By Zak Mustapha

Frustrating isn’t it? You’ve been working really long hard hours on your business, but no one’s showing appreciation. You’ve tried reaching out to several influencers, but…no response. In fact, you’re starting to doubt if you sent your message to the right email addresses in the first place.

Oh no, don’t worry you’ve got the right addresses. You probably just made a few deadly mistakes that sent your message to their trash folders. Good news for you, those days will soon be over once you learn to avoid these mistakes and implement these solutions.

But, before I get into that, let me tell you about the Golden Rule of outreach–the rule you must abide by if you ever want to succeed in influencer marketing and PR. Here it is:

Thou shalt make everything about them, offer them value, and continue to offer value WITHOUT asking in return.”

Read that a few times so it sticks in your head. Now, let’s get started.

1. Trying to Be Batman (or Batgirl)

There’s a 10/10 chance you’re not reaching out to save someone’s life; you’re reaching out because you want something. Yet, some marketers still insist on going anonymous. Your first and last names aren’t enough (unless you’re famous). Here’s why.

The people you’re reaching out to are busy. They don’t have time for everyone. For that reason, they need to prioritize and pick whom they want to work with (and help). The way they do that is by figuring out who’s worth their time, and one way they do that is by looking at your name, job title, and company.

For example, if you’re just “John Doe,” then the chances of getting a response are low. For all they know, you could be a spam bot. On the other hand, if you’re “John Doe, VP of Growth at Cool Startup”… now we’re talking.

Action Plan: Make sure you introduce yourself in the beginning and end your message with a solid signature with your real contact details to prove that you’re a real person. Don’t hide behind a mask.

2. Thinking You’re the Only One in Their Life

You wish you were; unfortunately, you’re not. Remember, you’re reaching out for a reason (Hint: It’s because they can offer something) and most likely other marketers are reaching out for the same reason as you are.

When marketers forget that the person on the other end is loaded with emails, they begin to smack out paragraph after paragraph, forgetting that the person on the other end doesn’t have the time to read such an email.

Starting off your relationship with a long email is already taking up a lot of their time. They’ll be actually doing you a huge favor if they even read it, let alone respond.

Action Plan: Keep your emails short and to the point. Your emails should be no longer than 200 words, preferably 150 words or less.

3. Fanning Out

Appreciating the recipient’s work is nice, but sucking up to them like they’re out of this world is not. It makes them feel uncomfortable and it also burns your credibility. Oh and by the way, credibility is important if you want to get a response.

Action Plan: Show moderate appreciation and respect to the recipient. Speak to them in a professional tone.

4. You Sound Like a 6 Year Old

Nothing can hurt your credibility more than terrible grammar and typos. Granted, your English doesn’t need to be perfect, but that’s not an excuse for poor writing. Even if you don’t believe in judging someone based on their writing, it doesn’t matter. What matters is what the other person may be thinking. You want something from them–not the other way around.

Action Plan: Proofread your email before sending it and let someone else read it. Letting another pair of eyes have a look will sometimes point out errors you never thought existed.

5. Asking for Food, Shelter and Their Life

Not literally, but many marketers tend to have huge “asks.” Whether it’s asking for multiple things in one email or just having one massive ask, they are both bad. Remember these people are busy and they get asked for things all the time. Unless you’ve built a solid relationship beforehand, it’s best to keep your ask small and quick.

A good thing to do is to imagine you’re in a video game and you need credits to make asks. Whenever you give, you increase your credits; whenever you take, your credit bank reduces. So what are some ways to increase your “ask credits” with influencers?

• Make them look good by offering a case study or testimonial for their books, courses, or products.
• Refer clients and customers to them.
• Offer valuable feedback and ideas on a regular basis.
• Engage with them on their blog, social media, and newsletters.
• Volunteer to do something for them.
• If they’re hiring, introduce them to an awesome candidate.

And the list goes on and on. Just find a way you can offer value.

Action Plan: Give before you ask for something. Make sure to ask for one thing at a time.

About the Author

Post by: Zak Mustapha

Zak Mustapha is the founder of Zonifer.com and FoolishnessFile.com. He’s on a mission to help entrepreneurs progress faster through learning from other people’s mistakes. When he’s not working on his startups, he’s working out and practicing his Ninjustu.

Company: Foolishness File
Website: http://ift.tt/20qtEvK
Connect with me on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Google+.

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You’ve done a lot to get your business off the ground. Now it’s time to plan for your business‘s future. From your company’s sales strategy to its processes and procedures, there are plenty of steps you can take now to guarantee meaningful growth down the road.

