E-mail, calendar, documents, and phone fall into one category because, for me, they are all things Google. Yes, I know they know more about me than my mother, and maybe even the IRS, but I’m willing to trust them, to a point. Google’s products can be so helpful to the small business owner that they get their own category. Google’s products were, and still are, revolutionary, not to mention free. It’s easy to forget how difficult is was, just a few years ago, to share documents and collaborate with others when working on presentations, proposals, financial projections, org charts, and more. Google docs changed all that.

I use Google Apps everyday. Not only for documents and spreadsheets but now I use them to draw and create forms that I embed inside my web pages (example). And, of course I’m writing this post in Google docs before I paste it into my blog editor. Gmail and Google Calendar rock because it makes it so easy for my staff to handle my communication and scheduling. Plus, Gmail is able to block 99% of the spam that comes my way. Google Talk and Google Voice are redonkulous (that means good). They give you video chat within your browser and one phone number that rings any of your phones, allows you to call any phone from within your browser and recieves voices messages as audio files and transcribed text. C’mon, have some appreciation because that’s impressive. Oh, and I can’t forget, your own customized phone number! Mine is (414) FOR-PORT. And, the Google Iphone app gives me better reception, on my Iphone, than my ATT cellular service.

Again, I feel obligated to remind you that all of this is free and it works, all the time. And, these are just the basic Google products. There are many more Google apps that you can use as productivity solutions if you consider stepping up to their enterprise solutions.

Project Management Software

Project management software is difficult to create because projects are difficult to manage. But, Basecamp HQ, from 37Signals, helps me organize my projects and keep on track. Sure, there are a few other features that I wish it had so it’s not perfect. No project management software is perfect, just as no project is perfect. The key with project management software is what you do with it. (AKA: actually put information into the thing) I like Basecamp’s simplicity and ease of use. I figure, if I can’t get my project information into a program as simple as BasecampHQ, then I have no business doing projects. I especially like Basecamp’s “template” feature. If you create lots of similar projects, as most of us do, creating project templates will save you time. Add milestones, to-dos, and messages once and you can reuse them on future projects.

Two other project management software programs to consider is Solve360 for a combination of project management and crm tools – I haven’t used it but I’ve heard good things – and Manymoon, if you’re looking for free project and task management solutions. It offers good collaboration tools as well but it’s not going to be as simple and clean as Basecamp. If you’re one of those people who likes long lists so you can compare every project management product under the sun, then be my guest. But, remember, the key to any piece of software is using it not having it.

Social Media Management Software

On my MacBook Pro I use Tweetdeck to manage my Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn streams. It was one of the first Twitter Clients and I think it’s still one of the best. I’ve tried others without too much success. I used to use Tweetie to manage my Twitter account from my iPhone and then one day it just stopped working. Now, I use Twitter’s native app and it works just fine. On my iPad I use Socialable to manage both my Facebook and Twitter accounts. Typically I don’t pre-schedule my Twitter updates. But, when I do I use Social Oomph. People also use Social Oomph to “auto-follow” as a way of building their number of followers but I don’t recommend it. A) I think it’s cheesy and B) when I see someone who is following the same number people that they have following them, I assume the number of followers is, for the most part, artificially inflated. Another cute little Twitter client is TweetBeep, it alerts you when someone has mentioned you on Twitter so you can respond immediately; people appreciate that. For Facebook Page management I like the NorthSocial apps. There are about 3,865 social media management apps from which to choose. Just pick a few and get busy being social.

Sales and Customer Relationship Management Software + Shopping Carts and Email Broadcasting

This is a tricky catagory because when you think of CRM’s you think of software for managing leads and opportunities, software you use to close deals. However, over the last few years, a new catagory of customer or client relationship management software has sprung up in products like GetSatisfaction; what I would really consider software that helps you manage relationships with clients. The typical CRM is really a sales tool as the name of the most popular and biggest demonstrates: SalesForce. (Yes, SalesForce, I know you’re doing many more things now then just manage leads and opportunities, but at your core, in your heart of heart, you’re a tool to help close sales.) However, shopping cart and e-newsletter broadcasting systems, like 1shoppingcart and ConstantContact are also customer relationship management tools. Oiy vey, as my mother would say. Where to start?

