Category: CRM Blog Posts

Turn It Up Tuesday: Tips from Insightly to Take Your Business to 11

Welcome to Turn It Up Tuesday, where we bring you 4 weekly tips—a tip on running your business, a tip on using Insightly CRM, a tip on improving your sales, and a tip on improving your life. Enjoy this week’s tips!

 

	Creating a Custom Report to Track Tasks in Insightly
	If you are a business owner want to check on tasks completed by your team members, try creating a custom report for yourself showing recently completed tasks by others. It works great!   This week’s tip was provided by Insightly user, Nate Derby. Thank you, Nate! Your Amazon gift card is on its way.
	Shared Space
	Single entrepreneurs often work long hours interacting with nothing more than their laptops and smartphones, which can be a recipe for isolation. A new trend in coliving can provide an alternative to feeling as if you have nobody around to share ideas with other than a houseplant. California-based PodShare is one of several coliving initiatives popping up around the US. With several locations in the greater Los Angeles area, PodShare provides access to bunks, bicycles, and coworking tables. More information is at: podshare.co.
	Hop on the Road to Bliss
	If you find yourself on a business trip in Central Oregon and have a few hours to spare before heading up, check out Hop in the Spa. You can begin your experience with a pint of beer from a local microbrewery, then head over to the spa for a soothing soak in a cedar tub brimming with hops, barley, and minerals. If that doesn’t send you into a complete state of relaxation, you can top it off with a hop oil massage.Word on the beauty beat is that hops offer a variety of benefits to both skin and hair. Soaks start at US$75 and massages start at US$65. Learn more at: hopinthespa.com.
	3 Easy Ways to Build Consensus With Your Prospect’s Organization
	Know Your Customer’s Goals Knowing your customer’s goals and anticipating their needs is the most crucial element in closing big deals. But, how do you do that? Simply put, you need to work to align yourself with what the company you’re selling to is trying to achieve… and more importantly you need to show the various buying influencers how you can help them fit into this goal.  Align Yourself with the Leader You don’t have to have a sociology major to know that in most groups, a leader emerges, and the rest follow. Another option to building consensus is to identify the leader and work your ass off to align yourself just with them. Go Rogue Once I had been working a big deal between two departments, and it was stuck in negotiations forever. The problem was, it had started out as a small deal, and then grew into this huge elephant that had multiple decision makers. What I should have done is put into play strategy number three – going rogue. If I had stepped back and gained some perspective, I may have seen that the smaller, original deal was pretty much a sure shot. The best solution would have been to break off a piece of the bigger deal that we were now proposing and just sell that.   This week’s sales tip is provided by Adam Honig, CEO of Spiro Technologies. Spiro’s mission is to help salespeople make more money using artificial intelligence.

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Check out Insightly’s features and plans on our pricing page or sign up for a free trial of the best CRM around.

Would you like to share your tips with Insightly customers? Send them to us! If we use one in our weekly feature we’ll send you a $10 Amazon Gift Card! Contact us on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, or send us an email.

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About the author: Marta Bright is Insightly’s Content Manager. She’s been writing about the “business of technology” in the Silicon Valley for more than a decade.

We millennials get a bad rap.

Some people think we’re lazy. Others insist we are impatient. Still others assert we have been coddled and are therefore destined to fail in life.

As someone who was born in the early 1980s, I barely qualify as a “millennial.” Be that as it may, my goal with this piece (the first in an ongoing series) is to help you, my fellow millennials, overcome such stereotypes through better business decisions.

To start the conversation, let’s discuss a few things you may not know about sales.

1. Sales Careers are Worth Considering

You just graduated with an expensive degree. Congratulations! Now what?

It’s a sad reality, but student loans are crushing our generation. While a solid education is important, a mountain of debt can be daunting to overcome – even with an advanced degree. Let’s examine your options.

Option 1: Get a Fixed Salary Job – Many graduates think that salary is the only way to go. In some cases, salary can be great. (It’s better than being unemployed!) My first corporate job was salary-based, and it certainly was good for me. On the other hand, if you have a lot of student loan debt, capping your earning potential may cause your standard of living to suffer. Remember, you’ll eventually have to pay Uncle Sam back – and he doesn’t care about your budget!

