GYB 2017

GROW YOUR BUSINESS

IN THIS ISSUE:

How to tell your boss they are wrong

The Importance of Marketing Automation

What makes an effective team?

Lessons businesses can learn from the Women’s March

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GROW YOUR BUSINESS

How to tell your boss they are wrong GASP. What? How could this situation ever

become reality, the boss is always right…

right?

Ah, while they may work hard to portray

omnipotence, even the best of the bosses

can be wrong. So how do you approach

them with this delicate news?

First and foremost, get your ducks in a row,

so to speak. You need irrevocable proof

that the information being conveyed is not

correct. Talk to your peers, gather opinions

and double, triple check your information.

The worst-case scenario is going up

against the head honcho only to be

unprepared and incorrect!

Next, ask yourself, is this worth it? Just like

in any relationship, sometimes you need

to let the small stuff slide off your back, so

that the bigger issues carry more weight.

It’s a scare situation, confronting your

boss, make sure it’s crucial to correct the

misinformation.

Now you are ready to schedule a private

meeting with your superior. NEVER

call them out in front of the team-

embarrassment will overshadow the value

of your opinion and can feel like an affront

or act of insubordination.

Kick things off on a positive note and

make sure you are creating the casual yet

professional atmosphere that you would

hope to encounter in a meeting. You called

the meeting, establish the mood and work

hard to distress the situation.

This meeting should be project and

company focused and should aim to create

the best-case scenario for the business.

Remember this and try to steer toward

suggestions, rather than criticisms.

Enter into the meeting armed with a

solution. Merely bringing up the mistake

leaves an air of frustration and can be

stressful to a boss who likely has their

hands full already.

Your solution should be detailed, thorough

and bolstered by all the proof you

gathered, prior to your meeting. Offer to

be part of the solution however you can,

even if it takes you slightly out of your job

description. Remember to remain team-

oriented.

Lastly, be ready to accept that your boss

will not change their mind. Be respectful,

don’t be discouraged and keep personal

deflation to a minimum. If anything, your

boss will recognize you as a leader who

speaks their mind, has creative solutions

and is dedicated to the organization.

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04GYB 2017

GROW YOUR BUSINESS

targeting specific niches, just keep adding

parameters. Without revamping your

whole strategy, you simply update your

automation and the work is done for you.

As a business, your main objective here is

to convert potential business into realized

business. Automation is one of the best

ways to create conversions, as well as track

them.

Any business owner will agree that

as technology weaves its way more

intricately into business plans, the

importance of streamlining and staying

modern is reaching new heights.

Marketing automation is a great way for

small businesses to grasp those seamless

strategies and employ them.

The Importance of Marketing Automation

Automating your strategies (as much as

possible) and letting the computer take

the lead is one of the best ways to clear

your day of busy work, when it comes to

marketing.

Sure, plenty of aspects of your campaign

will not fit into this grouping, but you will

find that the benefits here work in tandem

with the more personal side of your

marketing campaign to best benefit your

business.

Not only does it streamline your process,

but it provides tracking and reporting

capabilities that allow you to closely

monitor your ROI.

As one expert notes, “automation is about

optimization” (source, VentureHarbour.

com). So just like your search engine

optimization cultivates copy and content

that speaks to your audience, so aims

marketing automation.

One of the most important benefits of

employing marketing automation is that

it seamlessly creates accountability for the

efforts of your sales personnel, as well as a

self-check on your marketing ploys.

Being able to identify holes, hiccups and

areas in need of improvement allows a

more focused, targeted and ergo effective

effort, saving you time and money.

Marketing automation is like an onion-

there are many layers- peel at your

will! The deeper you wish to go into

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04GYB 2017

“At its best, marketing automa-tion is software and tactics that allow companies to buy and sell like Amazon — that is, to nurture prospects with highly personalized, useful content that helps convert prospects to customers and turn customers into delighted customers.”

– As defined by Hubspot.com

GROW YOUR BUSINESS

It’s possible that at one point in time, your

business was a one-person show. Though

growth and expansion inevitably leads

to the building a team, the team that

becomes the lifeblood of your humbly

built operation.

An effective team is like an orchestra-

many different instruments, many

different players, one piece of music. The

success of the song depends on every

single variable, and every person playing

in perfect unison.

So what exactly makes an effective team

(or a great orchestra)?

1. First, foremost, and above all else,

an effective team knows how to

communicate. Does this mean there

is never conflict? No. Does this mean

everything is smooth sailing all the

time? Of course not. Its about how

you make it through the tough parts

of the song- hard work, and practice.

2. At the forefront, stands the leader,

or the conductor. The responsibility

here is to keep everyone on track, at

the same pace, with eyes and ears

canvassing a cacophony of action

at all times. An effective team must

have a dedicated, patient leader.

3. Just like an orchestra all has the

same sheet music, your team must

all have the same goals. You must

provide the framework, give them a

path to follow and be there for when

changes are necessary. But every

time something shifts, make sure you

let the whole team know.

4. In an orchestra, when one player

is out of tune, it can throw off the

entire production. If one person

slacks, others must make up for them

by doubling their efforts, which

is exhausting and demoralizing.

Your team must have commitment,

dedication and a camaraderie that

keeps them playing in unison and

support each other.

5. Lastly, we mention one of the most

importantly shared characteristics

between a small business team and

an orchestra: passion. In business,

the passion starts with the leader,

building in a crescendo as things

take off and teams grow.

Each person on your team must be

equipped with the passion for success,

and driven to accomplish the same goals.

Passion is what drives musicians to play

until their fingers bleed, to practice until

perfect, to push further every time they

pick up their instrument. Your team

should reflect this same passionate

attitude.

What makes an effective team?

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GYB 2017

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GROW YOUR BUSINESS

On January 21st, 2017, people across the

globe marched in unison, to advocate for

legislation on human rights, immigration

reform, healthcare reform, LGBTQ rights,

racial and gender equality, work place

rights and more. It was a bold and

transformative display of solidarity.

Interestingly enough, one of the things

small businesses share in common with

such a movement is a call to action. The

call is an appeal to the human psyche, to

try and influence a choice or behavior.

What the Women’s March did so

effectively was responded to the two

appeals people have when it comes to

call to action:

1. How motivated am I to do this? Do I

WANT to do this?

2. How easy is it for me to do? CAN I

do this?

When you are appealing to potential

clientele, they would be considering

these same questions, or variant versions

of them. Your message must be catered

to create the WANT and your sales

process must be created to facilitate the

ABILITY.

Another lesson we can learn is one of

branding. While the message of the

movement was political, at best, it was

also about human rights, and balancing

the two directives can be challenging

when it comes to large scale protests.

What they did so seamlessly was

provide such a safe, free space, with

educational and inspirational content,

and encouragement that the movement

was really in place to speak out against

any inequality or any legislation that felt

wrong.

It did not limit the participants; it allowed

them to create their own niche within

the movement. With sales and customer

service, we are presented with this same

conundrum.

Our goals are financially driven, we want

to cast a wide net, pull in the biggest

crop. But we must focus in on the

message and how we will communicate

it. It’s about branding.

The best example is the Women’s March

use of the hashtag (#) as a communicator

across web platforms. One of the

most uniting elements of human

life, the internet, provided the most

comprehensive and seamless platform,

that caters to millions of markets and

niches.

Cultivating a clear, transformative,

interpretative message (or hashtag) puts

forth a call to action that is both all-

inclusive, and allows for segmented niche

marketing, on the customers’ terms.

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Lessons businesses can learn from the Women’s march

GYB 2017

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