I’ve used many Sales Management Software programs over the years and have often found them difficult to use. Not always because the software is difficult, although, sometimes it is, but because I’ve had difficulty creating the habits necessary to use these programs, especially when they’re big, complex programs like SalesForce. When choosing a Sales Management Software choose one that meets your current needs. Some suggest that you choose one to grow into but I find, more often than not, for the small or solo business owner, doing so creates overwhelm and less engagement with the product.

If you’re new and working solo and want to manage your contacts, leads and opportunities, check out HighriseHQ, another clean and simple program from 37Signals. Or you might like Tactilecrm, self-described as an easy web based crm for small business. If you’re on a mac and don’t need a web based crm then have a look at a really nice program from Marketcircle called Daylite. It also provides project and task managment solutions. So it’s a little like Solve360 in that it combines project management and crm solutions into one product. Also have a look at SugarCRM, a commercial, open source customer relationship management software for sales force automation and customer support. If you’re a techie, or have a tech on the payroll, you might want to use the open source version. If you’re not or you don’t, they offer a hosted version. But, it still requires that you understand how a crm works because the set up process is substantial; as it is with most of the big dogs like SalesForce. Of course, there are always the old standbys Act and Goldmine.

For a shopping cart, broadcasting system, and highly intelligent follow-up engine, consider Infusionsoft (disclosure: I’m an Infusionsoft partner and this link includes an affiliate code.) It’s an “all in one” system minus the project management aspect. However, even though I use Infusionsoft and am a partner, I recommend it with reservations.  Infusionsoft is a big platform and it’s not easy to learn. In fact, I have someone on my team who manages the system for me. So, if you’re not technically inclined and don’t have the resources to get professional help (of the technical kind as opposed to the mental kind) you may end up needing professional help (of the mental kind). Other shopping cart and e-newsletter systems with follow-up engines include 1shopping.com, zen-cart, and interspire,

As with the crm and project management software programs there are also too many newsletter broadcasting systems to choose from including ConstantContact, Aweber, icart, MailChimp and more. If I were starting from scratch today, I’d probably go with MailChimp for my newsletter broadcasting because it’s free for your first 1000 subscribers and it integrates with so many different shopping cart and crm solutions. It’s also really easy to use.

Let’s end this section where we began, with a true customer relationship management program, GetSatisfaction, which provides a simple way to build online communities that create conversations between businesses and their customers. I’m a fan. It also intergrates nicely with ZenDesk, an impressive help desk platform. Other helpdesk platforms include Kayako, HelpDeskPilot, and LiveHelpNow, which includes a cool live chat feature that may increase conversion at point of sale.

Intranet and Online Operation Manual Software

A lifetime ago, when I worked for a large corporation, they gave every new employee an “operations manual” that was so large it took two people to carry it. Ridiculous. Why? Because, as soon as it was printed it was immediately out of date and irrelevant. A good business is constantly improving, making small changes that produce big results. If you’re working from a book that’s outdated and filled with information that’s irrelevant, you’re going to have to a hard time producing improvements. Moreover, if you can’t find what you’re looking for you’re slow and ineffective. I don’t know about you, but when I’m slow and ineffective, I get depressed, frustrated and crabby. You’ve got to be able to find what you need when you need it at a moments notice. Enter the online operations manual. As soon as you start your business you should document every process that occurs in your business, from how you take money to where your website is hosted and how to make changes. Nothing should be set to memory. Instead, it should be documented in an easily and instantly updatable online environment that you can access from anywhere with any computer or handheld device with an Internet connection.

