Business

4 Tips to Help You Improve Marketing Productivity

Published

4 years ago

January 29, 2021

Every marketing department is unique. Although each organization seems to expect something different from this arm of the business, there’s one thing every company wants and needs: productivity.

By optimizing your marketing team for productivity, you can get more done in less time and leave space and flexibility to flex your creative muscles. Let’s talk about how!

Four Productivity Boosting Tips and Techniques

Most marketing teams spend the bulk of their time and attention on developing strategies and coming up with creative campaigns. But if you cut through all of the noise and home in on the essentials, strategy is useless without execution.

You have to maximize productivity and get things done … otherwise none of the rest of it matters. In this post, we’ll identify actionable strategies, with insights your team can employ to get ahead. Let’s dive in!

Take Calendars Seriously

We would hope you’re already using some sort of digital calendar in your marketing department, but too many firms are not utterly serious about how they leverage this tool. Here are a few suggestions:

Use the same app. Feel free to use whatever calendar software you feel most comfortable with, but it’s hard to beat Google Calendar (especially if you’re already using other G Suite tools). When everyone uses the same software, it’s much easier to collaborate, add events, modify them, and keep the entire team working together.
Be religious about time blocks. Do you need two uninterrupted hours in your office to work on a project? Block it out on your calendar. This will signal to others that you’re unavailable during this time.
Use the description. Have you ever looked at your schedule and had trouble remembering why a particular meeting was called? Your team can avoid this pitfall by getting specific in the meeting details/description. Make a rule that anyone who creates a meeting or event on the calendar must provide at least two or three sentences that describe what will be covered and the expectations leading up to the meeting. This will make every meeting on your calendar more efficient and productive.

The above are just a few ideas. The point is to be intentional about how you utilize the calendar. Yours should provide clarity, not create confusion.

Replace Meetings With Huddles

There’s an undeniable time and place for long meetings, but they should be few and far between. In fact, most of them can probably be replaced with huddles. Here’s what makes a huddle different:

Unlike a meeting — which might eat up 30 to 60 minutes — a huddle lasts for a maximum of 10 to 15.
Never invite more than five people to a huddle. In many cases, only two or three are necessary.
A huddle always starts on time and ends on time. (If the entire agenda gets covered within the first few minutes, it’s perfectly fine to end the meeting early.)
If something turns out to require an in-depth conversation or starts to consume too much time, push it to the side and let the relevant parties follow up after the huddle.
Every huddle should end with clear expectations. If a task is created, a responsible person should be identified and assigned to it.
Huddles are generally most effective when held at the start or end of the day. However, a midday huddle around lunchtime can serve as a good opportunity to hit the “reset” button and make sure everyone is on the same page.

As your team gets more comfortable with huddles, you’ll notice that traditional meetings may become a thing of the past. There will still be times when a longer meeting will do the trick, but your calendar won’t be clogged with them, the way it has in the past.

Leverage Intranet Software

If your marketing department is like many others, you have a divided team of coworkers spread across a range of locations. Whether you’re 100 percent remote, semi-virtual, or have a mix of full-time employees and part-time freelancers, trying to keep everyone operating together can be challenging.

What you need in this situation is an intranet solution. Intranet software basically serves as a private, centralized portal for your team. It enhances collaboration, eliminates distraction, and makes it easy to organize and find files, communications, and resources. The result is greater productivity across the board.

Numerous intranet solutions are available to choose from, but you should look for an option that integrates with your existing tech stack. If you’re already using Google’s G Suite, a platform like Happeo is a good choice. It integrates seamlessly with all G Suite apps and third-party tools, which will empower you to get the most from these technologies.

Get on the Same Page With Sales

How many times have you heard someone discuss the importance of sales-marketing alignment? It’s one of the most common suggestions we hear, but it rarely gets executed properly.

If you want to increase productivity across your firm, you’ll need to see sales-marketing alignment as more than a general objective. It must become a practical point of execution.

“The truth is that aligning with sales and building trust among departments will spark an immediate rise in productivity,” writes Ray Kemper, CMO of Televerde.

“Agenda items here include developing a common set of definitions on what a lead is and agreeing on when that lead is qualified for sales. The teams will also need to agree on a standardized process and timeline for lead follow-up.”

As you align sales and marketing, you’ll find that much of the confusion that previously plagued your conversion funnel dissipates. It’s no longer a “sales vs. marketing” situation. Everyone pursues the same fundamental objectives and outcomes.

Give Your Marketing the Boost it Needs

Want to make the most of your marketing strategy and creative initiatives? Begin with learning how to prioritize productivity.

Sure, every marketing team is different, but the techniques outlined in this article should furnish you with the resources you need to be more efficient. Take a few moments to review each of these tactics, then implement the ones you feel have the potential to have a direct impact on your operations this week.

(Hint: Sometimes the smallest changes have the greatest effects.)

Business

Transform Your Expertise into a Profitable Online Coaching Business with Jon Penberthy

Published

3 weeks ago

November 3, 2024

Matthew Wiles

Transforming your expertise into a successful coaching business requires a strategic approach to monetizing your knowledge, with a strong emphasis on client satisfaction and adaptability to their evolving needs. By prioritizing these factors, you can build a coaching practice that flourishes, provides long-term value to your clients, and supports sustained growth for your business.

