Small Business Solutions

I first learned about Dave Navarro, AKA The Launch Coach, while researching how to motivate affiliates, and I was instantly taken aback by his wealth of knowledge, charm and brashness. He’s a perfect example of how to motivate your audience to buy simply by giving them what they want — and plenty of it!

He teaches his readers to give-give-give in order to lucratively receive the results you want and the spirit of giving spills over into his Launch Coach Library where he GIVES AWAY obscene amount of free workbooks that will teach you how to sell more and play a bigger game.

Dave is gearing up for the launch of his very popular “Creating Products That Sell” and “Building A Responsive List” workshops on Thursday, May 27th, so I took this opportunity to asked him to explain some of the marketing mistakes he sees out there. Dave answered these questions and gave tried-and-true advice on how to learn what your audience (really) wants from you.

Get ready to stop selling your products the tacky, over-the-top way and start selling with the classy, Dave Navarro way….

1. What can people expect from the two workshops: Products that Sell and Building a Responsive List?

I basically lay out a step-by-step course for going from “nothing to something” – in the case of product workshops; it’s how to take the shortest path to getting some in-demand stuff out there and setting up your sales systems. I give the basics of audio / video / PDF / teleseminars / webinars and show how to add features to your products to boost sales and reduce refunds.

Basically, I take all the reasons that making products seems hard and scary, and give you options to defuse the pressure and get your stuff out there and selling.

Same with the email workshop – I’ve distilled what I’ve learned over the years to create a shortest-path plan for attracting an audience of buyers who like you and respect you, without having to do any of the cheesy stuff you see most internet marketers do.

2. Most of the people I work with have a problem: creating products that sell; I suggest doing a survey or posing questions to identify pain points their target audience is experiencing via social media—does that seem to work for you as a starting point for identifying an idea for a profitable product?

If you have an audience who responds to you already, surveys are fantastic, but if you don’t, it’s great to look at social media – especially blog comments – as an indicator. I like to look at other people’s posts where the comments are on fire and I say, “That’s something people really want answers to.” My first really successful product, How To Launch The **** Out Of Your Ebook, came about that way, by following the comments on an Ittybiz.com post.

3. What other advice can you give for creating a product?

Don’t over-think it. Focus on giving people solutions that work, not on being impressive. If somebody at a party needs a bottle opened, they don’t care if you have a Swiss Army Knife, they’re happy with the bottle opener. Same with products. Don’t try and make the Swiss Army solution when you can please your customers with a simpler deal. Because the time you free up doing that can be spent making more solutions to other pressing problems.

4. Can you identify the most frequent mistake you see people do when creating products and/or building their lists?

They create the product and then build their list. I did that for 5 years and it’s an uphill battle. But if you build your list by targeting an audience and getting to know their needs, you can find out what they’re hungry for, make that, and start making sales instantly.

5. What advice do you have for some one that has many friends or followers and now wants to create a responsive list from their networking efforts?

Focus on helping people, not chasing numbers. The more you give, the more goodwill you get. And that is what gets people responsive. You don’t need clever headlines to attract attention if people like you and trust you. So if you have a following already, find out what’s their big pain point, make a free resource or two around it and build goodwill and people sharing your stuff (exactly what I do in the Launch Coach Library).

People think I’m a master marketer, but I’m not. I’m a highly skilled helper, and that means people are willing to trust me when it’s time for the sale. You can cover over a multitude of copy-writing and marketing weaknesses just by being respectful to your audience.

6. I assume your workbooks are your pink spoon offer? Will you be going into how this “just a taste” strategy can help build your list and also provide research for products?

Exactly. If I can get people to taste the goods, so to speak, and get results with my free stuff, then they’ll stay on my list and communicate with me. I go into this in detail in the Building a Responsive List workshop.

7. Who is going to benefit the most from your workshop?

Anyone who has an online presence and wants to be able to grow their business by staying classy. There are plenty of products out there for the “yellow highlighter”, pushy-marketing crowd that just wants to get rich quick, but I think these workshops are the best fit for people who want to play at a higher level – especially if their audience demands respect and a more civilized marketing message.

Basically, if you want to finally sell more of your stuff without doing anything tacky or embarrassing, this is for you.

8. LOL, you told me you don’t have a VA! I was a Virtual Assistant and am growing into a Virtual Business Manager role, so that admission from you hurts my ears and intrigues me! Seeing all the great information you pump out with your social updates, blog, regular interviews and products you offer– what steps or processes do you use to keep on track, see your progress and thus motivate you to keep going??

I don’t have a VA because it puts pressure on me to simplify my processes and focus on only doing the 80/20 stuff. I think VAs are great, don’t get me wrong – I just know that in my case, I’m trying to build a business with as few moving parts as possible, and since I have these time constraints I have to always ask “do i need to do it this way”?

This is important to me too, because a lot of my audience has a day job they’re working their way out of and I need to be able to teach people how to make progress when they’re on a shoestring time/money budget. (I just quit *my* day job last month, so it’s an issue that matters to me).

My biggest process is tracking the time I spend in a time log. If I have to write down what I’m doing every 15-30 minutes, it forces me to stay on track.

Want to learn how Dave manages to rocks my (and many others) day? Stop by his Launch Coach Library and get your learn on!

