Smashing Self-Employment - Marketing and productivity help if you're self-employed.

Have you ever contacted a company and they didn't respond?

Here in New Zealand this is very common, even if you're trying to spend some money.

I can only guess that those companies are making too much money or they simply don't give a damn.

But here's the thing:

Even if they're the best at what they do, I will never try to do business with them again.

As far as I'm concerned, their reputation is garbage.

Not only that but I've told quite a few people about their lack of response.

It's not even poor 'customer service' since the 'service' doesn't exist.

So, do you and your business a huge favour and make sure you follow-up with everyone who contacts you. Even if just to say 'no thanks'.

This episode talks you through how to make this work.

LET'S CONNECT:

This episode is the story of Tom and Dan who tried a crazy marketing idea with expensive and disastrous results.

They spent a bunch of money in the 'hope' that it would work first-time.

Sadly, marketing rarely works first-time. There is a usually a period of refinement to get desired results.

Key lessons in this episode:

• Get to know your audience as well as you can before starting a marketing campaign. This way you can communicate with them more effectively.

• Don't throw loads of money/resources at an untested marketing idea. Start small and scale up if it works. Refine if it doesn't.

• Make your campaign, its message, graphics, and call to action relevant to your audience and your industry. Be clear, not clever.

LET'S CONNECT:

In this example of great customer service you'll learn an important lesson in making sure the buying experience with your company lets customers know that you're there to serve.

You see, it's far too easy to take your customers for granted.

And when you do, it's only a matter of time before this starts to eat away at customer loyalty.

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We all want to get more done. But it's often a challenge because, when you work for yourself, you're spinning so many different plates.

And it's important to get the vital stuff done when you're at your most alert and awake.

In this episode you'll discover a simple technique that will enable you to identify your best time of day to get the most important work done.

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Sheila Smith (now retired) shares her business tips in this interview recorded in November 2020 during the Covid lockdowns.

The key lessons are:

• Be adaptable
• Try new things (even if they're uncomfortable)
• Partner up with complementary skills
• Keep your word - your reputation depends on it
• You're never too old to learn new stuff
• Don't sit and suffer in silence, speak with someone
• Look for the value in what you've already achieved

LET'S CONNECT:

When starting out in business it's very tempting to just dive into loads of different marketing channels to try and be everywhere.

However, this is usually a mistake.

Largely because you can't be good at them all if you're spreading yourself too thinly.

The best way is get really good at just a few and then add more from there.

This episode explains the how and why of this approach.

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Want to beat perfectionism? It's simple: just learn to accept that most things only need to be 'good enough'.

You see, very few things in life and work need to be perfect. But most perfectionists get too hung up on making things just right.

So, if you're a perfectionist you should listen to this.

This episode talks you through a couple of examples of where 'good enough' would have been good enough.

You'll also learn some ideas on how you can make this approach work for you.

LET'S CONNECT:

Chelsea Baldwin, copywriter and content marketing specialist, shares her thoughts on being a successful freelancer.

Her ideas include:

• It doesn't have to take long to get started
• You need to get "Business Smart" as fast as possible
• Learn from those who are doing it well
• Get good at selling - Pronto!
• And more...

This episode was recorded as part of a webinar where I was one of the guest speakers.

The intent of the webinar was to help networkers get better at what they do get more out of networking, hopefully to build their businesses and make it into a more successful marketing channel.

So if you're into networking, and you want to do better, listen on.

LET'S CONNECT:

Getting into a flow is vital when you are self-employed or running a small business.

These 3 simple ideas can make a huge difference to how much you get done, the kind of work you're doing and also how well you attract and keep customers.

They are:

1. Say NO a lot more
2. Delegate more
3. Do some marketing every day.

This live recording talks you through how to make these work for you and gives you plenty of ideas on how to get started with all 3.

LET'S CONNECT:

We get asked a lot whether there is an outright best single marketing tip, tool or technique.

The answer is normally quite surprising for many:

Do Some Marketing Every Day!

Is it that simple?

Yes it is.

But you'd be surprised to find that very few (like, less than 10%) small businesses latch onto this.

So, have a listen and find out how to make it work for you and your business.

LET'S CONNECT:

For many people in the self-employed world having a holiday can be a stressful time.

There's a risk that you'll end up spending more time fretting about your clients, and what they need, than actually taking the time to relax and enjoy your  holiday.

The interesting thing is that your clients won't be surprised that you're having a holiday and will actually expect you to be unavailable during that time.

So, this episode talks you through how to set things up so nothing gets missed and you're able to enjoy your holiday.

LET'S CONNECT:

Getting things done is key to success in business (and life) but many of us struggle.

The key is FOCUS!

So, this short episode walks you through a very simple idea that could seriously improve your productivity almost immediately.

So here it is:

Switch stuff off!

It really is that simple.

Listen in to find out the how and why of this powerful concept.

LET'S CONNECT:

If you don't segment (split up) your target audience then you may end up trying to sell the wrong things to the wrong people.

In essence, you're improving your market targeting so your marketing results will be as good as they can be.

This episode explains.

LET'S CONNECT:

Being self-employed is the best way to work but it doesn't come without it's challenges (like all things in life).

Knowing your key reason (or reasons) for being self-employed will help to sustain you and give you motivation going forward.

The stronger your reason(s), the easier it will be to keep going into the long-term.

This short episode talks you through the why and how of knowing your reason.

LET'S CONNECT: