Google has a new blog that is specifically centered around small businesses, the “Google Small Business Blog,” though regardless of your business size, I recommend it as a great aggregator of information from various blogs under the Google name.

In Google’s own words: “It’s a central hub that brings together all the information about Google products, features and projects of specific interest to the small business community.”

Additionally, I quickly show you how to add it as an RSS feed to Google Reader. Have a look…

Here’s the link to the blog itself: Google Small Business Blog

Any questions, please feel free to email me: preston@webvantix.com

Preston Ehrler, Webvantix

Professional website design is great and can be an enormous differentiator between you and your competition.  Yet, there are other steps you can take to help your site get noticed locally.  One of those is using the Google Places program, Google Tags.

Here’s an intro by Google.

They give you 30 days free, so why not check it out…

Preston Ehrler, Webvantix

There are several key Do’s and Don’ts when using Twitter.  The Do’s are really Do’s and the Don’ts are REALLY Don’ts.

Don’t—

SPAM or attempt to directly sell someone on Twitter, even if you know them.  It’s in bad taste, and could get you reported as a Spammer and/or Blocked.  If someone becomes interested in what you offer, they will reach out to you.

Send out the same Tweet over and over , Spammers do this.  If you want to schedule tweets to repeat, my advice is only repeat something twice in a day (every twelve hours).

Be negative to other people

Ignore those with less clout or influence than you…engage those that engage you and be honored that they sought you out.

Auto DM new followers–this has ruined DMs and made them almost worthless.  Don’t even consider it.  Auto DMs are impersonal, and mean absolutely nothing

Do—

Listen, listen, listen.  By using a platform such as Tweet Deck or Seesmic you can import your lists into columns and watch what everyone is discussing.

Re-Tweet what you find interesting, therefore giving credit where credit is due

Thank people when they re-tweet you.

Post links to interesting and compelling material that is relevant to what’s trending and what people are discussing.

Engage people and develop REAL relationships.  I’ve made some great friends on Twitter!

And finally, enjoy!  Twitter is old fashioned networking, but done over the Internet, and can bring a great sense of belonging.

Did I leave anything out?

Preston Ehrler, Webvantix

Many people feel intimidated by uploading video to their WordPress blog, even if they’ve had their website professionally developed. So, here’s a video that shows how simple it really is…

If you want to receive our blog via e-mail, just sign up over to your right>>

Let us know if this helps you,

Preston Ehrler, Webvantix

In the first post of this series we discussed how important it is not to look at Twitter as a way to step onto the platform and begin to market your product or service.  At the heart of Twitter are the same aspects of any sale:  Relationships.  The focus one must concentrate on is the building of great relationships on Twitter–and the benefits can be stunning in several aspects.  At Webvantix we never looked at Twitter as a way to market our web design/re-design business, and therefore only accessed Twitter on an individual basis, not even using our logo or our name, other than in our link and bio.  So, what did that mean?  We wanted to develop friendships with people we encountered on Twitter and if they ultimately became interested in what we did, that was fine, but the relationships came first.  One aspect of focus was to use the ‘favorite’ tool on Tweet Deck (before Twitter rolled out its ‘List’ function).  Through the favorite tool, and now through our Lists, we developed a number of different groups, but most important was our ‘Local’ list that enabled us to talk to people in our area, on a grass-roots level.  We were Twittering with other local business owners and they were Twittering with us.  Combine this with our seminars and webinars and a natural interest in our work began to bloom.  No sales pitch, no pressure, just a natural progression of a relationship.  Ultimately we encountered @lisasmith a business owner in desperate need of a professional website design.

Lisa had quickly developed a website for her business that had recently been launched, but as she indicated to me, she needed a professional deployment to be competed before her company was in full sales mode in early Spring.

Concrete Form Rentals BEFORE Webvantix

We worked closely with Lisa to determine who would be visiting her site and what her main products were.  We developed a proof that enabled her to silo her site’s visitors onto the appropriate landing pages.

Now you may think this is the end of the story, but actually it’s just beginning.  As we discussed, we developed and grew the relationship with Lisa through our ‘Local’ list.  While discussing Christmas trees with Lisa one afternoon, I indicated that instead of spending $65 on a tree, that she and her family were welcome to stop by my small farm a cut a tree.  She and her sons visited one Saturday before Christmas and we had a great time hiking through the woods to find the right tree.

Concrete Form Rental AFTER Webvantix (with Slio buttons at the bottom)

Now, every relationship you develop on Twitter may not blossom into a great client/vendor friendship, that becomes and actual friendship, but it’s substantially more satisfying from a business and personal standpoint than just trying to peddle you wares.

We continue to encounter new and intriguing people and companies from a local as well as national and international standpoint.  Our attempt is to continue  interact with people as individuals and not as prospects.  If you have a paradigm shift and begin to look at Twitter as a relationships tool, you may find yourself surprised and pleased by the results, and you may find yourself defending Twitter the next time someone tells you that Twitter is a waste of time and is for egocentric people with nothing better to do–my guess is they’ve not had a bunch of kids to their house for a Christmas tree hunt on a snowy Saturday in December, all thanks to Twitter!

Do you have a story about Twitter bringing you together with a new friend or customer?  Please share it with us.

Preston Ehrler, Webvantix @prestonehrler

Describing how to grow your business with Twitter is a dicey and difficult issue, and I’ve been thinking about this post for a long time.  It actually been weighing on my mind and has inhibited my ability to move forward with other posts, simply because I was not sure how to approach this important topic.  So, let’s start with the negatives and move into the positives.

