How to Use Twitter to Drive Sales to Your Business

Business has gone social. You and your business must get social as well or you will be left behind.

I recently read a statistic which said currently 1 in 5 people are engaging in some form of social media platform and by this time next year it will be 1 in 4. Staggering. This means that virtually everyone in the market for your product or serve is getting their information about why to buy, where to buy, and whom to buy from through their social connections. Why do we still have to have the conversation about WHY SOCIAL MEDIA business people? I mean really, there must have been some people who didn’t get why a business would want to advertise on TV when radio was working just fine. But that was a bazillion years ago. It’s not even fair to say times have changed because they change so quickly that most of us Average Joe’s who go about our business on a day to day basis can’t keep up. We KNOW it’s changed and KNOW it’s going to keep changing yet the pace at which technology and social media are growing we can’t even figure out where to jump in let alone if we’ll be able to hang on. So rather than engaging and jumping in, we do nothing.

Stop it! We can no longer do nothing. If people cannot engage with you directly on their smartphone and get instant access to someone over Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin, or Google+ they will move on quickly to a business they can engage with. I have heard stories of people literally tweeting to their network while a terrible experience was happening, in the moment, and the business saw the tweets and immediately looked after the situation. What if those professionals weren’t on Twitter to see the minute by minute feedback? Imagine the negative spin which could be out there about your business and you may not even know it. Engage. Be where your clients are. Talk with them. You will reap the rewards handsomely.

I know what you’re thinking, “easy for you to say Mr. Twitter. Mr. YouTube. But what about those of us still using a PALM.” To you I say; DIVE IN. Allow me to share with you 5 easy steps to begin driving sales through Twitter. It worked for me and it will work for you.

1. Get a Twitter account. Please start at the beginning and sign up for a Twitter account. Now whatever you do PLEASE put a picture of yourself on the account. No one cares about your dog, baby, car, house, or picture of Brad Pitt as much as you do. This is called Social Networking because it’s social. People still buy from people. Unless you are Peter King from Sports Illustrated you are not allowed to have a picture of your dog. Also, put in a well thought out bio. Describe why you are in business and how you want to solve your clients problems. Once you have your bio and pics in place the fun will begin.
2. Start following people. This is once again a social network. This is not about sticking just to your inner circle who already know you. This isn’t where you reconnect with those long lost friends you had as a child. This is about social business. Networking. So follow as many people as you can. Monitor your account and when people follow you, follow them back. The “follow” is like the exchange of the business card at those old school networking events. So give freely and take freely. You are growing your database.
3. Start saying something. This is where my clients always get the most hung up. People are too focused on saying the right thing, the poignant thing, or the funny thing. Look you are not Donald Trump, Will Ferrell, or the Dali Lama. You are you and that’s awesome. Tweet about your business, your life, your customers, the love of what you do, the best thing to happen today. Just keep it positive and keep it in keeping with your businesses brand. Businesses don’t communicate; the people who run them do so be a person but speak for your business.
4. Create conversations. Don’t be shy. When someone mentions you, tweet at them. Also, if you find something in your feed interesting, tweet at the person who wrote it. Start conversations. Some of the best friendships I have were created through my Twitter account. When you provide interesting takes, positive feedback, humility, and a desire to truly take interest in others; people notice. These are the same principals of being a friend or having strong customer service in your business.
5. Be active. Look, you cannot be successful in any endeavor without taking action toward your goal. If you follow the first 4 steps and only touch your Twitter account once a day you will have little success. Nothing done in multiples of 1 is very successful. Try using the Oder of Magnitude as your guide. Be engaged, take action, reply to messages, take the opportunity to help when you can. The Twitter universe is a wonderful place to find all the leads and sales you could ever imagine if you simply dive in and fish them out.

Driving sales through the use of Twitter is as easy as driving sales through conventional means of engagement. The difference is we have to combine the old fashion principals of Dale Carnegie’s How To Win Friends and Influence People with the new fashion medium of social media. Business has gone social and you must too. It IS technology based, it IS new, it IS different, and it is NOT going away. But to drive sales to your business through Twitter you must start by taking 5 my step process and enjoy the ride. Otherwise we keep staring at the door.  

Make The Decision

Stop making excuses and start making decisions.

This mantra has been on my mind constantly lately. I’m certain many who hear me say it find it harsh, direct, maybe even rude. I find it liberating, empowering, and cathartic. Having spent 30 years of my life as a victim, the ability to say that to myself has been a godsend. At times I still suffer from moments of excuse making however more often than not “stop making excuses and start making decisions” creeps into my mind and I am quickly moving powerfully into the decision for which I was making excuses just moments before. Powerful.

