August 2020 - Focus Guru

Follow Up, Follow Up, Follow Up

How many times have you been to a 4Networking meeting, collected a list of people who might be interested in your products and services, and then done nothing with it? How many potential sales have been thrown away, all for the effort of sending a quick email, text or voice message?

“I did some following up like we talked about and I messaged some of the recent Bumper and Friends customers. Within about half an hour I’ve had 8 replies, some lovely feedback about the books and some sales! Following up works! ” – Jenny Leggott Author

This is where following up after meetings is essential. You have a second chance to chat with people and find the common ground to build future friendships and working relationships. In 4Networking, this is called “Meet, Like, Know, Trust” and describes the foundations for doing business together.

How to build mutual trust.

When you reach a stage of mutual trust, you’ll find the sales start coming in. You’ll also find people are willing to recommend you to their friends, colleagues and customers. Having a personal recommendation is perhaps one of the best ways to reach new customers.

To build long-lasting, solid, mutual trust takes time and patience. It’s about asking questions and listening to the answers. It’s a fact-finding mission. What do they like? Do you have shared interests? Are there areas where you disagree? Even our differences can build trust. Being honest is vital for building trust.

Have a think about some questions you can ask. These may or may not relate to your business, or theirs, the questions could be about soap operas, football teams, family, cars or holidays. Every question you ask builds a better picture of the person you’re chatting with. It provides the stepping stones for moving the conversation towards business goals.

Some of the common questions I’m asked are “how many times should I follow up” and “what if they think it’s annoying getting all my messages” – these can vary from person to person and from business to business.

How many times should I follow up?

It’s possible you may sell your product or service on the first contact with someone. If you’re selling exactly what they want, at exactly the right price, exactly when they need it, that’s great, but often it can take more than one follow-up.

Top Tip: It’s always worth following up after the sale to check everything went well. It’s your opportunity to ask if they want more or if they can think of anyone else who would like the same product or service.

There are various formulas and statistics saying 80% of sales need 5 or more follow-ups, although these figures are open for interpretation. The key message is that follow-ups work. You’ll also find people will respond to different types of follow-ups. Some people prefer phone calls, others prefer emails, texts, or messages via Facebook or LinkedIn.

For increased success, try varying the time of day, or the day of the week. You never know what they may be in the middle of doing when your call or message arrives.

What if they think it’s annoying?

A good gauge of this is to judge whether you would find it annoying. If you have emailed, texted, phoned and left a voice message, that’s quite a lot for someone to read and process all at once, especially if the content is similar or identical.

Try to stagger your communications at a reasonable interval. You can see if someone has opened a message sent via LinkedIn, Facebook, WhatsApp or email. Give them time to read and digest your message.

Top Tip: If someone has found your correspondence annoying, they may tell you, or they may ignore you. Use your judgement and always respect anyone who asks not to be contacted again.

If you would like any advice on how to follow up from 4Networking meetings, or how to organise your contact list, prioritising sales leads or automating responses, please get in touch. These are key topics I help clients with, and it all starts with a small conversation.

I offer a free 15 minute consultation for small business owners to explore how to bring in more sales. This can be followed up with a Focus Guru Power Hour to implement positive processes to maximise sales from your list of people collected at 4Networking meetings. Let’s get started! Please book your 15 minute consultation today.

Rachael Chiverton, Focus Guru – Giving You Your Time, Your Way

www.getfocus.guru

Could You Benefit From Collaborating With Your Competitors?

Does the thought of collaborating with one of your competitors make your blood boil? Is the mere thought of chatting with someone who does what you do make you want to run a mile? We’re often taught to be wary of competitors and to keep them at a safe distance.

Create space, time for you by working with competitors

Are you concerned if they know too much they’ll poach your customers? It’s possible they could steal your business and take away your turnover. You might worry they’ll undercut your prices or include extras you haven’t thought of. Maybe you’re worried they’ll drive you out of business?

Changing Your Mindset

Of course, it makes sense to watch your back when you encounter a competitor. You might meet at a networking event where you’re pitching for the same business from the same people. If you’re an independent consultant representing the same company, offering the same products, at the same prices, you might think it can leave little room for differentiating yourself. You might think, “how can I compete?”.

But, that’s where changing your mindset from competition to collaboration makes a big difference. Instead of stressing, you can relax. Rather than racing to be first to follow up each potential customer, you can take a step back and see the bigger picture.

