Transcription:

This was a facebook live in the EPIC Women in Business Facebook Group in January 2017

Now some of you may already know these things and you might be doing some of them, maybe not all of them, but I just find, especially at the beginning of the year it's such a great time to review the technology in your business, to really take a look at what's working and what's not. The first thing, which I know we've spoken about before, and if you actually do a search on CRM then we've had a number of conversations where lots of people, where a lot of people have suggested what they use, and what works, and what doesn't. I guess the point of this is that I would say that 80% of my business comes from follow ups, which all is in my CRM. Somebody will contact me and we'll have a conversation. They might buy at the time, but if they don't then it's me following up a number of weeks or months later, that then converts them. I can only do that because I've got my CRM system, it's in place, I know where I'm looking, it captures leads, it integrates with my website and tags people, depending on what it is that depending on what it is that they were contacting me for.

I would really encourage you to get some sort of system if you don't already. I know that Cayley Price in a previous conversation actually dropped in just an Excel spreadsheet that she's been using to track her clients. You don't have to go and buy any tech if you don't want to, but I would just encourage you to keep a track of anybody that's inquired after any of your products and services, and to make a note of them, and then followup with them as well. Like I said, 80% of my business comes from followup, and I can only followup because I've got really good systems in place to be able to do that. I record all the conversations as well that I have with people, I record … The quotes are automatically recorded in my CRM as well with expiry dates, conversations, etc. I know that some people feel like this seems like a big thing, but it is really important for you to have that in your business as far as tech goes, so that you can make sure that you're following up and keeping everything in one place. That's another thing that I'm doing this year as well, is the whole consolidation and simplify.

I use 17hats and ActiveCampaign. 17hats for my coaching business, ActiveCampaign for my email management, and ActiveCampaign for my next tip, which is automation. I know we talk about automation a lot as well, but this is something I am obsessed with for this year, because it's about consolidate and simplify for me. If you've got any questions on the systems then let me know, I'm happy to expand on that. Like I said, if you do go into the search bar in this group and type in CRM, there's been a number of conversations around what people use and what people recommend, so go and check that out. Yeah, the second thing is automation. Now, I was actually listening to a podcast yesterday by a guy named James Schramko, who is an email marketing expert. He was talking about welcome and onboarding, sequences, cart abandonment, so that when somebody is about to buy, but then for some reason they don't, you can potentially follow them up.

I did put a question in the group yesterday saying, “Are there any sort of marketing or email marketing strategy people in?” I know exactly what I want my sequences to be, but I really want somebody who's going to help me to position them and then get them in the system as well. Because it feels quite complex to me when I know it probably isn't, but I like to sit with somebody else and bounce ideas and then write it all out and then get them to actually put it in. I've sort of been in contact with a few people to really do that for me this year. Things like also looking at your engaged and unengaged people on your subscribers list. I put in a new automation, that active campaign actually has a whole lot of set automations that I can just go and click on and then use in my system, which is awesome, so I don't have to build them. When I send out an email, if somebody hasn't opened it in 14 days, or in 30 days, then they are then tagged as unengaged and if they stay unengaged for up to 60 to 90 days, then they'll be automatically unsubscribed.

I need to take a look at that and what that means, but I think keeping your list clean and having automations that make your life a lot easier and also able to give you some analytics around the engagement that you've got from the people who have subscribed or are connecting with you, then I think that that's something that is definitely worthwhile. Now, some of your systems, MailChimp may not, because obviously it's a more basic system, which is fine. If you are using other systems, other mail management systems, then go check out if they have automation templates. Because, like I said, ActiveCampaign does and it's got loads, so I can literally go and just start an automation and it sets it all up for me against my list. That's something that I've been doing as well. Really take a look at how you can use automations in your business to give you smart data to help you see who's engaged and who's not in your community, as well as, then also followups.

If somebody decided to abandon a cart, it might be because they had a question about the product. If somebody abandons a cart, then you can actually have an automated email or you can email them saying, “Was there any questions that you had about this product? Just a reminder that you have this in the cart, if you'd like to purchase it,” things like that. Having that all set up in the background is really going to help you to generate more revenue, serve your customers better, answer any questions that they might need answered, which is obviously great customer service and experience which is all part of your brand and really, really important. Think about how you can maybe use some of that in your business as well. Automation is a big one for me this year, something I've been kind of doing, but not as well as I know I should be doing, and that's just laziness on my part.

The other thing is, the next thing is that it really helps you to upsell as well. Really take a look at what your selling. We give away so much free information, which is awesome. It's me doing this today, it's you giving your opt-in, it's whatever else it is. We give a lot and so it's really about having smart systems in place where … I know there's a couple people in this community that already do this, because I've signed up to them, where they've got a free product and then there's like say, a 7 to 20 dollar upsell, which gives somebody extra information or an additional tool or product. Having those systems in as well when somebody opts in, is I think, a no brainer and something that's really important. I used to have it, then I changed my opt-in. Now I've got to do it again, so that's another thing that's on my list to do is to really take a look at how you can have those automatic lower price point products that are automated into the free content that you're giving people.