I often ask myself why it took me 30 years to stop making excuses and become an overcomer of my history. Many of us have similar deals. We have experiences in our lives which have scared us, shaken us, taken from us, broken us. You have. So have I. Yet we continue the victimization by victimizing ourselves and not allowing healing, restoration, and growth. We continue to make excuses as to why it happened, why we are worthless, unworthy, and unlovable. Maybe it was a divorce, a physical violation, a break-up, a bankruptcy, or a crushing blow. Whatever it was, until we stop making excuses and start making decisions we will not overcome. We must make the most difficult decision; to decide to become an overcomer and shed the victim cloak for good. Even the most tattered rags can feel like a gown when faced with a change. But I’m not taking about change rather transformation. Transformation into what we have always been with one great decision. Over-comers. 

Shed fear; you are deserving.

Shed pain; you are strong.

Shed hate; you are deep.

Shed loathing; you are worthy.

Shed the past; you are spectacular.

Making the decision to live is one of the most difficult decisions we must make. Yet we must make it. There is an abundant live just beyond the mindset we live in as excuse makers. You deserve to live a joyful, abundant life. Now is the time.

Make the decision.

Lessons from my Rock Star Advisor

Making your dreams come true is a very difficult undertaking. In fact it can feel darn near impossible at times.

Achieving the success we’ve always dreamed about seems to look easy when we look at all the successful business people, actors, athletes, and entrepreneurs we know of. However, last time I checked, there wasn’t a “How to ACTUALLY become successful in business” course in college or an MBA program. There isn’t a cultural rule to follow, no civic understanding, and my generation seems to be stuck between entitlement and laziness. How do those of us who have a desire for success in life, a dream to change our corner of the world, a passion for greatness, and a belief in serving others for success actually get on the road to thriving rather and clawing everyday just to survive?

The struggle I have is this; as I build content to sell and deliver I grow a bank of sellable goods and tangible things to be sold.  Maybe yours are clothing, technology, ideas, beauty products, books, music, or maybe even films. Once I have the building done I seem to move quickly into the selling phase. From the selling comes the delivery of the product which, when done right, usually leads to more sales which tends to take away from the building phase. This is great except when we run out of sales and delivery and go back to building, the momentum gained seems to be lost and we can struggle to regain that bounce we had just a few short months ago.

In discussions with my closest advisor yesterday I uncovered 3 main areas where we, as Chet Holmes would call us, One Person Army’s, can focus to regain the momentum we lose and my advisor and I uncovered a way to actually guide ourselves to the success we so clearly see. Let’s be clear this is not an exhaustive guide rather a beginning to the process. A place to start. The launch co-ordinates for stratospherical success as my friend Bob Burg would call it.

Vision, Strategy, Tactical Implementation: There are 3 different ways to look at where we are going as sales people, business people, and entrepreneurs. All three are important and have varying roles in achieving success. Vision of the end result sets in motion all other facets of the plan. What is the vision of the end result? Do you want to change the world of fashion? Develop the newest medical technology? Create a new way of communicating, or start the longest running talk show ever? Whatever the dream is think it, ink it, and write it down. Next we want to strategize as to the long term plan which will get us there. This strategy is flexible but often will not change with time. Thirdly we establish the tactical implementation of the the strategy. These are timed, short term actions taken to complete the strategy which will create the vision.

Develop a rock star schedule: Our time is the only thing which cannot be adjusted. I have heard people say “successful people buy time” or “you have to make time”. These people also say it’s not about the money when they show you the wad of $100 bills in their pocket. Look - there are 168 hours in a week and typically we spend 56 sleeping and 60 doing other things. What we do with the 52 we devote to our businesses are vital. Here’s what I have learned to do thanks to my most trusted advisor; block out a building day, a selling day, and 2 delivery days a week. This leaves an entire day for other things that pop up or to focus on the area of your business which needs the most attention this week. Maybe you need to build more? Maybe sell more? Maybe travel? Whatever it is it fits when we schedule ourselves like professionals. Try it - it’s powerful. 

Take action now: When I get into a phase where I feel that loss of momentum OR have so much going on my head is spinning I begin to stop acting and start reacting to things. This is dangerous. Taking control and being proactive allows me to constantly remain on top of things, keep my momentum, and sharpen the edge I ride on. This allows me to do all I need to do for success and then some. Take action. You’ll love it.

