Local Business Hacks

Episode Intro

With this episode, we speak with Andre Cvijovic, CEO of Referrizer. Learn the essentials of getting quality reviews and the easiest way to double your client base without spending a dime. You'll also learn how you can reframe problems and have your staff take ownership in the quest for success.

Takeaways

Don't be afraid to ask for reviews

The best way for companies to reach more customers is to list their business on Google Maps. With the help of the Google Business listing, it is easy, fast, cheapest, and the most effective method for ranking high on Google through Google reviews. Send your client a link to their listing and ask if they'll share theirs. You’ll see results as soon as one month, and they'll last a long time.

Use a reputation management system

Small businesses should use something like a reputation management system that will enable them to keep going with getting quality reviews. A reputation management system works automatically with your booking software. As soon as they leave your business, you can automatically follow them up with a quick survey link to their phone number or email.  Just make sure that you ask more clients, because if you don't do it, then your business may not grow.

Reach out to leads as soon as possible

To double your client base immediately without spending a dime on marketing, don’t wait. If you’re looking for a gym, and you click on a Google ad that claims to give a free week-long gym pass, you put your number, but nothing happens. But if you go to another website, you find that you can immediately sign up for a gym deal like a free gym pass or personal training session and you’ll get a callback.

See a problem as an opportunity

A challenge is never a challenge, but it is a chance run by the people involved to make things better. Just seeing it from a different angle will let you see that everything in your life offers opportunity.

For small business owners, they should ask themselves these questions: “What's good about that? How can you take advantage of this challenge? How can you use it in your favor?” After answering those three questions, you'll find some outstanding answers.

Make sure your employees own their roles

Your employees are all part of the same group, working together to promote the common good.   Set an example for your team and the rest will follow. When you allow flexibility, then this gives them creative freedom to think of new solutions. They’ll think the same way as you, believing that this is their job and, and this is their company. They’ll learn to own their roles.

Our guest is Jillian Fraser Quandt, Director of Business Development for MedSpa Marketing Solutions + Vector Solutions. We discuss how Vector Solutions got its start solving a problem that many businesses face: how to convert a lead to a sale?

She talked to us about her experience with how she makes it easy for small businesses with no sales process or closing process, making it easier for small businesses to be successful in their marketing endeavors. She says knowing where the new leads come from is an important part of running a successful business, so you know what kind of advertising is working for you. We discuss businesses' need to be strategic with how they plan out their advertising and sales process.

Businesses can save time and money through automation on Facebook to contact leads and schedule an appointment or a consult, but they may not have the budget for it yet.

So what can a small business owner like you do instead? A good place to start is to sit down and develop a sales and closing process that will make your employees' jobs much easier. That way, they know exactly what they need to do when a phone rings, and it's a new client.

Following up with leads can be a huge time sink, but if you have the right system in place, there is no need. And if you look at who is following up with the leads, so many business owners should become more hands-on in their lead generation.

Taking a good hard look at your process is the most important thing. You probably love a staff member and they may be fantastic at certain aspects of the business, but they are not the best closer. You need to know your conversion rate and close ratios. Because the lead generation funnel gives you the assurance that your business will survive 30, 60, or 90 days out.

Without a sales process that works and without good outsourcing for your marketing, you might try to sell your services with one hand tied behind your back. Sales processes help you work more efficiently and have better service delivery to your existing clients and potential leads.

The best companies keep a plan in place to generate sales instantly, knowing the rate at which their time investment converts. They use tools and a plan, planning the best way to schedule their tasks in order to generate conversions.

Key Takeaways

Being smart about where your money goes and how you partner is much more beneficial than doing it on your own.

You NEED a plan. Plan your leads. Plan your sales funnel. Plan your ad spend and plan your goals and tools.

The pandemic forced more business owners to get creative and start selling online such as online courses, products, subscription plans, and more. Out of the worst, most challenging moments, the most creative enterprises are born.

However, it can be a lonely road to entrepreneurship. The long days can wear down anyone, especially if you feel alone and don’t have anyone to turn to for advice. There's nothing wrong with building a business on your own, but there's a lot to be gained in asking for help.

If you’re new to selling online and going at your business alone, you’re going to want to pay attention to this episode of the Local Business Hacks podcast.

We talk to Darry Hicks, the co-founder and CEO of Flexpay. We talk more about his entrepreneurial journey and how he got started in business and what led him to start Flexpay.

As a high-volume seller of subscription products, Daryl Hicks built a reputation as the efficiency and optimization guy in the direct marketing world. However, he knew that selling online carried risks. The credit card decline rates were through the roof, and he wanted to solve the problem with FlexPay. Now they work with a wide variety of clients, especially those in the health and wellness industries.

Darryl knows what it’s like out there for the average small business owner as someone who has founded previous businesses. We then talk about networking, and how your connections can help you out the most with creating more business value.

Whether you’re looking for a referral or for a recruit into your company, there are many people out there, especially in the entrepreneurial groups who want to help. Many of them understand the struggle of opening and running your business, so don’t be afraid to reach out when you need them the most.

Once you find those people, reach out to them and get their advice. Sometimes all it takes is some validation or a little tweak to improve your business by half a percent. You can continue this through networking partnerships. Working with other businesses on content projects, loyalty programs, and marketing the content to their target audiences may be beneficial to your business.

Key Takeaways

Any business that doesn’t accept online payments is losing money. It's a gold nugget for you right now that you can use to reclaim your customers and get them coming back in and spending money.

Learn tips on how to solve issues with credit card transactions in three ways and the best times of the week to run credit cards.

A business takes time, and you have taken the first step. Don't be afraid to seek support whenever you need it. You will be surprised how many people will help you out and connect you to others along the way. There's a lot of help there that you can rely on during your journey.

We welcome Chris Badgett, co-founder and CEO of LifterLM, who discusses creating your own videos and teaching others for your small business. Whether you’re a yoga teacher or you’re in the beauty business, this is a great video about the power of building a unique legacy for yourself.

Key Takeaways

In this episode, we speak with Brandon Yu of ReDefined Marketing Solutions about how his agency helps spa and med spa business owners of stay on top of their marketing and generate more leads. He explains why small business owners should devote a lot of effort to marketing their businesses in order to get more customers through their doors.

Key Takeaways

For this week’s Local Business Hacks podcast episode, we’re talking with Tiphany Lopez, the Chief Growth Officer from Aesthetic Record. We talk about why tracking your numbers for your business is important for a small business and learn the four choices that can scale your business.

Key Takeaways

This podcast is made by Referrizer, the best marketing automation tool that can help you generate referrals, gain more customer loyalty and boost your online reputation.