marketing and Sales Funnel

Wouldn’t it be great if your marketing and sales could run on autopilot?

Well with an automated sales funnel, they can! After an initial set-up, you can sit back, relax, and focus your attention on other marketing tasks.

An automated marketing and sales funnel allows you to work smarter, not harder. It can skyrocket your efficiency and effectiveness. If you aren’t using one already, it’s about time you hop aboard this train to growth!

The Sales Funnel

You’ve probably heard this phrase before. Many, many, many times I imagine. Let’s quickly debrief anyway.

A sales funnel is the journey people go through from first discovering your company to paying money for your goods/services. The stages go:

  1. People become aware of your brand
  2. People become interested in your brand
  3. People have desire for what your brand offers
  4. People take action (buying a product/service)

Not everyone makes it through every stage. That is why it’s a funnel – it’s largest at the top and becomes narrower as it goes down. As a marketer, your goal is to move as many people as possible through the funnel.

Automating the Funnel

Automation, when done well, can be a marketer’s best friend. First of all, it saves you an immense amount of time. Instead of you sitting down to individually send an email to people at each stage of the funnel, these emails can be sent automatically.

Second of all, it can improve your targeting efforts without any extra efforts on your end. For example, someone who opts-in to your social media newsletter gets a follow-up email offering them a discount for your social media services. Someone who opts-in to your business management newsletter gets a follow-up email offering them a discount for your upcoming leadership webinar. These targeted pitches can happen automatically.

How to Create Your Automated Email Funnel

The most common way to automate your marketing and sales funnel is with your email.

  1. Creating awareness: Here you are hoping to stir up awareness of your brand. Many marketers will offer a free downloadable piece of content in exchange for someone’s email. Think case studies, guides, and other similar substantial pieces of content. The focus here is to get your company name in their memory and associate yourself within the industry. Nothing sales-y at all, yet!
  2. Creating interest: Now you’ve gotten their email. Here you are hoping to keep their attention (since that “unsubscribe button” is all too easy to press). Send a follow-up email to those who subscribed giving them more helpful information. Nothing sales-y here either! The goal is to intrigue your audience about your brand by showing you know your stuff. Send an email with a round-up of useful articles on the given topic. Share valuable resources. Prove that your emails (and your company) offer value.
  3. Creating desire: Now you’ve got a group of people who stayed on your email list. By now, you’ve sent a few useful emails. They are still intrigued by your company. Now you can start slipping in the sales-y content. Show off what your brand can do. Maybe it’s an email with testimonials of a product. Maybe it’s case studies of how companies benefited from your service. Draw a connection between your customer’s problem and your product/service as a solution.
  4. Creating action. Now that you got your customers desiring your product/service, you can prompt action. Send an email that provides a discount for first time customers. Direct them to the sales page. Funnel those potential customers into becoming purchasing customers.

This process can be a highly effective one at generating more leads and more sales. You will need specialized tools to accomplish this (MailChimp is a common one). Look through different service options to find the best ones for your company. The key here is finding something that offers effective automation. You want a service allowing for targeted funnel creation (such as one path for first time customers and another path for repeat customers).

It’ll take some time at first to situate your funnel. But once you do, you can reap the rewards of automation! If you want help setting up your funnel, Alpine Small Business Solutions is here for you! We specialize in sales funnel services that can get your marketing thriving. Contact us today to find out more!

Why a Social Media Marketing Funnel is crucial for your Business

Your social media strategy is probably incomplete. Too many marketers create a plan designed to create a thriving social media presence with lots of followers and likes…and stop there.

Wait, isn’t that the point of social media marketing?

Not completely. It’s all well and good to have an active company social media presence. But a social media presence that is all buzz and no buying is a bust. The missing component for many marketers is a social media marketing funnel.

What the Funnel Is

The “sales funnel” is a buzzword in marketing, one that is thrown about so much it often loses its meaning. So let’s take a second to define it.

A sales funnel is the process where someone goes through the following steps:

  • Becoming aware of your brand
  • Becoming interested in your brand
  • Having desire for what your brand offers
  • Taking an action in accordance with your brand (such as buying your product/service)

The goal of course is to move as many people through the funnel as possible. In the perfect world, everyone who becomes aware of your brand eventually takes action.

But of course, that perfect world doesn’t exist. That’s why it’s a funnel – it’s largest at the top where people become aware of your brand. Fewer people eventually become interested. Fewer have desire. And fewer end up making that purchase.

Crucial action taken by you can help move along more people through your funnel.