That’s why we asked 11 successful entrepreneurs from Young Entrepreneur Council the following question:

Q. What’s the one thing my company should be doing right now in order to see meaningful growth down the road?

1. Focus on the Top of the Funnel

Early on, you have to focus on the top of the funnel. Creating content for marketing purposes, getting quoted in magazines, speaking at events, and generally making your customers aware of your existence is the best thing you can do to guarantee future growth. Once you achieve growth, then you can focus on optimization and unit economics. —Brennan White, Cortex

2. Become a Media-Focused Company

We are all in the business of media. You may not be a content marketing company, but you should be a company with content expertise. You may not be a venture capitalist, but you should have fiduciary responsibility. Become a media-focused company by being dedicated to creating and publishing useful blog posts, videos, podcasts, social shares, and live streams. Appear to be everywhere with your target demographic. —Peter Awad, Slow Hustle

3. Invest in Online

People are purchasing, browsing, and finding more businesses online than ever before. If your online presence isn’t up to speed, you’re going to get passed by. Invest now and do it correctly. Don’t skimp in the place where you can easily see the biggest growth. —Brooke Bergman, Allied Business Network Inc.

4. Improve Your Processes and Procedures

If you don’t have documented processes and procedures, you won’t have a way to improve them. Make sure every process in your company has a written standard operating procedure and that your employees all have access to it. Then take a process a week and look for ways to improve. By the end of the year, you will have improved 50 processes, which will have an effect on your bottom line. —Nicole Munoz, Start Ranking Now

5. Focus on a Specific Niche

It’s easy to spread yourself too thin with a new venture since there seem to be endless opportunities. Achieving growth in the future is easier for startups that are able to identify a niche market that values their core competency. Becoming a leader in a specific niche will naturally allow for growth if that market matures, but will also provide valuable tools and lessons for success in other markets. —Charles Bogoian, Kenai Sports, LLC

6. Plan for Diversified Growth

When it comes to growth, many entrepreneurs make the mistake of putting all their eggs in one basket by focusing on acquiring a few large customers. While this has a positive effect in the short-term, it’s not the meaningful type of growth you want. Nothing is guaranteed; that one big client could leave you in the dust at any point. By setting diversified growth metrics, you’ll ensure sustainability. —Elle Kaplan, LexION Capital

7. Focus on Relationships Over Transactions

Transactions are a byproduct of the great relationships you’ve built with prospects, customers, and referrers. Your business will grow and change, but the rock-solid relationships you cultivate will transcend whatever services or products you sell. So focus on more high-value, long-term, growth-oriented relationships rather than give-and-take relationships with your prospects, customers, and referrers. —Charlie Gilkey, Productive Flourishing

8. Be Consistent

We always tell our clients the most important thing they can lock down is their brand voice and tone. Everything across all social channels should feel consistent and on point. Consistency is how you drive people to your brand and keep them there. —Bryanne Lawless, BLND Public Relations

9. Focus on Search Engine Optimization

Building a website is a good start, but there’s more to it. The biggest concern I hear is that most businesses don’t want to spend $2,000 a month on SEO. It takes time to develop trust from Google—you need to create great content, post on social media, build more review sites with user-created content, and get great links. Google takes time, but it will be the cheapest acquisition cost in one year. —Tommy Mello, A1 Garage Door Service

10. Have a Ready-to-Execute Plan

Having a detailed growth strategy with realistic goals is crucial. Even more important is having extensively developed executions ready to go that you’ll use to meet these goals. If you have goals with no way of reaching them, you’re going to miss all of your targets or spend time trying to figure them out when it’s “go” time. —Duran Inci, Optimum7

11. Focus on Your Go-To-Market Strategy

Focus hard on your go-to-market strategy. Figure out what’s broken and fix it. If your GTM is working, it’ll be easy to grow and scale your business in the long run. If it isn’t, you’ll be in for a tooth-and-nail struggle every step of the way. —Simon Berg, Ceros

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Every business, regardless of industry, owns some type of equipment. It may be something as basic as an office printer or as complex as industrial machinery. However, no matter the price or function, it’s imperative that you understand when to repair versus when to replace equipment.

Making the wrong choice can set you back thousands of dollars and could ultimately lead to safety and productivity ramifications. In other words, you don’t want to take these decisions lightly.