Success achievement is not taught in school. It’s not handed out in “Success for Dummies” books, and you can’t find it on the internet. Success comes with a vision, strategy, and tactical plan. It comes with proper timing and rock star scheduling. Success is achieved through tremendous levels of action. But most importantly it comes from an extraordinary belief in your idea and a burning passion to see it come to life. That and the faith to know it will. 

Fuel for the Fire

It isn’t a matter of if we will suffer loss, but when.

Loss is a fact of life. We all lose something. Whether we lose a business, friendship, lover, career, spouse, parent, child, or fortune we all lose at some point. Sometimes in the deepest, scariest, darkest places of loss we feel as though we cannot go on. We think we cannot live without that something or someone we feel was so vital to us. Maybe we feel that something or someone defined our existence, our joy, our reason for being. The pain and anguish of loss can be and is devastating. I mean really, there aren’t 7 stages of grief (shock, denial, bargaining, guilt, anger, depression, and acceptance) for no reason, right? It’s a real thing and far too often I meet people who move from their loss to denial and begin internalizing the balance until they are unable to envision success let alone function at a high level.

My hope is to be part of the solution.

Whenever I suffer a loss at a level that shakes me to my core, spoken or unspoken, I mourn the loss for what it was. If I begin with the end in mind and accept the loss as a loss I am more quickly able to move to my next step - reflection. I take some time and reflect on what was lost and envision it as my most beloved childhood tree - fallen and laying shattered on the ground. I see it as the tree I had in my backyard growing up where I loved spending endless hours laughing, playing, and dreaming. I remember all of the great things about what I lost and why it is so significant and why I feel the vacancy of its presence which allows me to move to action. All of the positive energy generated from those memories and all of the warmth and comfort created through visualizing that beloved tree are then used as fuel to burn my fire for where I am going and what I am doing.  Hotter and brighter than ever before. That loss is now the fuel for my next step. For me, I am drawn to the heat and power of a fire and I want mine, the one I exude, to be as strong and as bright as a Phoenix rising. When I use my losses as fuel for my next step, having mourned and accepted them, I become unstoppable.

There is no greater remedy for the depths of loss than the heights of success.  

The ingredients of WOW

Most people don’t buy based on price unless we force them to.

The supreme buyer and the average buyer will absolutely buy on price when forced to and the timid buyer will probably just not buy.  However it doesn’t have to be this way.  When we engage excellence in the sale, inspire our buyers, move them to action, and set the expectation of result we create the environment for a great sales experience.  When we use the 3 phases of the WOW Sales Cycle to build the bond with the buyer, regardless if they’re a supreme, average, or timid buyer we magnify by infinite amounts the likelihood the buyer finds what they are looking for with us.

When I begin the sales process with what I believe or the inspiration as to why I am doing what I am doing I find the buyer begins to believe as well.  They often align with me and why I am in business.  It builds a bond which is strong and deep.  This creates a mutual “like” between us and that like goes miles to building the kind of relationship with the buyer which builds advocacy for me and my brand.  It will do the same for you.  We must get our buyers to like us in order to move them to action beyond simply best price.

Once the buyer likes us the next move is to share with them how we will solve their problem.  Whatever the problem is, the bigger the better, they must believe that we are the ones to help them solve it.  The bigger the problem the bigger the solution the bigger the payoff for both the buyer and for us.  If we have the buyer connect with us through the inspiration we provide it becomes natural for the buyer to believe in us and our ability to take action to provide a solution to their situation.  Once they believe us it becomes exponentially easier for them to place their trust in us for results.

The WOW Sales Cycle ends where the conventional sales process begins.  With the result.  When we have a buyer like us it allows them more comfort to believe in us.  Once they believe we will provide the right solution for them they will more willingly place their trust in the result we say we will provide.  We set the expectation of outcome (result) and then over deliver on the result thus exceeding expectations.  We all talk about exceeding expectations and then complain the buyer is never satisfied.  Yet we fail to set the expectation through the expert execution of the sales process and then wonder why our buyers feel let down or less than thrilled.  This could also be why they so often revert back to the one expectation they can always control - price.  When they trust we will over deliver on our promises of results because they believe us and like us we set the table for an on going advocacy level relationship with the buyer which provides us with rock solid stability and massive sales growth in a shaky and contracting economy.  Master this now and imagine how much further ahead we will be when things come back.

The WOW Sales Cycle is about inspiration, action, and results.  The successful execution of WOW is the differentiator in the new economy.  When buyers like us, believe us, and trust us they buy more willingly and more often.  It’s not about price.      