P.S. Although Dave doesn’t have a virtual professional assisting him ( gasp ), I am truly thankful to him for sharing some of his expert advice with me! Get your daily dose of Dave via twitter @RockYourDay

As a business owner, your main goal is to get paid by positively impacting your target audience. That is what it boils down to. You have a message, an idea, a product, or a service to offer and you are in constant pursuit of ways to share it faster, further and for the most profit.

No doubt in your businesses’ early stages, you learned that you can’t be Ms. All Knowing and All Doing! This may be, SHOULD be, a point of initial relief. Reaching out to a web designer, a marketing company, a copywriter, a shipping company, a virtual assistant will help you achieve more impressive results, in less time. (YAY!)
However, as they contribute to the success of your business, you become stymied in the day-to-day operations of being the only one to manage your team.

• You spend huge chunks of your energy delegating.
• You oversee the progression of tasks and projects.
• You must determine what goes where, to whom, and when.
• You are thwarted by a MIA team member and must desperately search for a replacement and (GASP!), re-teach her on the way you like things done.
• You’re alone in keeping your ship sailing.

This is the time that you need a business manager, someone to oversee the company’s procedures, operations and team so that you can once again focus on growth.
Yes, your online business manager keeps the business bus moving! Your Online Business Manger not only understands the sum of all tasks, we are responsible for the results.

• My job is to proactively take operations off your plate and to streamline the journey to completion.
• I am committed to seeing the owners’ business hit higher profit margins by possessing a “marketing mindset”.
• I make decisions to make the clients life easier.
• I coordinate the team’s efforts in achieving the business owner’s goals.
• I make sure there is a Standard Operating Procedure Manual in place so that everyone understands the process of tasks.
• I establish an online system where projects are easily managed, therefore making sure all files, tasks and communications are kept in a centralized location.
• I seek the answer to the question, “Is there a better way to do this?” when looking at your business procedures.

Knowing that an Online Business Manger will take over the day-to-day operations and allow you to continue growing your business, is no doubt a relief.  But handing over the reins to your company can seem scary, if not impossible, for you to do. It Is OK! When searching for your OBM, I suggest looking for someone that will compliment your best qualities while balancing your sub-par aptitudes.
When you do find someone that seems to be a good fit for managing your business, do a trial-run before committing! Tina Forsyth, the CEO of OnlineBusinessManager.com (and my trainer), says, “You’ll never know if it’s a match until you get into a working relationship…” 

• Do you want to launch a new product?
• Do you need to create an effective social profile for your brand?
• Are you needing to set-up a shopping cart that can effectively handle your internet marketing dilemas? 
•  Is your business desperate for some organization?
• Maybe you just need an overhaul of your current customer relations procedures?

 These are all great initial projects for your Online Business Manger to take on! I would love to hear about your next move as a business owner, please contact me so we can arrange a chat.

Have you noticed that everyone is doing “it” online? People you pass by on the street and individuals in the media are talking about how they are doing “it”. The “it” they are talking about is online marketing.

As a successful business owner, you may say to yourself, “My staff and I have more things to do and not enough people to do them! How am I ever going to find the time or energy to market me and my business on the internet?” I am here today to answer this question for you.

As a dedicated virtual assistant, I have had the pleasure of assisting wonderful entrepreneurs accomplish more on the internet. My savvy experience with 2.0 technologies has given me the know-how that many business owners need to deliver their products and messages to a broader audience. I am compelled to share three of top services I provide for my clients with you.

Theses tools should be implemented in your overall marketing objectives to attract more people to your website, increase customers and enhance branding for your company and products.

The Top Three Tasks for Online Marketing:

• Newsletters

Email Newsletters are critical to your marketing campaign. They are customizable and low-cost solutions that allow you to immediately deliver your message. Your customers can receive a monthly or bi-monthly message from you that outlines what you are doing, what promotions you have running, upcoming events and client testimonials. As a bonus you can add affiliates (product recommendations) that enable you to generate revenue simply by suggesting a product to your readers.

• Telecalls

Got more tips, tricks and new products then you can shake a stick at, but don’t have the time or energy to organize a community meeting? Now you don’t have to. You can have a party-line with a purpose! This allows you to actively engage with your buyers and offer success stories and hands-on guidance to your listeners. Telecalls allow you to define what makes you the “expert”. To maximize this tool you can have guest speakers and promotions that are only available to your listeners.

• Social Networking

Lately social sites like Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and YouTube have been saturating the airwaves. Everyone knows how cool and hip these networking sites are, but can they bring in business? This is the million dollar question. The answer is-not really. These sites deliver on brand awareness and are a vital part of relationship building, reputation management and communicating with your target audience and clients. If social media is used correctly, you will gain referrals and leads that will drive traffic back to your site-where the selling is at.

Are you asking, “This sounds wonderful but how do I get “it” done?” The secret is, you don’t. Successful entrepreneurs are building their online business with minimal distraction to their ‘real-world’ lives. The way this is accomplished is by outsourcing tasks that do not have to be performed in-office. Partnering with a virtual assistant allows you to continue to do the leg-work while you rest assure that the desk-work is being handled by a like-minded professional business owner. VAs understand you, your goals, and your message.

My hopes are that I have sparked your interest and you want to hear directly from me! Please click play and let me explain further what having Virtual Raven as your VA can do for your business.

[wpaudio url="http://www.vadiary.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/varaven1.mp3" text="Click the Play Button to Listen to Raven"]

Sincerely,

Raven Howard
Virtual Raven Business Solutions
Email me so that we can find a time to chat. You may also want to visit the VRBS site to learn more and complete the Free Consultaton Request Form.