My first online operations manual lived on a typepad blog that I called “Team United.” Each member of my team could add posts and categorize them based on the procedure type. Other members of the team could comment on the post and add to or change the process as needed. The blog software wasn’t ideal for the purposes of an online operations manual so I moved all our documentation to a wiki at pbworks.com. That was fine for a while but it wasn’t integrated into the rest of company’s activities so I moved it to Backpack another simple product from 37signals.com. I even use Backpack for my home “operations manual” to manage everything from the 30 or so contractors that work on my house, my son’s school and teacher information, emergency contacts, utilities, and so much more. I guess I’m starting to sound like a commercial for 37signals.com but I have no relation to the company and don’t know anyone involved in the company (as of today). I even use their Campfire product for team chat’s and conference calls.

There are more software products that I could introduce to you but I think this is more than enough for now. As I mentioned earlier, the point of productivity software is to help you stay organized and get things done. The simpler the product is the better.

Speaking of a simple product that will help you build your network (stay organized) and get booked solid (get things done) is a product that I’m creating based on my book, Book Yourself Solid, called Solid.ly. You can sign up for the beta and you’ll get an invite to participate in the private beta in January or February. Oh, my gosh, I almost forgot to mention the other Book Yourself Solid software product, Book’d. It’s helps you list your services online, take money and let’s clients book sessions. (I’m biased toward these two products for obvious reasons.)

Jolly Old St. Nick is the head of the largest seasonal business in the world, but how does the man in the red suit manage Christmas year after year?

Santa Claus gives an “exclusive” interview on MSNBC revealing his approach to marketing, social media and customer service.

Ok, fine, you got me. It’s me in a Santa suit… which is why the advice is so good! Hey, if you like it, please give it a “thumbs up” on the site.

I thought you might enjoy a good laugh while learning a little something at the same time.

Happy holidays,

Michael Port
(AKA: Santa Claus)

I will help you create the behaviors, the habits necessary to get booked solid.

At some point, you’ve got to stop learning and start doing.

Or, I should say…you’ve got to couple learning with action.

Here is the video recording from yesterday’s 7 Habits of Highly Effective Marketers webinar. I introduce just a few of the habits that I am going to help you develop in  The Book Yourself Solid Get-It-Done Daily Marketing Program.

Note: Why the 7 Habits of Highly Effective Marketers? Of course, it’s an ode to Dr. Stephen Covey’s famous book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.

I was recently inspired by re-reading the book and encouraged to focus more on helping you create the behaviors, the habits necessary to get booked solid rather than provide you more information for your already overstuffed brain.

As always, thank you for giving me the opportunity to be of service.

Many people in the United States purchase one or fewer books every year.

Many of those people have seen every single episode of American Idol. There is clearly a correlation here.

Access to knowledge, for the first time in history, is largely unimpeded for the middle class. Without effort or expense, it’s possible to become informed if you choose. For less than your cable TV bill, you can buy and read an important book every week. Share the buying with six friends and it costs far less than coffee.

Or you can watch TV.

The thing is, watching TV has its benefits. It excuses you from the responsibility of having an informed opinion about things that matter. It gives you shallow opinions or false ‘facts’ that you can easily parrot to others that watch what you watch. It rarely unsettles our carefully self-induced calm and isolation from the world.

I got a note from someone the other day, in which she made it clear that she doesn’t read non-fiction books or blogs related to her industry. And she seemed proud of this. There’s more.

I agree with Seth. The future belongs to the learner and readers are leaders. However, among the educated class, I see another problem. Too much learning and not enough doing. Just one more conference and then I’ll take action. Just one more coaching program and then I’ll be ready. Just one more book and then I’ll know what to do.

If you want to do big things in the in the world, your learning should be coupled with action. What you learn today you can put into action tomorrow so you get real-time, real-world feedback. Then, what you know, becomes field tested. That’s when knowledge becomes powerful.

Generally, I suggest focusing on selling one product or service at a time. This is how you do it successfully:

1. Choose which of the Book Yourself Solid 7 Core Self-Promotion Strategies you’re going to use to create awareness for the service you offer and then execute them daily.
2. When promoting yourself, instead of trying to sell, invite potential clients to your always-have-something-to-invite-people-to offer so that you can begin to build trust and earn credibility.
3. Over time, make sales offers that are proportionate to the amount of trust that you’ve earned.
4. Potential clients will raise their hands and ask to have the sales conversations with you. Using the 4-part Book Yourself Solid Simple Sales System, you’ll have successful sales conversations and you’ll book the business. (AKA: do the Book Yourself Solid happy dance.)