The potential for this growth is underscored by the global online coaching market, which was valued at $3.2 billion in 2022 and is projected to reach $11.7 billion by 2032, reflecting a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 14% from 2023 to 2032.

Jon Penberthy, founder of AdClients and a leader in online coaching, highlights the significance of the knowledge economy in today’s marketplace. He notes, “The knowledge economy is now worth over half a trillion dollars a year. That means every year, people like you and me are paying others—not for physical products, but for the exchange of knowledge.” This shift presents a compelling opportunity for those willing to leverage their expertise in this evolving market.

Penberthy’s philosophy emphasizes the power of positive thinking and challenges traditional views on credentialism and rigid professional roles. He asserts, “Nowadays you only need to be one step ahead of someone else for them to be willing to hand back some money to learn from you.” His success as a how-to coach exemplifies this approach, showing that with the right mindset, anyone can turn their knowledge into a flourishing business.

Essential Steps to Starting Your Online Business

At the heart of any business plan is the decision about what type of product you will provide in the online marketplace. Jon Penberthy explores various possibilities, from relationship counseling to pet care, ultimately settling on a widely sought-after internet offering: personal health and fitness.

“Let’s say you do not have a personal trainer certificate, but you have figured out a specific nutrition and exercise regime that works,” he states. “There are people out there who want to look how you look and are willing to pay you for your knowledge … the opportunities are endless – you just have to ask yourself what you know that is a little bit more than those around you. That’s the starting point for your own training program.”

The next step involves packaging your training for an online audience, and Penberthy recommends creating a series of recorded videos as an effective approach. This leads to the question of how much to cover in the initial video and the order of presentation.

He suggests finding friends and family who are interested in your topic and willing to learn more. By selecting a few volunteers and teaching them over several weeks for free, while taking diligent notes on what works and what doesn’t, the teaching process will gradually reveal itself.

Build a Sales Funnel

Regardless of how your business attracts customers, potential buyers often follow a similar path, asking common questions and taking comparable steps when deciding whether to make a purchase. A sales funnel is an effective way to visualize this journey, offering valuable insights into the customer experience. It helps you see the sales process through their perspective while also serving as a practical training tool for your sales team.

Penberthy highlights the importance of this approach, “A sales funnel helps transition potential customers from being strangers to ready-to-buy clients,” he explains. By breaking the process into a series of steps, the sales funnel gradually informs and engages potential customers, guiding them toward a purchase decision without overwhelming them with information.

Attracting Attention—The ‘Eyeball’ Factor

Once you’ve understood the initial steps for setting up your online coaching or course, the next challenge is attracting people to your funnel, often referred to as the “eyeball” factor. “Bringing traffic to your site involves content creation and deciding between organic (unpaid) traffic through various social media channels or, if your budget allows, paid traffic,” Penberthy explains.

Penberthy explains that with organic traffic, individuals will be active on social media, creating content designed to build an audience interested in their topic. He adds that if one can invest some funds, paid advertising—especially on YouTube—can be an excellent starting point, as it delivers instant traffic compared to the uncertain outcomes of organic posts.

Once the advertising strategy is established, the next step is to continually refine and enhance the course, making it more concise, message-rich, and easier for potential customers to understand what is being offered.

He emphasizes that this process isn’t just about feeling good about one’s work; it’s about boosting conversions. The more effective the campaign, the more referrals satisfied customers will provide when recommending the program. A stronger program also allows for higher pricing for the services offered.

After refining your online advertising strategies and advancing your course or coaching development, the next step is to scale up. Penberthy suggests that this may initially involve what he refers to as “the pop-up offer” or one-on-one coaching, enabling you to start selling your course in 48 hours or less.

He notes that this phase requires a significant investment of time but is crucial for growing your business with clients who will not only pay for your expertise but also recommend your courses to a broader audience. However, he emphasizes the need to leverage your time effectively, as there are only so many hours in a day.

The key to success in online courses lies in combining “low-ticket” (mass appeal) content with “high-ticket” one-on-one training. “I take the stand-alone low-ticket coaching and wrap it around the one-on-ones to create the concept of “high-ticket” group coaching, which is a limited-subscriber webinar-based training pitched at high-end clients who are willing to pay a premium to overcome their seeming lack of success in the online marketplace,” Penberthy says.

By implementing this strategy, he adds, you can not only maximize your time in the business space and free up energy for friends and family but also potentially increase your monthly income to four or five figures, ultimately leading to an annual income of six to seven figures.

Jon Penberthy’s insights provide a clear roadmap, emphasizing the importance of understanding your audience, leveraging effective marketing strategies, and continually refining your offerings. By combining low-ticket and high-ticket training approaches, you can maximize your reach while delivering exceptional value to your clients.

As you embark on this path, remember that your knowledge and passion can not only lead to financial success but also empower others to achieve their goals. Embrace the opportunities ahead, and watch as you build a thriving coaching business that makes a lasting impact.