Tag Archives | national small business week

6 Things You Could Do Today to Generate a Sale in Your Small Business

By on May 13, 2013 in Business Inspiration, Grow Your Business

6 Things You Could Do Today to Generate a Sale in Your Small Business 198x300 6 Things You Could Do Today to Generate a Sale in Your Small BusinessIt’s National Small Business Month and here are some quick ideas to jumpstart your small business for the second half of this year.

Have you updated your elevator pitch? When is the last time you sharpened your marketing plan? Do you have monthly sales goals? Are your business finances updated by the 15th of the month? Do you do at least one thing a day to generate sales? If you answered “no” to any of these questions, it’s not too late to start moving in the right direction.

Here are 6 things you could do today to generate a sale in your small business:

1)      Send a thank you note. Personal hand-written notes are so powerful. Send one to a friend, customer or a prospect just to check in and let them know they crossed your mind.  If you can, include an article of interest to them, too.

2)      Ask for a LinkedIn or Yelp recommendation. You need to ask for recommendations religiously. Turn your happy customers into an unpaid sales force for your small business. Be sure to send the link to make it easy for them. The easiest way to get a recommendation is to give one.

3)      Follow-up with a recent contact. I meet people everywhere and I’m sure you do, too. Reach out to a contact that you met at a recent networking event to schedule a face-to-face meeting or appointment. Pick out a place that is mutually convenient and have a quick coffee or lunch meeting.

4)      Change your timeline graphic on your Facebook fan page. People respond to visuals.  Make sure to update people on what’s new with your small business.

5)      Write a new blog post for your business blog. Make sure that your article is helpful to your target audience and is at least 500 words.

6)      Track down your outstanding receivables. On a weekly basis, evaluate your accounts receivable. If any client is behind 30 days in issuing payment, give them a call to find out payment status. While you’re on the phone, inquire about any additional opportunities to do more business.

Let me know how these marketing tactics are working for you in your business.

“Standing Business Partners” courtesy of imagerymajestic / www.freedigitalphotos.net

May is the busiest time of the year for me, and here’s where you can catch me live this week.

Monday May 13th: I’m headed to Austin, TX for the RISE Conference Austin sponsored by Dell. I’m be speaking at the Opening Keynote session Monday evening at 6pm https://www.riseglobal.org/about

Tuesday May 14th: Don’t miss my brand new TV Show, Crowd Rules on CNBC 9pm ET Do you have what it takes to win $50,000? In the all new competition series, Crowd Rules, three small businesses compete for the grand prize each week. To win–they must convince the crowd! Check out an exclusive sneak peek. You can see my episode June 18th.

Wednesday May 15th: Come celebrate #SmallBizChat’s 200th episode! Join me on Twitter Wed 8-9pm ET where we’ll have some surprises and giveaways — so do not miss this.  We’ll be talking about how to build a powerful social media brand. Here’s how to participate in #Smallbizchat http://bit.ly/S797e

Thursday May 16th: Join me in Columbus, OH for the Black Enterprise Entrepreneurs Conference #BEEC. I’ll be leading a boot camp on how to develop and launch a brand for a new small business. It’s not too late to join me, register today.

Friday May 17th: Don’t miss Part II of my three part series in the New York Times You’re the Boss Blog on how to have a great website.  Here’s part one: The Problem Social Media Cannot Solve

I feel so grateful to be your SmallBizLady; it’s my mission to end small business failure – and I work hard at it. I love to meet my fans in person, so if you’re attending any of the conferences where I’m speaking this week, please stop and say, “Hi!”

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National Small Business Week is Here!

By on May 21, 2012 in Grow Your Business, Melinda Emerson @SmallBizLady, SmallBizChat, Your Small Business

America’s #1 Small Business Expert Joins the New York Times. I am excited to announce that I am joining the writing team at the You’re the Boss section of The New York Times. Premiering this May, my column on social media and small businesses will run weekly on the blog centered on small business ownership advice.  Loren Feldman, small-business editor of The New York Times says “Melinda Emerson is a force of nature. She will be writing about social media, and we are very excited about adding her passion, her energy and her insights to You’re the Boss.”  Click here to read more.

National Small Business Week 300x129 National Small Business Week is Here!I consider May to be National Small Business Month. There are always tons of events, conferences and contests that kick-off or take place during the month of May, and this year is no exception.  May 20-26, 2012 is actually National Small Business Week, which is a great opportunity for businesses large and small to celebrate all that we contribute to the U.S. economy.  Here’s a list of some of the top events taking place this week to help you grow your small business:

On #Smallbizchat this week: We are having a National Small Business Week celebration sponsored by Verizon Small Business @VZSmallBiz. In honor of this special week, Verizon is giving away 12 top business books to the first 200 people who come to #Smallbizchat this Wednesday between 8-9pm ET and use our hashtag.  Follow my @SmallBizLady Twitter handle for more details. Here’s how to participate in #Smallbizchat http://bit.ly/S797e

This week’s #Smallbizchat topic: How to Use Pinterest to Grow Your Small Business with Jennifer Abernethy @SalesLounge and Author of The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Social Media Marketing.  Don’t miss it.

Join FedEx Office, Our Office is Your Office Tweet Chat Series On Tuesday May 22, 1-2pm ET with Gene Marks @GeneMarks. He’ll be sharing advice on networking to increase small business cash flow.  To join the live chat on Twitter, follow @FedExOffice and use hashtag #FedExOffice.

National Small Business Week Conference:  Sponsored by the Small Business Administration @SBAgov, which is holding its annual conference in DC this week. If you are in the area, they are having a Tweetup Tuesday May 22nd in DC. There is still time to register http://owl.li/aZhFu

See SmallBizLady Live: I’ll be in Chicago this week attending the Black Enterprise Entrepreneur’s Conference at the Chicago Hilton. It kicks off May 23-26th, 2012.  Be sure to check out www.blackenterprise.com this Thursday May 24th. A feature article on my business will be published as part of their Black Blogger Month series.

