March 2021 - Focus Guru

Do You Follow Up 121 Or One To Many?

I’ve talked lots about the benefits of following up after networking meetings and I’d like to share two different strategies to help you make the most of your follow-ups without experiencing overwhelm or getting distracted by…Squirrels!

When I attend a new networking meeting, I know I’ll meet around twenty people each time. Over the course of a week I might meet over a hundred new people plus catching up with people I’ve already met. Without a proper follow-up strategy in place it could be very time consuming and difficult to keep track of who asks for more information and who wants to order from me.

If someone doesn’t want my services or need them right now, I can also keep track of potential opportunities where I can recommend that person to speak with other people that I’ve met networking. An example of this would be recommending a mortgage advisor or removal company to someone looking to move home or office, or a mechanic to someone who needs help with their car.

Having lots of networking contacts helps you become a problem solver, simply by connecting people together who might not have met each other. To make the most of your contacts, it’s important to follow up with them regularly, adding value with each conversation.

“I attended Rachael’s Follow Up training session and afterwards I felt motivated and immediately implemented some of the things we discussed. I will be back to carry on and will book a further Follow Up session!” – Liz Johnson, Pet Health and Welfare Specialist

There are two main strategies for following up and these are 121 Follow Ups and One To Many Follow Ups. They each have value and can be used successfully depending on how much time you can invest in your follow-ups and how you prefer to carry out your follow-ups.

121 Follow Ups

As the name implies, you’re following up one to one, you and the other person. This is a great way to continue a 121 meeting and find out more about the other person. It offers you the chance to get to know someone better and consequently find out if they want or need what you do, or whether they can be someone you can recommend or refer to another of your networking contacts in the future.

In my Focus Guru Networking Follow Up Power Hour I talk more about the power of 121 Follow Ups and how you can implement technology solutions to make your follow up process simple and stress-free.

One To Many Follow Ups

A “One To Many” follow up typically involves a generic message talking about what you do and how people can find out more. You can also include a call to action and a special offer or a time-limited offer, as well as your website and social media links.

One of the most successful ways to do this is to address a problem your contacts might be having and show them how your product or service can remove the problem and/or the cause of the problem. You can write this in the content of your message and track which of your contacts opens the message and what they do next. With many mailing list solutions you’ll also have access to see whether they click on the links inside your message as well.

I cover making the most of your message tracking information in my Focus Guru Power Hour and highlight exactly how important it is to know your numbers when carrying out a methodical follow-up process to maximise your time, energy and resources when following up.

“Rachael led the session well and is a patient teacher. I recommend giving one of these informative sessions a go.” – Liz Johnson, Pet Health and Welfare Specialist

To book your Focus Guru Power Hour, please find the next one that suits you here and book your place today.

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

www.getfocus.guru

Do You Know Your Numbers?

How much did you make last month? No, I’m not asking you to tell me how much, I’m just curious to ask if you know your numbers and if you know why knowing your numbers is really important. At Focus Guru I help small business owners learn the best way to keep track of the important numbers within all areas of their businesses.

Perhaps the most obvious place to start is in your accounting software, Excel spreadsheet, or pen and paper notebook, to see your incoming sales and outgoing expenses. I work with clients to help them identify their absolute minimum income to survive. Then I ask them how much their dream income would be and what they would do with it.

Absolute Minimum Income
Dream Income

These figures are usually easy to identify but it’s surprising how often they can be overlooked. I recommend checking your outgoings as much as your income as often there are savings to be found. For example, a Focus Guru client changed their utility supplier and saved hundreds of pounds over the year. This wasn’t a sale. It wasn’t generating money. It was being savvy and cutting back on unnecessary overheads by breaking away from an uncompetitive supplier.

Check Your Outgoings
Find Hidden Savings

Compare and contrast your numbers

I also recommend comparing and contrasting your numbers. I cover this in more detail in my Focus Guru Power Hour, however the principle behind this is to work out your numbers for each month and compare this month with last month and with this time last year. Don’t put your head in the sand! If you spot a problem, that’s a good thing. Problems can be fixed but if you don’t know what’s going on, that’s when small problems can become big problems.

Know Your Accounts Numbers
Also Know Your Business Numbers

In the Focus Guru Power Hour I talk about knowing your business numbers. These can be anything from how many customers you target, how many 121 follow-ups you do, how successful each meeting is for your business, and much more.

Networking numbers are key to return on investment.

Do you know your conversion ratio from your networking 121s? Do you know how many phone calls you need to make to generate a sale, or to recover a debt? Do you know how many people visited your website last month? Do you use Google Analytics in your business?

These are just some ways you can use the numbers in your business to identify strategic solutions to generate more sales, or even to streamline existing processes. If it can be measured it can be monitored, and if it can be monitored then it can be adjusted as and when needed.

Knowing your numbers isn’t scary! It’s one of the best business tools you can invest your time in learning. In my Focus Guru Power Hour I give you tuition and training and uncover the most important numbers within your business. Your numbers might be accounts or sales related, or they might be based around how many social media posts you create, or how many hours you work in the week.