What's the difference?

Recently I was asked by a friend and colleague “what’s the difference between you and all the other ‘trainers’ I have wasted my money on in the past?”  I thought the question, while directed rather harshly, was a great question.  Frankly speaking it is not a question I haven’t heard before.  The training industry is filled with well intentioned men and woman who are trying to help and add to their clients repertoire.  Men and women who desire to see the business world a better place.  The issue is the business world has changed.  The marketplace is not looking for the same thing they have heard before.  They are looking for something different.  They are not looking for what worked 5 years ago they are looking for what works now.  They are looking for inspiration.

Our buyers are looking for inspiration as well.  Buyers rarely buy features.  They rarely buy what something does.  If buyers are forced to buy on feature alone they look for the cheapest way to obtain the feature and without the proper training we chase after their price concessions in the hopes of the deal rather than the lasting loyal relationship.  Buyers often don’t buy benefits alone either.  How many of us have the greatest product in the world with the greatest benefits ever and buyers still only concern themselves with price?  

Here’s the thing - in the new economy buyers don’t buy what you do they buy why you do it.  They buy inspiration.

Science proves what we know to be true through our own experiences.  The part of our brain which is responsible for reason and logic also controls speech.  A sales process focused solely on feature and price completely misses the point and costs us deals and dollars.  If we only engage the neocortex we miss the entire limbic brain which controls decision making and emotion and has no capacity for language.  We call it our gut.  It has nothing to do with our stomachs.  We have all paid more for something because of a great experience, a loyal relationship, and gone out of our way - even inconvenienced ourselves to buy a certain thing at a certain place.  WHY?  Because is just felt right.  We were inspired.  As buyers we will happily pay more for inspiration or at the very least we will no longer be focused on the price because the price no longer matters.  We align ourselves with the product or service deep in places in our brains for which there is no language and therefore rationalize or justify the purchase with the parts of our brain which can.

In this new economy I choose to start with inspiration rather than the result I will create.  I start with why I believe what I do about excellence and why excellence is the differentiator in the marketplace rather than what you should do to do to sell an item.  What’s the difference?  Inspiration.

Strike THAT off the list!

I don’t believe in the power of hoping.  I believe in the power of doing.  Don’t get me wrong I believe in hope.  However I believe in hope as an inspiration (I have hope for...) rather than a wish (let’s hope this happens).  What I do believe in is the power of goal setting and the focus setting goals embeds in our subconscious.

Every morning I write down my goals.  The key word is write.  I write them down.  There is a power which comes from the commitment of writing something down.  It is a marker.  It becomes furnished proof of where you were, where you are going, and how far you have come.  There are also 3 very specific ways I write my goals.

1. Present tense as though the goal has already been accomplished. Example: “I am in the best physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual heath I have ever been in.”  The reality is this goal of mine is yet to be accomplished however I write it as though I have already accomplished it and embed the goal in my mind in a way my conscious brain will not allow me to fail.
2. When I set my goals, I set them just outside of what conventional wisdom would deem possible in order for the goal or target to receive my full commitment and dedication.  What good is a wimpy little baby goal or a goal for which no effort is required?  In order for me to be in the best condition holistically in my life it will take more than my garden variety “eating well” to accomplish the target.  It will take a full on lifestyle change to accomplish this goal.  I can get behind something THAT big.
3. Align all massive, out of reach goals to the higher purposes of your life.  There will always be self serving reasons to make millions or have massive success.  The power of strong goal setting is in the good which can be done for others and for society as a whole when we achieve our massive dreams.  Make it just about you and  it becomes more difficult to achieve.  Make it about the benefit of others and you will see a supercharged goal achievement pace.

An amazing thing happens when we commit to writing down our goals daily and when write them down in a present tense accomplished fashion - they become reality.  Often we get so internally and subconsciously committed to the accomplishment of our goals (our brains will not allow us to fail at something we have already accomplished) we don’t even realize we have already accomplished what we have set out to do.  There have been 3 times in the past 3 months this phenomena has occurred in my life.  It wasn’t until  I reviewed my goals I realized I had already accomplished 3 items on my daily goal log.  The complete joy of crossing them off and adding bigger goals had the power of gasoline on a fire.  Amazing the power achievement has.

When I desire something in my life I write it down and keep at it until I achieve my goal.  The power of goal setting is real and clear to me and there is nothing I cannot accomplish.  I get to strike that of my list too.  Learning how to accomplish goals was once a goal of mine.