Great Contest Opportunity: If you are looking to expand your business, Chase and www.LivingSocial.com have teamed up to give up to 12 grants of $250K to small businesses. This is am amazing opportunity for today’s entrepreneurs. For complete contest details visit www.missionsmallbusiness.com The last day to enter is June 30th.

Do you know about any other great events for National Small Business Week? Please share them in the comments.

For more tips on how start or grow your small business subscribe to Melinda Emerson’s blog http://www.succeedasyourownboss.com.

Melinda F. Emerson, known to many as SmallBizLady is America’s #1 small business experts. As a seasoned entrepreneur, professional speaker, and small business coach, she develops audio, video and written content to fulfill her mission to end small business failure. As CEO of Quintessence Multimedia, Melinda educates entrepreneurs and Fortune 500 companies on subjects including small business start-up, business development and social media marketing. Forbes Magazine named her #1 woman for entrepreneurs to follow on Twitter. She hosts #SmallBizChat Wednesdays on Twitter 8-9pm ET for emerging entrepreneurs. She also publishes a resource blog http://www.succeedasyourownboss.com Melinda is also bestselling author of Become Your Own Boss in 12 months; A Month-by-Month Guide to a Business That Works.

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7 Keys to Power Networking

By on May 16, 2011 in Become Your Own Boss Tips, Branding & Marketing, Grow Your Business, How to Start, Melinda Emerson @SmallBizLady, My Recommendations, SmallBizChat, Your Small Business

7 Keys to Power Networking

BlogPost5 16X1 150x150 7 Keys to Power Networking

Power Networking at Business Event

May 16th kicks off National Small Business Week and for the next seven to 14 days there are tons of events and awards ceremonies for small business owners which is a fantastic opportunity to meet and greet potential contacts.  I keynote and speak at many conferences and small business events, and often I see small business owners doing their businesses a disservice by how they show up and network at events.  With tons of networking opportunities taking place from now until Memorial Day, I wanted to provide a guide on how to prepare for a networking event. I call them my 7 Keys to Power Networking.

Here are 7 things to consider when networking:

  1. 1. Set a Goal. Don’t go to any event without a goal in mind. You should always know why you are attending the event. You should not go to any event where your best target customers are not the majority of the attendees. When I attend events, I try to secure 5 quality contacts and that’s it. Why? Because there’s only so much time to follow-up with people.  The fortune is in the follow-up, I’ll talk about that in next week’s blog post.

 

  1. 2. Research Attendees. Try to find out who is attending the event. Look at who’s on the board of the event sponsor. Check out the names of the honorary committee hosting the invitation. Make a call to the organizers to try to get as much information as a possible.  (If they utilized an online invitation, you can see who else was invited. Use Google and LinkedIn to research as many attendees as possible. This makes having conversations much more interesting and you’ll show your prospect you’ve got legitimate interest in them. You want to learn any information that will help you make a personal connection as quickly as possible.

 

  1. 3. Bring You’re A Game. You can’t bring your A game in your B suit. Make sure you look great head to toes.  Men shoes are important. Ladies make sure the makeup and neckline are appropriate.  Everything should fit well, and it will really boost your confidence. You don’t get a second chance make a first impression!  Dress how you want others to perceive you and your business.

 

  1. 4. The Reception IS The Event. Game time is the reception. DO NOT BE LATE! The reception is your best chance to track down your targets. You must be on time and armed with your business cards at the reception. Why? Once you take your seat you can only network with the other 9 people at your table. If you are going to attend an event with a friend– divide and conquer the event.

  1. 5. Go For The Relationship– Not The Chicken. Do not head immediately to the food table. Work The Room! Be fearless and ready to introduce yourself to anyone. Once you make a contact maintain eye contact. Don’t look over their shoulder at your key target who just entered the room. Be present where you are. Anyone could potentially be a great contact.

  1. 6. Moving On From A Contact. Moving on can be tricky. It’s important not to be rude. But most likely the person you are talking to has an agenda too, so do not hesitate to shut down the conversation and move on.  Here’s three great lines you can use to make a graceful exit.  Use one of these lines as appropriate; “It was so nice to meet you, I’m going to head over to get a drink.”  or  “It was so nice meeting you and I’m going to give you a call.”  “I do not want to monopolize you at this event, I am sure there are more people in here you want to meet. Let keep in touch and see how we can help each other.”  With any of these lines you can smoothly move on to your next potential prospect.

  1. 7. Take Notes. You’ll want to remember the details of your conversations, write down a few notes on the back of the contact’s business card to help your memory later.  If you meet a lot of people each week sometimes it’s hard to keep people straight relying on your memory. Your notes will help making follow-up much more personal.

 

What other networking tips do you have? I love to learn about other good ideas.

 

Melinda F. Emerson, SmallBizLady, is one of America’s leading small business experts. She is an author, speaker and small business coach whose areas of expertise include small business start-up, business development and social media marketing. As CEO of MFE Consulting LLC, Melinda develops audio, video and written content to fulfill her mission to End Small Business Failure.  She publishes a resource blog, www.succeedasyourownboss.com and hosts a weekly talk show on Twitter called #Smallbizchat for emerging entrepreneurs.  Forbes Magazine named Melinda Emerson one of the Top 20 Women for Entrepreneurs to follow on Twitter. Melinda has been featured in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, Fortune and Black Enterprise. She’s the author of the bestselling book “Become Your Own Boss in 12 months; A Month-by-Month Guide to a Business That Works.”

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