As your business develops, and your slate of product and service offerings grows, you can make multiple offers at the same time.

It’s tricky, though, because, as psychologists will tell you, more is often less. Offer too many options and the buyer gets overwhelmed and, as a result, can’t make a choice. So, how do you promote more than one thing at a time?

By segmenting your base of potential clients according to:

• Their needs.
• The amount of trust you’ve earned with them.

Of course, it’s hard to know the exact need of every potential client (unless they tell you). And, it’s also difficult to know exactly how much they trust you (even if they tell you).

To help segment potential clients by their needs make sure you set up multiple “lists” in your contact management database so that you can communicate with people based on their needs. You can also set up various lists or groups of potential buyers by how long they’ve been getting your marketing messages and how many times they’ve responded to your communication by clicking on links, sharing your messages, etc.

Make sure your offers serve different needs at different stages of your sales cycle.

To my mind, it doesn’t make much sense to offer four products or services at the same price point with same delivery system and similar content to the same group of people.

Each subsequent offer should serve a different population of potential clients and also create an opportunity for people to move from one offer to another. For example, I offer four different group-coaching programs (and three of them are starting within weeks of each other!) Note the price points and the dates.

1. Book Yourself Solid 2-Day Webinar ($99) (next one is months away so I don’t have to worry about it yet)
2. Book Yourself Solid 7-Week Get-It-Done Daily Marketing Accountability Program ($299) (starts Nov. 1. Early Bird Deadline is Oct. 22)
3. 2-day workshops at my house for 8 people only ($1999) (Dec. 2-3 and Jan. 27-28)
4. Book Yourself Solid Certified Coach Program ($4995) (Nov. 10-Dec. 3)

Each offer must to be compelling to different potential clients at different stages of the sales cycle.

The Book Yourself Solid 2-Day Webinar is compelling to new readers of Book Yourself Solid or first time clients. It helps that the price is super low and the time commitment is minimal.

The Book Yourself Solid 7-Week Get-It-Done Daily Marketing Accountability Program is compelling to people who believe in the Book Yourself Solid system and want daily accountability and focused attention to get their marketing done. Again, very low price-point.

The 2-day workshops at my house for a small group of only eight people is compelling to people who want more personal attention from me because in 2 days, at my house, I can design an entire business model for them. Price goes up but time commitment is minimal for big return on investment.

The Book Yourself Solid Certified Coach Program is obviously for people that feel a deep connection to the Book Yourself Solid system and want to start their own Booked Solid business or add Book Yourself Solid coaching to their current business. Price is higher than other offers but, I might add, still very low for a lifetime license to coach the Book Yourself Solid System.

If you make, or are planning to make, a number of offers at the same time, I suggest that you:

1. Start a marketing calendar now and plan out the next 12-months of promotion for your various services. It’ll take a little work up front but it’ll be much easer (and more effective) down the road.
2. Segment your potential clients according to their needs.
3. Segment your potential clients according to the amount of trust you have earned.

Or, just keep it simple and make one great, scalable, profitable and remarkable offer.

Think big,

mp

Michael Port
NY Times Bestselling Author of 4 books.

P.S. I don’t charge extra for typos. They’re just my gift to you.

Questions? Call 877-279-5220 or email questions@michaelport.com.

1. Either you don’t know what to do to attract and secure more clients; or
2. You know what to do but you’re not actually doing it.

For most people, #2 is the big problem.

New method offers solution.

It’s no accident that I introduce sales in Book Yourself Solid in Chapter 9—after I’ve taught you how to set your foundation and build trust and credibility. One of the reasons that so many sales conversations are unsuccessful is because they’re had at the wrong time—usually too soon—before you’ve earned the proportionate amount of trust needed for the offer being made. Plus, your clients’ buy when it’s right for them—when something occurs in their life or business that compels them to hire you. If these two factors, trust and timing, come together at just the right moment, you’ll have a successful sales conversation and book the business. But this only works if you’ve built a solid foundation, demonstrating that you:

• Have a red velvet rope policy so you work only with ideal clients.
• Understand why people buy what you’re selling so you know exactly to whom you are selling and what they want to invest in.
• Have developed a personal brand identity so you decide how you’re known in the world.
• Are able to talk about what you do without sounding confusing or bland, or like everybody else, and without ever using an elevator speech.

