Need more and better leads? Would you love to engage those that already are familiar with your company?

In this video you will learn:

• How social media can provide leads
• How to grow your prospect database
• How to see social engagement with your content
• How to expand your reach into the organization chart of prospects and customers alike

You’ve done the hard work. Content has been developed, posted on social media and targeted to multiple manufacturing channels. You are seeing all types of engagement from likes to comments and shares.

So, now what? Well, watch this video to see just how to garner more prospects.

 

Questions? Want to discuss further? Send me your thoughts at RobFelber@felberpr.com. And, if you try it I’ll give you a shout-out on our channels. Just think who might see your success story!

Also, see these articles for more tips:

How to Increase Manufacturing Sales with Social Selling

How to Increase Social Selling with LinkedIn

 

 

This week’s Tactics Thursday video is all about how to make 2020 the Year of Content! I walk you through the steps of creating a strong content plan to release one piece of content a week. Here are some simple ways to create content topics that are relevant and engaging for your prospects and customers.

 

 

1. Review Social Media & Website Form Submissions– Jot down common themes and if you don’t have content on each of these topics, develop it!
2. Repurpose videos and webinars– Webinars and videos can be repurposed! Consider including the video of your latest webinar and transcribing the script or creating a blog or ebook which includes your video!
3. Review your manufacturing network on LinkedIn– I’m sure you’re following influencers in your industry on social media. See what they’re talking about, write down common themes, and consider taking your own spin on hot topics.
4. Set Google Alerts– Google Alerts allow you to stay up-to-date on industry news. Consider writing an opinion piece while the news is fresh!
5. Showcase industry research and case studies– White papers and case studies offer third party credibility to your brand. They show customers that you are legit, knowledgeable, and a company worth considering as a partner.
6. Recap industry events– Take a video at your next trade show and create a recap video of the trade show or write a blog on what you learned at the industry conference you attended.
7. Highlight giving back- Remember, your customers do not want to buy from a “vendor” they want to buy from people. Making the public aware of the company’s volunteering brings a human aspect to your brand and helps you develop deeper relationships with your prospects.
8. Survey prospects and customers– If you’re stumped for content go directly to the people who are consuming yours. Create a simple 5-minute survey about your content to gauge if your prospects and customers like your content or if not, what types of content they would enjoy seeing from you in the future.

Once you have a strong list of content topics, create a plan to make sure you have a clear understanding of what content is going out each week for the next year. Our blog Why Manufacturers Need a Content Map for Inbound Market Success walks you through how to take these content ideas and create a strategy to execute developing strong content.

 

Ever have a strong meeting with a manufacturing colleague that results in them promising to refer you to a few companies but then weeks go by and the referral never happens? Manufacturing referrals open doors to new business opportunities but getting your business colleagues to introduce you is easier said than done. While I’m sure most people have great intentions when agreeing to refer you to a contact in their network, oftentimes, they get bogged down with work and forget or keep putting it off. By using this method, you are taking the pressure off your colleague and making the referral process as easy as copying and pasting!

Deep Search Your Business Connection’s Network on LinkedIn

Have a good relationship with a business connection? Why not ask them for a referral. Instead of asking them blankly for a referral, it’s better to see who they are connected to and ask for specific referrals, by name. I always take a deep dive into who my colleague is connected to on LinkedIn, what professional organizations they are involved in, and what schools they have attended to identify any opportunities for referrals they may have. I try to come into our business lunch with 3-5 contacts I think could be a fit for my services.

At the Meeting and Follow-Up Post Meeting

At your business meeting, say the following:

“Hi [Business Contact], I see you are connected with [Name] on LinkedIn. After reviewing their website, I think they could use our products/services. Would you be willing to introduce us?”

If your contact agrees to refer you, send a follow-up email immediately after your meeting saying something along the lines of the following:

“Thank you very much. Below I’ve attached a draft email introduction which you can use or tweak as you see fit.”

Sending a draft intro is helpfulfor a few reasons:

1. You are taking the pressure off your contact to draft an introduction.
2. Your contact will be more likely to refer you in a timely manner since it’s as simple as a quick copy and paste
3. You can control how you are introduced and ensure that the first introduction to you and your company is as strong as possible.

Drafting Your Referral Intro

Stumped on how to draft your intro, here are some tried and true tips and tricks I learned from Caleb Townsend, co-founder of Factur—Manufacturing Referrals Network.