Two Heads Are Better Than One

There genuinely is enough business for everyone and working together to achieve a common goal can be extremely satisfying. To be able to say to someone – “I can’t help with that, but I know someone who can”, or, “I’m fully booked this month, but have you tried speaking with…”, puts you in a powerful position to be remembered as the person who went out of their way to be helpful, rather than the person who wouldn’t share information.

Being able to outsource surplus work is another good reason to have names of competitors in your address book. Attending 4Networking meetings always generates fresh leads for me, and my competitors. Yet, people in the same industry can and do work together. I have realistic expectations and I’m always looking for ways to collaborate with others.

Realistic Expectations

Unless you’ve invented something revolutionary, the chances are someone else will be doing what you do, or something similar to what you do. This happens in almost every industry across the world. It’s unlikely you’re the only plumber in town, or the only car salesperson, utility company, marketeer or life coach. If your business is network marketing, you’ll almost certainly meet a competitor at events. They may be from the same company or offer a similar product. Remember, there really is enough business to go round.

Having realistic expectations when meeting a competitor can open many doors to new customers and new opportunities. Instead of running them down, ignoring them, or being fearful of them, is there a way you could work together? Being open-minded to collaborating rather than competing gains respect and forges lifelong friendships.

I work with people who run businesses in many different sectors, from accountants, to IT companies, to freelance tradespeople, network marketeers and many more. Everyone has a common goal, to earn money to feed their family, provide a roof over their head, to afford nice things, and to grow their business.

I run Focus Guru Power Hour workshops via Zoom for individuals and teams to explore collaboration opportunities within your business sector. It all starts with an easy conversation about what you’d like to achieve. I’ll give you the tools you need to be confident in meetings when you meet someone who does what you do. Contact me on 07756 772950 to find out more.

Rachael Chiverton, Focus Guru – Giving You Your Time, Your Way

www.getfocus.guru

Protect Your Skin With Arbonne Gelée And Feel Fabulous!

Are the hot summer days playing havoc with your skin? With the temperature rising, it takes a little extra effort to stay looking radiant. Being out in the heat of the sunshine or working in an air-conditioned office can quickly dry out the sensitive skin on your face, arms and legs.

Left untreated your skin can become dull, lacklustre, drained, cracked, peeling and less supple. Has anyone recently said – “you look tired”, yet you feel fine? It could be your skin is talking for you and even though you feel ok, underneath the surface, your body is calling out to be rescued.

Why Detox?

One of the signs we’re dehydrated is when our skin feels tight, has dimples, or the dark circles under our eyes just won’t go away. The good news is our skin is very clever at renewing itself and regaining elasticity. Using a detox gelée hydrates, cools and refreshes your skin bringing it back to a radiant glow. If you’ve got sunburn, applying a small amount to the affected skin will make a big difference.

Using a detox gelée hydrates, cools and refreshes your skin bringing it back to a radiant glow

What Makes It So Good?

Inside Arbonne’s Rescue and Renew Gelée you’ll find a delicious botanical mix of extracts of dandelion, turmeric and ginger root, an all-natural blend of detoxifying ingredients. There’s a blend of orange, lavender, grapefruit and tangerine essential oils designed to create a delightful aroma and a sense of real relaxation.

You’ll also notice the pale green colour. This comes from the green algae ingredient, which replenishes your skin’s natural lipid barrier with layers of moisturisation to protect your skin from dryness. Rescue and Renew Gelée contains shea butter, caffeine, malachite and plenty of Vitamin E to bring out the best in your skin.

Feel Fabulous!

I find working indoors can make my skin dry. If there’s the opportunity, you’ll find me working outside, either from my laptop or using my time twice making calls whilst walking Missy in our local park. I’ve been using Arbonne’s Rescue and Renew Gelée every day for the last few months and the difference it has made to my skin has been amazing!

Dark circles, dull skin, aching muscles and even reactions to creature bites are no longer a problem. Using the gelée in the morning means I feel refreshed and ready for the day. Then in the evening I can reapply the gelée, so it replenishes moisture in my skin overnight.

If I’m feeling indulgent, I can choose one of the complementary Arbonne products, the Rescue and Renew Face Mask, Rescue and Renew Soak and Rescue and Renew Lotion to give my skin a well-earned treat.

Treat Yourself

Sometimes I need an excuse to buy something for myself and sometimes I buy treats when I’ve achieved a milestone in my business, gaining a new client, finishing a project, especially if I’ve needed to work long hours to achieve the goal.