If you’ve set this foundation, a potential client will give you the opportunity to earn their trust. But you’ll only earn their trust if you:

• Use the standard credibility builders and have a high degree of likeability.
• Have designed a sales cycle that starts with no-barrier-to-entry offers including your always-have-something-to-invite-people-to offer.
• Have simple lead generating information products that enhance your credibility and speed up your sales cycle.

Then, and realy only then, are you ready to have sales conversations—that work.

The Secret to the Book Yourself Solid System

This simple 4-step process is the secret to the Book Yourself Solid system.

1. You execute a few of the 7 Core Self-Promotion strategies, which create awareness for what you have to offer.
2. When a potential client becomes aware of your services they’ll take a look at your foundation. If it looks secure, if they feel comfortable stepping onto it, they’ll give you the opportunity to earn their trust—but only the opportunity. They’re not necessarily going to hire you right then and there. They need some time before they will actually trust you.
3. That’s when your plan to build trust and credibility comes into play. As a potential client moves through your sales cycle, they will come to like you, trust you and find you credible.
4. When their circumstances dictate that they need the kind of help you provide, they’ll raise their hand and ask you to have a sales conversation (I’ll teach you this in a minute). You have a sales conversation the Book Yourself Solid way and book the business.

The process is simple. The process is sound. It can turn your business life around. And, most importantly, the process is a complete, repetitive, and self-perpetuating system.

The Super Simple Selling System

Now, let’s talk about how to have the sales conversation. I’ve created, the 4-Part Sales Formula for super simple selling—so simple the formula practically works on its own. Why? Because, once trust is assured and a need is met, using this 4 part formula during your sales conversations will book the business. But, please remember, this is meant to be an open and free-flowing conversation not a sales script.

Book Yourself Solid 4-Part Sales Formula

When a potential client expresses interest in working with you, open with a simple question…

Part 1: What are you working on? Or, what is your goal? Or, what are you trying to achieve?

Once you feel certain you know what they want to accomplish and by when, simply ask…

Part 2: How will you know when you have achieved it?  What results will you see? What feedback will you hear? What feelings will you have?

Once you feel like the potential client has clearly articulated these benefits, make sure they are fully in the hiring ­frame of mind, ask…

Part 3: Would you like someone to help you with that (achieve your goal, etc.)?

If they say, “no,” wish them the best of luck and keep-in-touch with them. If they say, “yes,” then offer…

Part 4: Would you like that person to be me? Because, you know, you are my ideal client. (To which they’ll say, “what do you mean?” Because no one has ever said that to them before.) Well, you are someone with whom I do my best work. (They’ll ask “why?” and you’ll tell them…) Because you are… (Here is where you list the qualities that make them who they are and allow you to do your best work.) As, you’re listing these qualities you’ll see their face brighten as they sit up strait and say, “Wow. That is so me! Thank you for noticing.” You’ll say, so shall we look at our calendars to plan a time to get started? And, the answer will be…drumroll please… “Absolutely, yes!”

Don’t use the phrases above verbatim. Instead just use the Book Yourself Solid 4-Part Sales Formula as a framework for a superduper simple (successful) sales conversation.

Written Exercise: Practice without pressure. Try this process with a good friend or colleague and see what happens. Ask them to call you at random a few times over the course of a week and say, “Hi, I’ve been getting your newsletter for a while and I think you may be able to help me, can we talk about your services?” And, instead of doing that thing that everyone does—talk about themselves and their business for 20 minutes—ask them what they’re working on or what they’re trying to achieve or what problem they’re trying to overcome, and you’ll be into Part 1 of the Book Yourself Solid 4-Part Sales Formula. Super simple.