Option 2: Pursue Incentive-Based Compensation – Let’s imagine you’re considering a performance-based sales job with a reputable company. Instead of making $50,000 in fixed salary, the company offers you $40,000 plus a 5% commission on your sales revenue. The company produces enterprise-grade technology systems which retail for $80,000, and the top sales rep averages one new order per month. If you performed half as well as the top rep, your total income would equal $64,000. In this scenario, you have over $20,000 in extra pre-tax income to get out of debt. Not bad, huh?

2. Texting Skills Don’t Translate to Sales

Put down the phone and read this section closely. No one cares about your texting skills – especially employers and prospective clients.

In fact, our generation’s affinity for texting routinely gets us into trouble. Spending all day cultivating text message habits may make it difficult to avoid these faux pas:

• Writing emails in “texting language”
• Rudely checking your phone at inappropriate times
• Avoiding face-to-face interactions
• Poor verbal communications

When in doubt, fight your urge to rely on the things you’ve learned from texting. Instead, practice skills that make you more marketable. Companies want well-rounded individuals, not people who can communicate in less than 100 characters.

3. Social Media Can Haunt Your Sales Career

Your social media profiles are off limits to employers and clients, right? Wrong! Despite what you may have learned in your business management course, there are companies who actively check social media profiles.

If you’re interviewing for a sales position, assume that the prospective employer will spend time reviewing all of your profiles. Put yourself in the position of the employer when evaluating your social footprint. Are there posts that embarrass you? Do you really need to keep your political opinions out there? Could your poorly written posts give the wrong impression? Consider cleaning things up before going any further.

Once you’ve landed a sales job, stay mindful of how you represent yourself online. Even when publishing content from a personal page, you still indirectly relate to your company’s brand. With a few “shares,” your employer and customers could see something that you regret. Stranger things have happened.

My general social media rule is this: only post that which I would feel comfortable discussing with colleagues. By following this rule, you can reduce the risk of being “haunted” by your social profiles.

4. People Want Solutions

You are of course intrinsically valuable as a person. However, in sales, your business value is defined by your ability to solve customers’ problems.

This can be difficult for us in the millennial generation to grasp, but it is true. Sure, being attentive and friendly are important qualities. Unfortunately, they only get you so far. To remain valuable to your clients, always be asking yourself these questions:

• What are my customers’ biggest challenges?
• How can I help solve these problems?
• How can I help customers gain even more value?
• How does the client perceive the value I offer him?
• Is the customer getting more value than what he is being charged?

Put your customers’ needs first, and you’ll most always be rewarded in-kind.

Get To Know Your Inner Salesman!

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At Insightly, we offer a CRM used by small and mid-sized businesses from a variety of verticals. Learn about Insightly’s features and plans on our pricing page or sign up for a free trial.

Matt Keener is a marketing consultant and President of Keener Marketing Solutions, LLC. Matt specializes in content marketing and strategic planning, having helped numerous Saas (software as a service) companies and other small businesses worldwide. Read more of Matt’s work, check out his book, or connect with him on Linkedin.

Turn It Up Tuesday: Tips from Insightly to Take Your Business to 11

Welcome to Turn It Up Tuesday, where we bring you 4 weekly tips—a tip on running your business, a tip on using Insightly CRM, a tip on improving your sales, and a tip on improving your life. Enjoy this week’s tips!

 

	Using the Insightly Recycle Bin
	Brand new in Insightly! If records are accidentally deleted, you can use the new Recycle Bin to recover, retrieve, or un-delete them. When a record is deleted in Insightly, it’s moved to the Recycle Bin. If records are accidentally deleted, and you need to recover, retrieve, or undelete them, you can use the Recycle Bin to restore those records.  Items deleted within the last 30 days can be restored or permanently deleted by the system and cannot be restored. Items in the Recycle Bin  count toward your record and storage limits. The Recycle Bin link appears in the right sidebar when viewing a list of records. The following items can be restored from the Recycle Bin:  Tasks Contacts Organizations Leads Opportunities Projects Emails Reports Events Comments Files Notes Milestones   This week’s tip was provided by Tony Roma. Tony is an Insightly product expert who has been helping businesses implement software solutions for over ten years.
	The Unsettling Sound of Silence
	According to Coffivity.com, research has shown that people struggle to be creative in a quiet atmosphere, similarly, they also find loud workspaces distracting. A happy medium is a space where a gentle hum can be heard in the background. This is where their app comes in. This app will transport your mind, and make you believe you’re in a real coffee shop, in a bid to get your creative juices flowing. Why not try a “Morning Murmur”, or if you’re feeling adventurous why not go back to your student years and listen to “University Undertones.”
	Save Ink, Spare the Landfill
	When printing documents, try changing the text from black to gray. This will make little difference to the quality of what you’re printing, and will both reduce the amount of ink used. Better still, it will also increase printing speed. By using less ink, you will be slowing down the process of piling onto already over-taxed landfills with used cartridges.
	You Have the Mindset of a Salesperson If…
	You love making money You look for opportunities everywhere You’re interested in people You’re NOT great at following the rules You try to figure out how to get to “yes” You’re very competitive You like to take risks  This week’s sales tip is provided by Spiro Technologies. Spiro’s mission is to help salespeople make more money using artificial intelligence.