It’s so much easier buying a gift for someone else! I’ve introduced Arbonne to my family and friends and they love trying the latest products. As well as running Focus Guru, I’m an Arbonne Consultant helping both men and women with health, nutrition and skincare. Through Arbonne’s range of 100% Vegan and cruelty-free products I can guide you to a healthier lifestyle, giving you more energy and more time to feel fabulous.

If you’d like to know more about Rescue and Renew products, or if you’d like a free 15 minute consultation to find out how being an Arbonne Consultant can make a big difference in your life, please contact me on 07756 772950.

Rachael Chiverton, Focus Guru – Giving You Your Time, Your Way

www.getfocus.guru

Unlock the Secret of Mailchimp Success in 5 Easy Steps with a Focus Guru Power Hour

Even with today’s variety of instant messaging systems, sending emails is still one of the best ways to keep in touch. You can send instructions, entertainment, information, product updates, special offers, vouchers and more, directly into your customer or prospective customer’s inbox.

Your customer doesn’t need to remember to visit your website or Facebook page to find out what’s happening and you don’t need to phone them. They can read your emails at their leisure at any time of the day or night.

Some of my clients use emails to generate new business and others use emails to send topical information. It’s possible to send your latest blog by email, or an extract encouraging people to visit your website to find out more.

Several clients have asked for my help setting up a mailing list and showing them how to make it work for them. I’d like to share some of the steps with you now and if you’d like a 121 training session via Zoom, please click this link and book your Focus Guru Power Hour.

“Rachael has been amazing helping me set up mailing campaigns for my Sammy Rambles books and dragons! She walked through all the steps from creating the account to importing contacts and sending a test email. I feel confident I can send my own mailshots after my Focus Guru Power Hour.” – Jenny Leggott, Transcend Zero

Step 1 – Creating Your Account

You may already have a Mailchimp account, but if you don’t then I will walk through the steps to create your own account where you can manage all of your mailshots and contacts. This takes just a few minutes and you’ll have your own dashboard set up to manage your campaigns. If preferred, I can manage a Mailchimp account on your behalf if you’d like to outsource this aspect of your online marketing.

Step 2 – Adding Contacts

If, like me, you’ve been to lots of 4Networking meetings you’ll probably have collected contact details for customers and prospective customers from all around the world. Hopefully you’ll have followed up with many of these new friends and contacts and, if you have their permission, they can be added to your “Mailchimp Audience”, either one address at a time or imported using a CSV file. This ensures you meet GDPR requirements. When adding addresses, I recommend setting up “tags” which can be used later in your campaigns send relevant mailshots to targeted groups of people.

Step 3 – Setting Up A Campaign

This is the exciting part! You’ve set up your account and imported your contacts. Next, it’s time to create an email to send to your chosen recipients (using the tags we set up earlier). There are two ways you can do this, either by sending a one-off email using “Create Email” or using “Campaigns”. If you’re anticipating sending regular emails, I recommend using Campaigns as this will save time in the future. In the Focus Guru Power Hour I’ll also make sure you’re confident creating engaging HTML or Text emails using the built-in design templates where you can add pictures and use different fonts, colours and text sizes.

Step 4 – Scheduling Mailings

Have you got an upcoming product launch? Or would you like to send a mailshot at a particular time on a particular day? You might want to send your mailshot at 3am so it can be opened during early business hours in America. There are many reasons why it makes sense to schedule a mailshot and Mailchimp has this facility. I call it “using your time twice” where you can make the best use of your time with multiple activities taking place at the same time.

Step 5 – Analysing Your Results

This is my favourite part where I show you the direct results of your mailshot. It’s where you can view the success (or limitations) of your campaign. Are you curious who has read your correspondence? Do you want to know if they clicked on an image or a link in your message? The real-time reports give you the information you need to measure the success of your mailshot. You can drill down to individual subscribers and follow their progress from opening the email to clicking a link to ordering a service or asking for more information.

“I was really impressed with Rachael’s knowledge of Mailchimp and how she helped make it easy to keep in touch with my customers. I’d definitely recommend the Focus Guru Power Hours to anyone who wants to learn more about Mailchimp and set up their own campaigns.” – Jenny Leggott, Transcend Zero

If you’d like to book a Focus Guru Power Hour to set up (or review) your Mailchimp mailing lists, please click this link to book now. I run 121 workshops via Zoom on a number of different business tools designed to free up your time to do the things you want to do, when you want to do them. Let’s get started! Book your Focus Guru Power Hour today!

Rachael Chiverton, Focus Guru – Giving You Your Time, Your Way