More than a Few Words

When you come home from a networking event with a stack of business cards, you either have something incredibly valuable, or a pile of garbage. What makes the difference? It's not the cards themselves, but what you do with them. Do you take the time to sort them and pull out those handful of people who you really need to follow up with? Do you track those conversations over time, so that periodica...

The next time you go to a networking event, guest Rochelle Groh suggests you should look for the four types of networking animals.  The shark, who is ready to take a bite out of every conversation The penguin who typically gravitates to the same people at every event The bee who knows everyone in the room  The lone wolf who prefers longer, more one on one conversations.   About Rochelle Groh Roche...

These days the world feels more than just a little crazy.  As you are processing all the crazy in the outside world you have a business to run.  So how do you balance the conflicting emotions and keep your  business moving forward?  Guest, Debra Sunderland stresses that a business is only going to go as far as the leader goes.  That's not to put pressure on you, but to remind you that the first st...

Great strategic relationships are what make your word of mouth marketing work.  These partners  have complementary businesses to yours.  Serving similar customers they are likely to bump into people who will need your services and you are likely to find opportunities for them.  So stop walking into networking events looking for your next sale.   Instead, seek out people who can be a gateway not to...

If you're looking for different results tomorrow than you had yesterday you need to make changes.  Sometimes it is a small change, but often it is a significant transformation in your business or in your life. But how do you make those transformative changes?   And more importantly, as you work with clients, what is the transformation you will make for them?  Lorraine explored the topic of Transfo...

So you've been creating content for awhile. You've got blog posts, images and videos.  You share it on social media and place it on your website, but that isn't enough, because you aren't creating content for fun.  The goal is to generate leads and maybe sales. In this episode, Dani Hao and I discuss how to create marketing content that actually converts. She suggests creating content specifically...

Thinking about hosting a conference and wondering about which social media platforms will serve you best. While you should probably have a presence on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn, each of those platforms is going to play a role at different stages. For example, in the lead up to the conference, you're probably going to get your best results promoting the event on LinkedIn. This is wh...

Do you have a personal brand? Do you even know what that is and why you need one?  My guest Ian Moyse explains that while the term "personal brand" sounds illustrious, something for celebrities and influencers, everyone has a personal brand.  Your personal brand is the perception others have of you. What they think of you and what they say of you when you're not in the room.  These days with socia...

Your business does not happen by accident. You have to have processes and procedures in place to make sure that everything gets done when it's supposed to.  Does that sound a little overwhelming? It doesn't have to be according to my guest Brittni Schroeder.  She explains you are only one person, and systems help you streamline your activities and  create processes you can share with others. The s...

In the age of the great resignation, business owners of all size companies are struggling with employee turnover. The pandemic had accelerated the resignations, but if you have employees, sooner or later you will need to address employee turnover. It is a natural part of owning a business. People will come and go for a variety of reasons. In some cases, there are things you can’t control (a spouse...

It would be great if the rules of SEO would remain constant.  Unfortunately, SEO like most of your digital marketing is constantly evolving, as the technology evolves.  In this episode, Ryan Morgan, founder of the digital consultancy swell, Digital and an SEO training program called The SEO Cohort talks about the latest SEO trends.  These days, search doesn't begin with keywords.  It starts with a...

If you're like me, you've started lots of things that you hoped would become habits. You run at them full bore for a little while and then you lose steam.  That start and stop is natural, but it doesn't have to be.  In this episode, Wendy Harris shares tips to make your new habits a permanent part of your routine. The first step is to start with one thing.  Making too many changes at once is overw...

When it comes to content creation, more is not always better. I've been blogging since 2008. And I have a library filled with thousands of blog posts which I  wrote as resources for for clients and prospects and because Google loves fresh content. Unfortunately, only a fraction of those posts drive much traffic. It is exhausting to churn out three to five posts a week, only to have them sink into...

If you could have a conversation with anyone, who would you choose?” Almost everyone has a first choice and maybe a second, but who has hundreds of choices? As the host of More than a Few Words , Lorraine Ball has enjoyed the opportunity to talk with marketing and small business professionals from around the world for more than 13 years. You might think we would run out of things to talk about, bu...

No matter what your job is, sales expert, business owner or manager working your way up the corporate ladder, you're going to have to sell your ideas.  The prospect can be a little scary but it doesn't have to be according to our guest Patrick Donadio. He shares some simple tips like opening with a hook instead of an introduction.  You can open with a question or a compelling statistic that catche...

Have you let your brand become marketing wallpaper. You've said the same things over and over and over again to build consistency which is great but you've said it so much people no longer hear it.  If that's happened to you and your message has become so bland that it's forgettable. You need to bring your brand to the forefront again with subtle changes.   Maybe it is pulling forward a new color...

If you have something to say, you may be frustrated as you try to get that message out to the right people. Our guest, Jonathan Milligan shares some tips on how you can rise above the noise so prospective customers hear what you have to say.  Often what prevents people from hearing your message, or taking time to figure out if they want to buy from you is the fact that they may not believe they ca...

According to our guest,  Ryan Sullivan , modern day marketers understand that the buying journey is not linear. so the content on your website should speak to every aspect of the buying journey.  This creates a strong network effect on your website as you align your content with the search behavior of your target audiences. It is important to remember what people say, and what they actually do are...

To develop really effective marketing, you need to be clear about your brand position, what makes you uniquely qualified to earn the business of your customers. Look beyond the technical skills and product specifications to the intangible elements. What should customers think and how should they feel as they interact with the brand. Sounds simple, but it isn’t. Being high quality, hardworking, off...

According to our guest Merit Kahn, it is one thing to be really well versed in what you're going to say to a prospect and how you're going to go through your sales process but you need to engage the prospect. If you are having your best presentation ever, but the person that you're talking to is not open to hearing new ideas it won't matter how great your solution is the conversation isn't going t...

It isn’t practical to drive looking only in the rear view mirror. Even if you think you know what is in front of you, sooner or later you will run into something you didn’t expect. When you run your business simply by reviewing your bottom line, you are driving using your rear view mirror. Why? Because the monthly revenue number is a lagging indicator, telling you how well you have done. There is...

What is the difference between an thought and an idea.  It is not just semantics according to my guest Bruno Pesec.    A thought is something fleeting.  It becomes an idea when you write it down and start formulating a process to bring it to life.    Ideas are free, but the time and resources required to bring them to life are not.  So before you pull the trigger on that idea you need to think abo...

Has this happened at your house?  It is Christmas morning and after your child gleefully tears open a present, finding their much anticipated toy inside, they are disappointed because the batteries were not included. What usually ensues is a mad dash around the house as everyone searches for the right battery, followed by a trip to the store which may or may not be open on Christmas morning. Regar...

Some people think that chaos is a dirty word. But as my guest Robert Raymond Riopel suggests, a little bit of chaos in your life is a good thing. He suggests that as as human beings, one of our primary functions is to evolve and chaos is actually what forces us to evolve.  When you courageously volunteer for chaos, instead of allowing it to overwhelm you can takes steps to proactively change and i...

What is a non-fiction brand?  It is a brand that is true and authentic in its reflection of a company.  To build your non-fiction brand, my guest DP Knudten you need to start with a hard look in the mirror. As a business owner you need to go beyond the surface to discover exactly who you are, what you do, and how you do it. Those three things right there which comprise  your brand proposition are...