What are the negatives?  Well, much the opposite of what many think, you cannot jump onto Twitter and start talking about what you sell or how you consult or how what you have or do is going to greatly enhance someone else’s business–or life.  Quite simply, it’s not that simple.  Unfortunately many who have set up a Twitter account, followed a few people, and have had a few follow them back, posted about what they do and how good they are at it, or listed information on a house they are selling, or that they are a Social Media Marketing expert, find it all for nothing.  Then what do they say?  “Twitter is a waste of time.”  Well, if approached in this fashion yes, it is.  Remember the movie “The Graduate” and the cocktail party where the guys says “I want to say one word to you, just one word:  Plastics.”  I love that quote!  So here’s the Twitter version of it:  “I want to say one word to you, just one word:  Relationships.”

Yes, Twitter is about building relationships, and unfortunately that can be easily overlooked.  Yet, it’s not about “Let me know how I can help your business.”  The idea is to be MUCH more sincere.  How?  Easy, interact with people that are on Twitter, but do it sincerely.  That means interacting with people who Twitter about things that interest you!  Don’t ever look at a person as a ‘mark’ or ‘prospect,’ and you will actually develop more than relationships, you will develop friendships, as I have.  When you find yourself looking forward to seeing your friends pop up on Tweet Deck or Seesmic, you will have gotten it–until you’ve reached that point, you haven’t.

In Part 2, I’ll talk about a specific experiences we’ve had developing relationships and actual friendships!

Tell me about your Twitter experiences, have you developed any great friendships as well?

Preston Ehrler, Webvantix

We’ve redesigned our own site and welcome your opinion–let us know what you think!

Preston Ehrler, Webvantix

Yesterday we discussed the first 3 ways to work to overcome a prospective customer’s objections, today let’s discuss the last 2.

4. Dollarize Your Benefits Often when you get a rejection that is a knee-jerk reaction it can be because YOU have not quantified, or “dollarized” what you can do–how much profit you can create for your customer.  The perception of “value” is always going to be considered when purchasing a product or service (regardless of whether is dollar value or emotional value).  Therefore this value aspect must be presented.  To paraphrase Tom Hopkins, if you are trying to sell a website to a new prospect for $5,000, yet they were only ready to spend $3,000, you need to illustrate to the customer why they should spend that extra $2,000, and how your process is going to be worth that $2,000 investment.  My suggestion is to amortize the $2,000, and highlight how if over ten years the additional investment of $200 per year will quickly be overcome by the additional business that will be won with your website.  In business, the bottom line is king, focus on that and guide your prospect to full understanding of the financial benefits and they will choose you.

5.  No is GOOD I once read a piece written by a very, very successful Wall Street broker, who wrote that if he did not hear “No” several times per day, he knew he was not working hard enough.  Think about that, here is a guy who was top producer, yet even he was hearing “No” daily.  Therefore, in essence, “No” can be a good thing–it means you’re on track,and working hard.  Sso instead of letting “No” get you down, and spiraling you into a rut, embrace it, and understand that when you’re out there presenting ideas to people you will ALWAYS hear “No,” so, take advantage of it–LOVE IT!

6.  BONUS.  Learn from NO! Every time I interface with a prospect, at some point during the process I make a mistake–always.  Scheduling, follow-up, the presentation, wording, pricing, some aspect of what I do is wrong, which can ultimately end up in a rejection.  So, what do I do?  Learn from rejection.  My strongest suggestion to you is to review each step after you receive a “No” and highlight what you did wrong, and work to avoid doing this again.  This will make your end to end interactions with both customers and prospects stronger and much more engaging for them, ultimately leading you to a higher customer vs. lost prospect ratio.

I believe if you truly digest these aspects of rejection, you can learn to handle “No” better, overcome them, and when it is a real “No” understand “No” can be a good thing–in its own way.

What do you think?

Preston Ehrler, Webvantix

Webvantix have completed and launched the new Bodies in Balance website…take a look at the before and after and let us know what you think. We look forward to your comments…

Bodies in Balance BEFORE Webvantix

Bodies in Balance, Milford, Pennsylvania--After Webvantix

Moving into the new year we all seem to make some kind of resolution.  In this weak and tepid economy those resolutions may be centered around working to enhance the exposure of our businesses.  Google Business Solutions can be a vital part of your businesses reach, and therefore its future revenue.

In the coming two weeks we at Webvantix will offer some very simple things you can do through Google Business Solutions that will help you turbo-charge your website and get you the exposure your business needs.  It’s no longer about being found in the yellow pages, it’s all about being found online, and if your business is not there, your potential customer will simply go to your competitors who are there!  Stay tuned and check back for tidbits, and if you have any questions, please feel free to ask, as we are here to help.

Here’s one tip that’s been mentioned before in this blog, but it’s a great place to start for the new year:

If someone Googles your type of business, in a certain geographic location, often several of the results will be in Superpages.  Therefore this tip is very important, if not followed you are giving business away!

If you advertise in the Yellow Pages (Superpages), you have the ability to give them the link to your website.  Therefore, if someone searches for your type of company (roofer, for instance) and a list of roofers in your area are listed in a search result on Superpages, under your business name, a link to your website will be listed, but only if you give Superpages the actual link; if you fail to do so, no link will exist, and the individual or business looking for a new roof will just go to the next search result with a link, click on it, and they are looking at your competitior’s website, and, very simply, you’ve lost a business opportunity.

If you need help with this let us know and we will walk you through it.

Preston Ehrler and the Webvantix crew.