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Check out Insightly’s features and plans on our pricing page or sign up for a free trial of the best CRM around.

Send Us Your Tips. Would you like to share your tips with Insightly customers? Send them to us! If we use one in our weekly feature we’ll send you a $10 Amazon Gift Card! Contact us on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, or send us an email.

About the author: Marta Bright is Insightly’s Content Manager. She’s been writing about the “business of technology” in the Silicon Valley for more than a decade.

 

It doesn’t matter how well-planned or high-quality your marketing campaign is – it’ll only work if the right people encounter it.

The automotive industry’s approach to sports sponsorship gives us some fantastic examples of targeted advertising. BMW cars tend to be aimed at the higher end of the market, so the company targets its sponsorship at sports enjoyed by a more affluent audience – such as golf and sailing.

Mass-market brands, on the other hand, target the sports which have the largest audiences of ordinary people – such as soccer. Hyundai and Chevrolet, for example, spend heavily to be involved with the FIFA World Cup and Manchester United, respectively.

Premium tire manufacturers also target their advertising. Pirelli, Michelin and Goodyear market their products through supplying motor sports series, because people who are interested in watching fast cars are more likely than most to care about having performance tires on their own vehicles.

Marketing doesn’t have to be about simply putting your brand in front of the maximum number of people. Targeting a smaller, but more relevant segment of the market, can often be better.

#1. Consumers Need a Reason to Choose You

Simply making a nice-looking ad to tell people your product is wonderful, life-changing and super, then telling them to buy it won’t work. You need to tell them why it’s all those things – and why they should opt to do business with you, not a competitor.

Samsung’s S6 model was not a success, with many fans of the brand complaining that features they liked about the previous model – MicroSD support and waterproofing, for example – had disappeared.

So it should come as no surprise that the return of these features is highlighted in Samsung’s commercials for its new S7.

The ad is nicely made with some good imagery, but above all it is informative. It essentially tells customers, “You should buy this phone instead of someone else’s because,” then lists a string of key factors in any handset buyer’s decision-making process.

What does that decision-making process look like for your product? Think about it, and ensure you make it clear to your customers that what you’re selling meets their needs.

#2. Your Customer’s Need Could Be Emotional

According to Psychology Today, research reveals that the emotional response of a consumer toward an advertisement has a greater impact on their intent to buy it than the information contained within it.

Coca-Cola is one of the many companies taking advantage of this, building its recent marketing strategy heavily and openly around emotion. The “Taste the Feeling” campaign places little or no emphasis on what the product actually is, instead featuring ads designed solely to link the brand with positive experiences.

Information still matters, of course, and in some markets it will always rule the roost. But often, especially where it’s difficult or impossible to convey a genuine unique selling point of the product, triggering the right emotional response is the key.

If consumers associate your brand with positive feelings like happiness or pleasure, they’re far more likely to invest in your products.

#3. Two Heads Can Be Better than One

Most companies carry out advertising campaigns and marketing work alone. Commercials tend to be for a single product; if an advertisements features two products, they’re almost always from the same brand.

But going it solo isn’t the only way. Intel, for example, often teams up with computer companies to promote their chips – an approach which has turned the company into a household name, and turned an Intel chip into a must-have for many computer buyers.

Teaming up with another company has numerous benefits, including closer ties and maybe even favorable terms – and through the association, the good reputation of each company can rub off onto the other.

Consider who your suppliers and vendors are, and think about products that complement yours. Let’s say you’re marketing a torch – might a battery-maker be interested in covering some of your costs to be included in your promotions?