Why You Need a Specific Social Media Sales Funnel

Social media is a unique beast. The tactics used here are not ones you would use in email marketing or when setting up a booth at an expo. This unique beast calls for a unique, tailored sales funnel.

When you create a social media sales funnel, you supercharge your social media marketing. No longer is it simply about growth. After all, growth can be overrated if that growth never leads to anything. It’s great to have 1,000 followers on your Facebook page, but what is that worth if none of them ever spend a dollar on your company?

When you use a social media sales funnel, you shift the focus. You keep that end point (making that moolah) in mind. This helps inform the work you do, making it more effective and strategic. It takes some effort. But it’s worth it.

How to Create a Social Media Sales Funnel

Building an effective social media sales funnel requires strategy at every stage of the customer journey. The first step is to generate that awareness by being where your target audience is. Take some time to identify which channels your target audience is and how to run yours effectively. All too often, marketers spread themselves too thin. It’s far better to be on two channels (but doing them right) than on five channels half-heartedly.

Once you know which channels to be on, you can work on generating that awareness. Facebook ads, for example, can help potential customers discover your page. When applicable, tag other organizations in your posts to help your posts show up on their followers’ pages. Cross promote your social channels through strategies like including the social links in your email signatures or newsletters.

The next stage is getting people interested in your brand. Create engaging posts that capture their attention (video can be a great tool for this). Showcase how you meet their needs. Push out relevant non-salesy content. Persuade them that your content is worth their precious time. Don’t make sales here yet, simply display your value.

The third stage is generating that desire for your brand’s services/products. Create posts that show exactly how you meet a given need. Promote an upcoming training event. Use your channels to push out the message that your company solves their problem.

The fourth stage is prompting that final action (usually a sale!). Make this as simple for customers as possible. Some platforms, like Pinterest, allow you to make posts that direct customers directly to the shopping cart for a given product.

Not all the sales in your social media funnel will happen directly through social media, whether it be a sale in the platform itself or clicking a link in the post itself. But social media can be a great tool getting customers to the other three stages of the funnel.

Take some time to establish tangible action steps you can take to nudge customers to each new stage of the funnel. This will help your marketing efforts be tailored and targeted, rather than focusing simply on building a presence and hoping it leads to sales down the road.

A social media marketing sales funnel is a crucial aspect of your social media marketing. If you want some assistance creating and improving yours, Alpine Small Business Solutions is here for you! We offer sales funnel services to help grow your business. Check them out today!

Start Off the New Year Strong

Ready for the new year? It’s a time of new beginnings, evaluation, and dreaming big. Channel the enthusiasm of resolutions and the fresh start to make this year a great one for your business. Use our checklist to start off the new year strong.

Client Relations

  • Review current client list. Double check the information to ensure it’s up to date. Make sure points of contacts, email addresses, etc. did not change in the new year.
  • Review your prospective client list. Decide which potential relationships to prioritize cultivating in the new year, and outline steps to take to turn the prospects into fans of your organization.

Employee Management

  • managementEvaluate staffing needs. Identify any areas lacking support staff. Maybe it’s time for a social media manager or another administrative assistant. Consider a virtual assistant as an efficient and cost-effective way to meet your staffing needs, without draining the bank.

 

Business Management

  • Create a strategy for the year. Create tangible, measurable goals for your organization. Think about what you want to accomplish in the upcoming year and how success is defined for your business. Then prioritize efforts for the first quarter.
  • Make a thorough budget. It’s tedious, but important to make a budget for the full management-1year. It’ll change as unexpected expenses and outstanding situations arise, but it will help provide the clear direction necessary to ensure money is being spent where it’s most needed.
  • Review your processes. Examine your hiring practices, sales strategy, social media and marketing strategy, customer service practices, everything your organization does. Identify what is working, and what needs adjusting.
  • Examine your technology. Make sure the security features on your devices and accounts are as secure as possible. Update any programs. Add in necessary equipment purchases in the budget for the new year.
  • Clean up and clean out. Start off the new year with an organized workspace. Get rid of unnecessary documents on your computer. They just add clutter! Clean out and organize your desk to ensure everything is in its place for the new year.

Social Media and Marketing

  • Conduct a social media audit. Go through all your social media channels. Evaluate their success and value to your organization, and cut ones that are not working.
  • Review your branding. Sometimes a new year calls for a new look. Go through your website, business card design, and logo to see if anything should be updated.

It’s a new year, but there’s still the same old administrative tasks begging for your attention. If you’re stretching yourself (or your employees) too thin, outsource projects to Alpine Small Business Solutions! We can handle any business-related tasks for you, freeing up more of your time to manage your business in the new year. Give us a call or send us an email today.