1. How to calculate repair costs. When it comes to repair costs, you need to think about all the different factors involved. These include possible expenses like:

• Maintenance costs for the remaining service life
• Impact of the repair on productivity and product quality
• Total cost of unscheduled downtime
• Cost of diagnosing issues

Unfortunately, nothing is very straightforward. The estimate a repair company gives you is just the starting point.

2. The ’50 Percent Rule.’ In repair-replacement debates, businesses have long used the “50 Percent Rule” as a guiding factor. The rule simply states that if repairs exceed 50 percent of the total cost of a replacing a piece of equipment, then you should go with replacement. In other words, it doesn’t make sense to pour money into an outdated piece of equipment if it can be cost-effectively upgraded.

While you have to take this rule with a grain of salt, it’s a good starting point. If you’re well above the halfway mark, then you should absolutely go with replacement; if you’re well below the halfway mark, then a repair makes more sense. Difficulty arises when you’re hovering in that 45 to 55 percent range. In these instances, you’ll need more than a rule of thumb to decide.

3. Think about tax credits and rebates. Tax credits and rebates are often available when purchasing certain types of business equipment. When you add in these benefits, they could dramatically reduce the cost of replacing whatever is broken.

For example, if your office’s HVAC system goes out and you have to make the choice between repair and replacement, did you know that there are actually federal tax credits available for purchasing high-efficiency systems? There may be utility rebates available as well. These all could add up to thousands of dollars in savings in the first year alone.

It’s little details like these that you have to consider. You can’t just look at the sticker price on a replacement piece of equipment.

4. The repair new and replace old theory. Common sense logic says that it’s much better to repair new equipment and replace old equipment. This simply has to do with the fact that older equipment will need to be serviced more often and any issues you experience now will probably occur again in the future.

However, a lot depends on your piece of equipment. In some industries, older equipment is actually made of better quality materials and may last longer than newer pieces of equipment made with cheaper materials.

5. Consider all the benefits of replacing. “Safety becomes a crucial point of consideration when dealing with older equipment,” according to Polaris Engineering. “No matter how many repairs are made to a piece of equipment, it continues to age and wear down. In addition to being more prone to breakdowns, older machinery is more likely to malfunction and cause injury to workers.”

Furthermore, think about efficiency. While an old piece of machinery may perform the same job as a new piece, are they both doing so with the same level of output? More efficient machinery will save you time and money in the long run.

6. Study tax implications of asset disposal. If you do end up replacing your equipment, then you’ll obviously have to dispose of the existing piece of equipment. Before deciding what to do with it, consider all of the tax implications of asset disposal.

There’s a little section on your tax filing documentation each year that’s entitled “assets” or something similar. “This page is a listing of all depreciable assets that you purchased for your business–which includes everything from computers to leasehold improvements to equipment and furniture,” tax expert Bonnie Lee says. While you may normally skip over this page, it’s the place to show that you no longer have possession of a specific asset.

Speak with a tax professional about the benefits of selling, abandoning, trading, or donating. Each has different implications and can be used to benefit your bottom line.

Make an Educated Decision

In the end, there may not be a perfect answer regarding whether to repair or replace a specific piece of business equipment. However, if you’ve done your due diligence and looked at every possible angle, then you can at least make an educated decision and avoid regret in the future.

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Making a sales pitch can be nerve-racking–even for an experienced salesperson. The best way to get through it is to practice your presentation carefully, hit your stride and get to the end.

When a customer starts asking hard questions and challenging your pitch, however, you can get taken out of your comfort zone. The fact is confrontational customers can be among the most valuable customers to have.

Here are four important reasons why it is advantageous–instead of anxiety-inducing–to be asked difficult questions:

1. Sophisticated buyers are interested customers

The most important reason to be excited at the thought of prospects asking hard questions is that you have someone who is interested in doing business with you. Challenging clients can be quite intimidating, but that does not mean they are not valuable–in fact, the opposite is true. You should be worried when clients are overly agreeable or not asking any questions at all. This means they are not engaged and probably not serious about moving forward in the process.

Prospects who ask difficult questions, on the other hand, are taking the time to really think about your company and how it fits with theirs. You have them on the hook; you just need to see how big an opportunity these customers are and how to land their business.

2. Practice improves future sales pitches

Consistent sales growth is a direct result of a regularly evolving sales pitch, and practice makes perfect. In fact, certain experts believe that how you communicate the value of your product or service is one of the most influential aspects of the sales process. A prospect wants to hear what your company can bring to the table; they cannot get that from marketing materials and a boring presentation. Engaging in a back-and-forth dialogue is the best way to communicate this value to your prospects.