Every business is different and that’s why knowing the numbers which relate to you and your business is so important. I’ll help you become more confident in knowing your numbers in the sixty minute Focus Guru “Know Your Numbers” Power Hour.

To book your Focus Guru Power Hour, please find the next dates here and let’s get started.

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

www.getfocus.guru

Do You Know Who’s Watching Your Business Social Media Posts?

Are you aware of your silent audience? These are people who have you as a LinkedIn connection, Facebook friend or follow you on Twitter, yet you almost never hear from them. They’re your silent audience, the people who are there, but those who don’t regularly like your posts or comment on your articles.

You might be tempted to remove these people, to delete them or block them, but I can share with you a story about how one person in my silent audience messaged me out of the blue and bought my services to help recover a debt from his customer. When I looked at his message, the last time we had exchanged messages was several years ago.

Why Me?

I asked him what prompted him to make contact and why he had chosen me to help solve his problem. He replied saying he’d seen my 4Networking 4Sight “Why I’m a Cyborg”, a presentation I deliver regularly on the networking circuit. He told me he’d read testimonials from my clients and that he wanted my help and no-one else’s. I solved his problem and I know he’s a happy customer who will recommend me for this service in the future.

When Is The Right Time?

I was chosen to provide the credit control debt recovery service for him because of my online reputation. It happened because he had a need for my service at that time. He stepped out of being part of my silent audience. It was the right time for him to contact me.

In my Focus Guru “Making The Most Of Your Silent Audience” Power Hour I help you choose the right ways to engage with your silent audience and how to bring them towards you at the right time.

Who Are You Reaching?

My good friend Stefan Thomas (The Networking Success Programme) is exactly right when he says, “you don’t know who’s watching or who you are reaching”. This means it’s even more important to keep your message consistent, to keep the same tone and language consistent, and to be the person that you portray online.

For example, if you post pictures of large houses and flashy sports cars and imply in your posts that you own them, your audience, silent or not, will find out and may change their opinion of you. So, always be you. Be authentic and you won’t need to keep track of what you’ve said because it will be part of your personality and lifestyle rather than a fake front to remember to upkeep.

Make It Easy

A bonus tip is to make it as easy as possible for your silent audience to reach you. Make sure your contact information is prominent and up to date. Make sure your website has the right information for the products and services you provide. Have you added anything new? Tell your silent audience what it is and make it easy for them to contact you.

If you would like to find out more about your silent audience and how to make the most of your social media connections, please book your Focus Guru “Making The Most Of Your Silent Audience” Power Hour and let’s get started.

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

www.getfocus.guru

The Power of LinkedIn For Your Business

Are you making the best use of LinkedIn for your business? It’s a social media platform that, when used to it’s potential, can really accelerate the way you keep in touch with your ideal customers. From a personal viewpoint, since implementing some simple changes to my LinkedIn profile, I’ve noticed a huge improvement in engagement from my target audience.

Connections are the most important thing in business

I’d like to share some tips and help you to do the same. I cover these tips and more in my Focus Guru LinkedIn Power Hour which is available to business owners and employees in companies of all sizes and turnovers.

First, I’d like to ask why you’re choosing LinkedIn above the other social media platforms. Is it because LinkedIn has more of a “business feel” than the other platforms? Is it because you feel you need to be on there? Either way, LinkedIn is widely recognised as “the place to be” for business connections, industry news and work opportunities.

Make The Most Of Your Connections

In my Focus Guru LinkedIn Power Hour I’ll share with you how to make the most of your existing connections and how to find new people to connect with. I’ll also share the best ways to interact with your connections to make sure they know you exist and you’re “top of mind” when it comes to thinking about your products and services.

Some of your connections will be your silent audience, the people who are watching from a distance. You may never know which of your posts attracts their interest and it could be several months or even years before they need you.

An example of this is an email I received from a 3^rd level LinkedIn connection. A 3^rd level connection is someone who’s heard about me via two other people. They are two people away from knowing me directly. Yet, this person wanted my help with a time management issue. They got in touch and I was able to solve a problem for them. This is the power of LinkedIn!

Add Value Every Time

One of the most important tips I’d like to share is to make sure each time you post on LinkedIn you’re adding value to your audience. It could be a “Top Tips” article like the ones here on Focus Guru. It could be a “shout out” for someone who’s helped you. Or it could be letting people know about a new product or service, but not necessarily a “buy my stuff” post, which many people find off putting.

In my Focus Guru LinkedIn Power Hour I teach you not only how to add value to your posts, but also how you can add value to your connections’ posts too. It all helps to build that “Meet, Like, Know, Trust” which in turn leads to recommendations, referrals and sales.

“I always say if you get one gem from any training then it is worth the time and the money spent. If you attend one of Rachael’s Power Hours, I am sure you will feel the same as me – time and money – VERY well spent.” – Martin Duddridge, Autolease Ltd.

To book your Focus Guru Power Hour, please check out the group sessions page.