Hank's Business and Marketing Tips

Now that the end of the year and the holidays are upon us, we tend to focus on other things than our work or our business. You should always be planning for the week, month, quarter, and year. I have already met with my wife and planned some of our goals for next year and I will devote some time to plan my professional goals in December. Make sure that you have created your personal goals before y...

Case studies are a great tool to add to your marketing efforts. Case studies are written documentation or a video that explains how you helped a customer. Basically a success story. Create a study where you were able to help a customer save time or money or maybe just made them happy. Add details like metrics and quotes. You can share case studies on your website, blog, and social media channels....

The phrase “focusing on those that ignore you” is pretty powerful. To find and attract new customers, you need to find people that have not heard about you and your business. You can use social media ads and blog posts to gain attention. You can also network to increase your brand awareness. Build your LinkedIn network to help grow awareness and visibility. Just make sure that you have...

Many small business owners still struggle to see the need to use digital marketing. They do not realize that using social media and other forms of digital marketing is very powerful. You need to be where your customers are, and that is online. It is not important to be on every social media platform, but you should double down on the platforms that make sense for you. Maybe that is Facebook or Ins...

This episode was recorded in a public place, a Dunking Donuts. The reason being is that I wanted to be able to put myself out there and put myself out of my comfort zone. This ties into a challenge that a completed for a group I belong to on Facebook for speakers. Throughout the week, I was to do a Facebook Live video on the group’s Facebook Page. There was a different challenge for each day...

I was recently on a Facebook group and someone posted the question, “Do you have to work hard to be successful”? Working hard means you are doing the wrong things and failing. What you need to be doing is work smart and passionately. Yes, you will work long hours and spend money. Working hard means that the things that you are doing are “hard”. Why is that? Maybe it is beca...

Today, I am joined by Jonathan Orcutt of Driven Landscapes Franchising . I met Jonathan on a Facebook Landscaping Group. I still like to keep my finger on the pulse of the landscape industry since selling my landscape company last year. Jonathan came on the show to give us some insight to being a small business owner and also some information on buying a franchise. Jonathan started his company in...

Sr. Integrated MarCom Executive, Content Marketer, Keynote Speaker, LinkedIn Workshop Leader, and Voice Over Talent, Chuck Hester joined me to talk about LinkedIn. Chuck is your go to guy for anything related to LinkedIn. Chuck gave us his top three things ( really 4!) to do on LinkedIn: 1. Create SEO rich content for LinkedIn. Make sure to use the right keywords in your headline, summary and job...

Most people make the mistake of jumping right into a conversation by selling. Today, on my blackboard, I wrote “Serve, Don’t Sell”. First, you need to develop a trusted relationship with your audience. Then provide value to them through information, assets and network introductions. Determine if you can help them with a business pain they have and if your solution fits. If everything is aligned, y...

In this episode, I discuss brag vs. Humblebrag. The definition of humblebrag is “people’s use of false modesty as a context to tell you just how great they are”. Urban Dictionary describes humblebrag as: “Subtly letting others now about how fantastic your life is while undercutting it with a bit of self-effacing humor or “woe is me” gloss.” and gives the e...

Today, I am asking my Amazon Alexa subscribers if they like long form or short form content better. Hank’s Marketing and Business Tips started out on the Alexa only and were only about 1-2 minutes in length. I also posted about five times per week. I am not creating content that is about 5-15 minutes in length, includes guest hosts an is also on iTunes, Google Play and Youtube. If you are an...

I had the pleasure of bringing Professorjohn (PJ) from The Muscle Memory Group on the show today. I met PJ while speaking in about email marketing in Phoenix, AZ. He and I spoke about marketing for some time after my speaking session. He is passionate about what he does, just as I am about marketing. It was a not brainer to have him come on the show! John is in the fitness industry. He helps perso...

In episode 12 , I spoke about Google My Business. It is a tool that Google offers to help be found on their search site. It offers the ability to show your location, hours and pictures of your business. Google now allows the ability for business owners to post to their business page/listing a la Facebook style. You can post on your computer or phone. For a computer, you can go to Google.com/Busine...

While attending a small business conference in Phoenix Arizona, I met with a lot of small business owners. What I found was there were people that were either really good at telling me what they do, or they may have needed to go home and work on it. Every day that passed, I thought about how many business owners may be going around providing poor elevator pitches. An elevator pitch is a descriptio...

It is great to work from wherever you are. While traveling in Phoenix, I needed to get some projects completed. I decided to take the time while I was alone to work on some items that I would be able to focus on. I worked from the hotel room some and then by the pool bar. My tip is to use the time you have wisely. If you are alone, you may be able to focus more. While on a train, plane or Uber, yo...

In this episode, I talk about putting positive vibes out into the universe. I give an example of someone putting out negative vibes and how karma caught up with him. Don’t let this be you! How you think and feel can affect outcome and also affects others around you. Be positive and put out positive vibes!   [embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pX-3nNQ0-ew[/embedyt]

Ken Wood joins me in this episode to discuss having a proper value proposition, having a competitive advantage and how to understand your target market. Ken is the CEO and founder of Roar Marketing Concepts in Raleigh, NC. I met Ken at a meetup and we then met a few days later and had a great discussion about marketing, which sparked his appearance on the show. Ken opens up by saying companies nee...

Justin Streuli, the Director of the North Carolina Entrepreneurship Center at UNCG, joins me today to talk about starting a business. The center is located in Greensboro NC and serves as a bridge between the campus and the entrepreneurial community. They also help any small businesses thrive. We briefly speak about what it means to be an entrepreneur, then move on to the main discussion. I asked J...

John Hayes Joins me from Portugal but lives in Lincolnshire England. He is a marketing strategist and author of the Becoming the Expert series of books. He discusses the holy trinity of marketing: blogging, email marketing, and social media. Your marketing starts with branding your company on your blog, then use email marketing and social media, in that order. His three items compliment the three...

I am joined by Jennifer Goodwin of InternetGirlFriday . She has been running a marketing agency for 15 years and also runs a charity . Jennifer gives us some background about her career and her veteran charity . We discuss pushing through and finding someone to hold you accountable. I mention Lori Bruhns , my business buddy. Jennifer relies on her awesome office manager to help her with goals and...

Today, I have Jason Guigno and Corey Jeffreys from TriangleCas t on to provide some entrepreneur advice. Jason talks to soloprenuers and budding entrepreneurs about using content related to questions or information that you are asked about all the time. This could be monetized. Find that nugget of information to develop your funnel or create a report or form template to earn revenue. Corey can be...

I went to a sales MeetUp last night. You can look into joining a MeetUp Group at www.meetup.com, I recommend it. You can find one for your industry or area of interest. It could also be a skill that you want to improve, such as sales. Here are the top three takeaways from the meeting I attended: Create a pain : Find something that your client or prospect is missing out on or needs and offer a solu...

I recently wrote an article about network envy. This is when people become jealous about other people’s success. I also spoke about imposter syndrome. This is when someone does not feel as though they will be perceived as being knowledgeable. They think that they will be seen as a fraud. I go over some things that you can do to help with both afflictions: Develop skills Use a mentor/ or ment...

I am joined by Marilyn Shannon, a best selling author, speaker, and coach. You can connect with her at www.marilynshannon.com . Check her book out: In Just One Afternoon, Listening Into the Hearts of Men. Keep your eyes and ears open for opportunities. Look for unique opportunities. Keep the doors open. Do the things that you like to do and fit your life. While you are there, you are still who you...

Today we talk about embracing your fundamentals. You need to have SOPs in place for sales, marketing and customer service. If  you have employees or plan on hiring employees, you need to follow fundamentals.