1. Keep it short and sweet 4-6 brief sentences. Nobody has time to read a novel so keep it straight and to the point.
2. Make your name a link to your LinkedIn profile and your company name a link to your website.
3. Don’t bury the lead- keep the ask at the beginning of the intro. People shouldn’t find out that your contact is looking to refer you to the last sentence.
4. Put a sentence about your differentiating factors in the paragraph.
5. Any notable awards or industry certifications? Include those in a sentence.
6. Soft-close that puts the ball in their court and gives the person being asked the ability to say no.

 

A common question we hear at Felber PR & Marketing is, “how do I identify who has been on my website”? Unfortunately, without someone converting to a contact (meaning they filled out a form on your website), we really have no way to see who that person was, just that someone from that company visited the website anonymously. In this video, I delve deeply into LinkedIn prospecting when you can see what company has viewed your website through IP tracking on your inbound marketing platform, but you’re not exactly sure what person at that company is viewing your website. This approach takes some research on the company (combination of looking at their website and LinkedIn) to get a sense of which team/person might be the appropriate contact and then reaching out via email or LinkedIn. I walk you through a basic tutorial of how I do this in this quick video. Hope this helps!

 

We’re excited to have Jonathan Slain, author of  ‘Rock the Recession: How Successful Leaders Prepare for, Thrive During, and Create Wealth After Downturns’ as a featured guest blogger. The following article is adapted from his book.

Diversify Your Manufacturing Business to Rock the Next Recession

Every recession plays out differently, and you never know which industry or geography will be hit the hardest. By diversifying to spread your business between multiple industries and markets, you minimize the impact any single industry has on your bottom line.

 

If the next recession hits manufacturing especially hard again, for example, you won’t be completely sunk if your business spans multiple industries and markets. You can make up for losses in one area by shifting your focus to others until the recession ends.

 

Let’s take a deeper look at how you can diversify your business in three ways—your customers, your products and services, and your industry—to bolster it against the next downturn.

Diversifying Your Customers

Before you take the ambitious step of diversifying into different markets, take a close look at your current customer base. To minimize the damage losing your biggest client would cause, make sure that no single customer accounts for more than 10 to 20 percent of your revenue.

 

Run through your customer list to understand how your portfolio will fare in a recession, and then be proactive in diversifying. If you discover you have serious customer concentration in your business, start reaching out to new customers immediately. You need to spread the risk around so your business isn’t at the mercy of another’s success.

Diversifying Your Products and Services

It’s not enough to diversify geographically and simply pick up new customers; you must diversify your products and services, too.

 

Work with your leadership team to figure out what you can add to your portfolio. How can you pivot to a product or service that has more demand during a recession? How can you provide more robust solutions to retain your current customers when they’re forced to make cuts?

 

Analyze and anticipate your customers’ needs and develop new offerings to keep your business cost-effective and relevant before, during, and after a recession.

Diversifying into New Markets and Industries

Finally, think big-picture and consider which new markets and industries you could serve to cover your bases during a recession.

 

If we look back at the Great Recession of 2008–2009, we see certain industries got pummeled: manufacturing, finance and insurance, travel and tourism, and certain segments of the construction business. New car sales plummeted. Four-year university enrollment declined heavily. Casinos, hotels and motels, jewelry stores—all of these businesses took a big hit.

 

Then there were other industries, like healthcare, that grew during the Great Recession, or at least held steady. Community college numbers went up. Grocery stores did well. Guns and ammunition, veterinary services, correctional facilities, multi-family housing, storage and warehouse leasing, remediation and environmental cleanup services—all of these were winners.

 

According to one recent IBISWorld report, all of the following industries are projected to grow: “tortilla production, wineries, vitamin and supplement manufacturing, software publishing, VoIP, IT consulting, video games, marijuana growing, and a host of online retailers.” Some of these industries may be off the beaten path, but if there’s an opportunity for you to start a relationship with a company in one of these fields, why wouldn’t you?

 

You can find up-to-date information on end markets and industries that will grow or be stable in the future if you take the time to look. The secrets are out there, but they’re not always free.

 

Here’s a pro tip: purchase a subscription to the IBISWorld database, which will give you access to hundreds of different industry reports. Research firms, like IBISWorld, also put out newsletters with information about which industries are hot right now and which are forecasted to perform poorly. Seriously, it’s like having the answer key to a test before you take it!

Don’t Let Your Defenses Drop

Diversifying your customers, products and services, and markets takes continual outreach, research, and maintenance, but by putting in the work and spreading your risk around, you’ll protect your business—and even position it for growth—during the next recession.

 

Jonathan Slain and Paul Belair founded Recession.com to give entrepreneurs a free tool to assess their recession readiness at Recession.com/Ready.

Interested in preparing a recession plan but don’t know where to start? Use the coupon code “felber” at www.recession.com/shop to get 50% off the Rock the Recession workbook to create your business recession-proofing action plan.