Did you miss the August meeting of the NSA Las Vegas chapter?
Boy, are you going to being disappointed.
This month’s event started with a juggling act. Jim Root opened the day with a tap-dancing routine, then our past and future presidents (Magee and Polish) brandished medieval swords and battled each other for the title of Supreme Leader.
Alright, moment of honesty. I didn’t actually see the beginning of the meeting because I was picking up our guest speaker… but I had you going for a few moments, didn’t I?
Apparently, our representatives from Influence took the stage to give us tips, takeaways, and interesting happenings from the NSA conference in Colorado. My takeaway… go to the NSA conference. They did their best, but I’m pretty sure you had to be there.
We did learn that Darren LaCroix’s breakout session and Stormie Andrews breakout session were a…wait for it… mazing. Thankfully, we got to see Stormie’s breakout session live and in person.
Welcome to The World’s Best Buyer Persona. This is not your typical “ideal client” info. Pshaw. This is your avatar on steroids, wearing a sumo wrestler costume, standing on the shoulders of someone really tall.
The problem (according to Stormie) with most businesses?
We’ve got squirrels… so many squirrels. I believe that he was suggesting that there are too many things for us to focus on. Or maybe there are a lot of things vying for our customer’s attention. But to be perfectly honest, I stopped paying attention for a few seconds because I was silently singing a song from Grease. (I’ve got squirrels, they’re multiplying…)
Just me? Alrighty then. Let’s just jump into the persona, shall we?
Here’s your crash course. There are 3 different stages in a buyer’s journey: Awareness, Consideration, and Decision. Most businesses focus their content and their messaging on the Decision stage, but we’re better than that! We now know that most website visitors (96%) are in the 1st two stages. To stand out and be heard above all the squirrels, we need to reach these potential customers when they are in the early stages (I have a problem and I’d like to figure out how to fix it).
How do we do this? How do we speak directly to those people where they are at? We use the Instant Campaign that Stormie laid out for us. That means looking at Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs and putting ourselves into the shoes of our intended audience. What are they asking Google? What is their emotional state? What is their belief system?
Want to know more? Of course, you do. Reach out to Stormie at stormie@yokellocalmarketing.com . I can’t give out all his secrets here!Our guest speaker, PR Strategist, and Crisis Management Expert Cheryl Snapp Conner took the stage to teach us about Influence: How to Get It, Keep It, and Use it.
She asked us a very important question: “What is the barrier between you and the next level of business?”
Hmmm. My assistant/dog refuses to make cold calls. I’ve tried withholding peanut butter treats but she’s so strong-willed.
With that question floating around our brains, she asked, “How would communication help you move the needle?”
There are two ways to approach communication in your business:
- Speak to your audience listening.
- What did that just open up for you?
The second approach hit me hard. In our business, whether it’s a full-blown crisis or just a temporary setback, challenges are guaranteed to surface. Taking this proactive, positive, approach to those challenges is refreshing advice.
There are three common goals in the speaking world: Fame, Fortune, and Making a Difference. The cool thing is, if you aim for the latter, the first two will follow. But how do you make a difference?
The first step is developing your brand. This means that you must be present, aware, and authentic every day - where your customers live – because you are always “on the record.” You should give away your knowledge freely, and always remember that “invisible” is a brand… just not a good one.
Cheryl suggested publishing on LinkedIn, YouTube, Medium, doing guest posts on other people’s blogs, and always having your own blog. If you can appear in three spaces with a similar message, you are golden.
If you’d like to learn more about how PR can help your business, find Cheryl at https://snappconner.com/ .
Don’t miss next month’s meeting on September 19th. Andy Masters will help us market through the clutter with “Target Marketing to Your Target Markets: Multiply Your Bookings by Leveraging Every Niche.” Register to attend here.
About the Author
Sheryl Green is a storytelling expert, Cause Marketer, and animal rescuing badass. Having penned three novels, she now brings her penchant for storytelling to non-fiction and content writing, working with businesses and individuals who want to position themselves as experts in their field and make a difference in their community. She leverages the power of story through website content, book coaching, and speaking engagements.
She is the author of “Surviving to Thriving: How to Overcome Setbacks and Rock Your Life,” “Once Upon a Bottom Line: Harnessing the Power of Story for Sales,” and “Book Writing for Busy People.” Her forthcoming book, “Do Good to Do Better: The Small Business Guide to Growing Your Business by Helping Nonprofits” is due out this Fall.
She’s also a firm believer that everything looks better covered in pet fur. Learn more at www.sherylgreenspeaks.com.