#4. Different Can Be Better

Certain products and services tend to be advertised in certain ways, and you may feel under pressure to have your own marketing follow the established formula. But you really shouldn’t, because doing something different can and often will make you stand out from a crowded pack.

Advertisements for male shaving products tend to feature an attractive man, either using or having used the product. Often, an attractive woman will appear soon after and respond in a positive manner.

There’s nothing wrong with that. Being more attractive is the main reason why men use shaving and grooming products, so this sort of advertising makes sense – it appeals strongly to the correct emotions.

But the Dollar Shave Club went against the stereotype in its breakthrough marketing campaign – there wasn’t a bathroom, mirror, model or blade in sight. The result was one of the most successful small-business viral advertisements of all time.

Great campaigns are the ones that stand out the most, often by being very different to others produced by the same industry. So don’t be afraid to try something a little bit unusual – there is always more than one way to sell.

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At Insightly, we offer a CRM used by small and mid-sized businesses from a variety of verticals. Learn about Insightly’s features and plans on our pricing page or sign up for a free trial.

How many business professionals are simply too afraid to take a vacation because they’ll miss too much when they’re gone? We all know that workaholic who just can’t let go of control, and sadly, they’re not alone.

A CareerBuilder survey reveals two in five employees work outside traditional office hours, and one in four check on work activities while with friends and family. These tools and tips will make stepping away from your work for a few days a little easier. You’ll be able to unplug and step back without falling behind while you’re not watching over every detail.

Email Autoresponder

As soon as you know you’re leaving the office for a few days, your first instinct is to say, “Eh, I’ll handle email from my phone while I’m away, no big deal.” While there’s nothing that says you can’t check your email while you’re mobile, you’re not really unplugged. So, here’s what to do instead.

Setup your email autoresponder to say something along the lines of:

“Hi,

I’m out of the office from [X date] until [X date]. While I may be able to respond to your message during this time, I can’t guarantee my usual response time. If you have an issue that requires immediate assistance, please contact [name of another associate who can help in your absence] at [email and/or phone]. I will be replying to email when I’m back in the office.

Thanks,
[Name]”

Now you can look at email if you want to, but you’re under no obligation to do so. Make sure the associate who’s helping you knows to only reach out to you in situations where there’s no one else who can help.

Be sure and turn off email notifications on your phone, so you don’t see or hear when they come in.

Email Scheduler

Are there emails that absolutely have to go out while you’re gone? Any responses you need to have ready to go? That’s where an email scheduler like Yesware or Boomerang for Gmail comes in handy. If you promised a client you’d contact to them by a certain date and it turns out you’ll be gone then, you can set up the email in advance so there’s no issue. Or, if you’re already an Insightly user, you can schedule emails to go out in advance right from within the CRM.

Social Media Scheduler

Social never sleeps, and thankfully, there’s no shortage of apps and scheduling solutions to choose from. If you’re a B2B marketer, use Oktopost to schedule your social media posts in advance. If you’re in the B2C marketer, you can use Buffer, CoSchedule, or Hootsuite. It’s no substitute for live interactions with your followers, but it will keep your pages and profiles active while you’re gone. You can always catch up when you get back. Or, use these tools to pass the social media management baton to a colleague while you’re gone.

Block Distractions

There’s an app for that! Freedom works to block the Internet, social media, and apps. It works for iPhones, iPads, Macs and Windows computers. You can set limits and your device won’t let you waste time on social, or even connect to the Internet when you should be relaxing on vacation. Get the same app for Android users here. As a bonus, it will even work for your Kindle.

Many phones have a “Do Not Disturb” mode, where you can set the hours you want to block calls and notifications. Don’t worry – you can set it up so you can still get calls from family members in case of emergency. Use it – block all notifications and calls from work while you’re on vacation.

Unplugging on vacation, and even at the end of your workday has numerous benefits. You’ll get some time to recover from stress so you can recharge for the next day. As much as you’d like to think it does, multi-tasking doesn’t work, so why not just enjoy the moment? And, without the blue light exposure before bed, you’ll sleep better, too. Fight the urge to maintain control and trust someone else to take the reins while you take a break. It will be okay – we promise.

 

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At Insightly, we offer a CRM used by small and mid-sized businesses from a variety of verticals. Learn about Insightly’s features and plans on our pricing page or sign up for a free trial.