If you've got people that are constantly consuming your content, then they're coming back for a reason. You being able to give them something that's low price, but that's going to really help them, is then the first step in them purchasing something from you. Then they get that, they love it, which means that they're going to be more ready to purchase something at a higher price from you as well. Yeah, Anita, and it doesn't have to be mammoth. Don't think that it has to be mammoth. I've bought things that have been 7 dollars, 9 dollars, 15 dollars that have just been a really good guide. A guide for working with a VA. Or you're really techy as well, Anita, so anything that you find that you get, that clients constantly ask for, that you can do one template for, so that when somebody signs up that might be a 7, 15, 20 dollar upsell is definitely worth looking at. Obviously, make it in line, so it might be that you're providing a planning worksheet, but if they want an additional video, or a bigger version of it, or whatever it is, then it's an additional 7 dollars. I mean, it's really a non-decision price point that you want to be offering them as well.

I can almost guarantee that 80% of the time, 90% of the time you've probably got this already, you're probably sitting on it. Remember, people buy something that is packaged that's going to help them with a pain point at a specific point in time. Remember, when we talk about branding, obviously we're talking about look and feel, we're talking about experience, we're talking about the way that customers are engaging with you, and the way that they perceive you, and the value that they get from you. Make sure that you've got something that's really going to be in line with what you're selling. Maybe you're selling this workbook and then the upsell is the upgrade to it. Yeah, so it's an obvious upsell when they're signing up to that opt-in, because it's a topic that is of interest to them and it's a pain point that they have right now. Think about how you can do that as well.

The next one is, which I talked about before, is graduation systems. This is really just taking a look, once again, in your business at the beginning of the year as to how people buy from you. They might sign into a free opt-in, they buy a little price product, and then they look at your next service. For me, my business and brand, somebody might pick my brain, which is for an hour you can speak to me at a consulting rate. Then they might book in for the three hour business and brand strategy session, and then normally they then go on to the 90 day coaching package, because it's an obvious next step for them. Everything in my business I do look at as what would be the next step for somebody who buys this product. That's why I'm creating play big brown ball this year as well, because I've got people who really want everything that goes with my 90 day coaching, but they can't afford the one-on-one premium package. I want to create that into a lower price point so that people can then purchase that as well.

Listen to your customers and see where you can potentially slot in new products and services that are in line with what you're doing already, but that meet their needs at potentially a price point that they can afford if it's not your premium product. Have a think about that as well and really go through everything that you're selling. What are your products and services and is it obvious what people would then do after working with you on a free challenge or a lower price product as well. Then the fifth thing and the last thing is to get help. I could sit and do all of this if I wanted to, but it would probably take me ages. I'm going to hire people who do this and can do it for me as one of projects to set up all my automations based on a strategy session that we have and my products and services, and what I want people to do when, etc. Get somebody who does that, because then they can suggest things that I may not have thought of, or that I might not know about my own systems. I'm not an expert in ActiveCampaign, so I'm working with somebody who is an expert in ActiveCampaign that can help me with tags, and automations, and sequences, and things like that. Get the help that you need in order to set it up properly.

I'm also going to a single platform sort of membership site, which basically all of my courses, my memberships, everything will go onto the one site. It's amazing and I love it, but it's really hard in the backend, so I'm going to be hiring somebody to do that for me as well. Because when I set up the membership site last April, I did it myself, and I had a glitch with the payments, and that meant that I had a lot of issues with it. You can do things yourself, but once again, know your zone of genius, know what works for you, and make sure … “The tech puts me off completely.” Yeah Jenny, that's the thing, it puts a lot of people off. Hey Gena. Make sure that if it's something that you feel needs to happen in your business, then get the money and invest it to get somebody who can do it really well. Then you can sit and forget it, and you don't have to worry about it anymore. I just cannot emphasise that enough. I have really struggled through trying to do things myself and sometimes it's great, it works out, but it takes me 20 times longer than it needs to. That's really key I think as well.

Those are just some of my tips for getting your tech sorted this year. The first one is get a CRM system to make sure you can follow up with clients, because that is where the business is. Automation, making sure you've got the automation in your business that you need. Upsell, get a low price upsell that you can obviously put in that automation, because once somebody's bought something from you once, they're comfortable with it, they know what it's about, and then they're ready to purchase the next thing. Graduation systems, go through your products and services and make sure that it feels obvious what people would do next once they've worked with you once. Then the fifth thing is, get help. Pay for good help, it really, it is so worth it. Take my word for it, I've tried things that have not worked and getting help and paying somebody to really help me to get something done that is not my zone of genius is absolutely worth it, no matter what it is. Whether it's tech, or whether it's something else.

Once again, run your business like a business. Really step into that, have the confidence to kind of go, “You know something? I'm serious about this, and I want to make money from it, and I want to do it right, and make my life easy, and get the steps in that I want to get in, and sit down and really work that out.” We've got our members, our exchanger members planning day coming up on the 8th of Feb., to really take a look at what the big goals are for this year, what needs to happen, and what sort of things you need in place in order to really achieve that. I just think that your tech this day and age is really critical. Have an awesome day. I hope that that was helpful. Go back and listen to it, I'll put all the notes above as I always do, and happy Tech Tuesday.