Nobody provides a better opportunity for practice your sales pitch than challenging customers. They ask sophisticated questions and keep you on your toes. If they aren’t likely to make a purchase, you have an even better chance to practice your pitch since you don’t have to worry about losing the sale. If you and your sales team make the most of these situations, you will be better positioned to successfully sell to all types of customers.

3. Salespeople more easily extract unmet needs

Another reason that it’s important to value demanding customers is because they are taking the time to sit down and talk with you. As the information gap between customers and sellers dwindles, many prospects default to independently researching solutions for their specific needs. But when the Internet does not have all the answers, this is when they’ll approach your company, exercising just enough skepticism and caution to see if they can make a confident purchasing decision.

When you get into deep discussions with challenging customers, you will learn a lot about how their businesses operate and what their biggest pain points are. Even if you don’t close the sale, you can use information that you gather to help influence future product developments and develop more effective sales pitches.

4. Sellers are forced to use more authentic and honest strategies

Customers do not like to be sold to. Instead, they want mutually beneficial conversations that will help them overcome their current business problems. Buyers aren’t interrogating you just to be hostile. Rather, their intention is to give you the opportunity to demonstrate domain expertise and introduce ways your product can truly benefit them. Learn how to respond to challenging questions, dig a bit deeper, and subtly highlight your company’s greatest strengths.

It’s fun to rattle off the answers to easy questions, but no one learns anything until they’re asked challenging questions. Make sure you and your staff are prepared to deal with demanding prospects and taxing objections, and you will end up uncovering more leads and securing new business.

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Described as the business organization for the 21st century with the “M.O.” of using business as a force of good, there has never been a better time than now for a startup to incorporate as a B Corp. Companies like Patagonia, Method, Warby Parker, and Good Worldwide are just a few businesses leading the pack as B Corps, some of which are already revolutionary for being the first to incorporate as this entity in their states.

As Rose Marcario, CEO of Patagonia, so succinctly puts it, the B Corp movement matters because business is more than just serving shareholders. “[Business] has an equal responsibility to the community and to the planet.”

However, despite the fact that more than 30,000 businesses are certified B Corps and over 20 states have passed benefit corporation legislation, the buzz around B Corps is still more underground than your average legal entity. The stakes are also higher as B Corps are held to a higher standard—you need to meet a performance requirement in order to file as one—which can easily intimidate entrepreneurs.

But don’t let this scare you away! With so many successful companies committed to doing good, let’s take a page from their books to see how established brands are redefining small business success as B Corps.

They make good on their commitment to community.

Ever wonder what happens with the “one-for-one” business model where making a purchase from a socially conscious company means a donation of that item will be made to a person in need? Free Enterprise conducted a study that revealed this model is actually a booming success. B Corps like Warby Parker have donated 2 million pairs of glasses, and Better World Books has provided children throughout the world with more than 20 million books to read and enjoy.

While these are exceptionally high numbers, remember that none of this happened overnight. The commitment that B Corps have towards changing the world, though mighty, is more often than not made in small steps. Committing to giving back remains the heart and soul of a B Corp and it is that attitude that allows B Corps to thrive passionately.

Being bigger than themselves attracts investors and talent.

Anyone who works for a small business can tell you that a positive attitude and willingness to wear lots of different hats will take you far. Who wouldn’t want to work for a company dedicated to creating a positive social impact? This same attitude also attracts investors.

As B Corporation explains, social investors are looking to invest in companies that achieve a high social impact, command higher valuations, and are structured to maintain their mission after the next financing or IPO. In turn, B Corp entrepreneurs seeking mission-aligned capital also want to achieve a greater impact, command higher valuations (which comes fairly easily since they are so trusted by consumers), and build companies with integrity.

While this pairing seems like a win-win all around, the acquisition of any business, even a mission-driven one, means the brand equity remains at risk. Everyone involved, from consumers to employees, will wonder how much a B Corp will remain true to its mission after the sale. Luckily, as B Corporation notes, a B Corp that opts to become certified and maintains its certification after the transaction helps to minimize any brand risk.

Igniting the flames of purpose-driven marketing.

Do we really need the many things we are told we should buy? For decades, marketing and advertising campaigns have driven purchasing decisions by encouraging consumers to buy what is “cool” or “new” right now, but kept details such as where the item is made and what it is made out of under wraps. As consumers have become more conscious of their spending habits, they are choosing to buy what will better their lives—the perfect time for a B Corp to shine!

One B Corp at a time, the marketing conversation is being revamped for the better. Anne Boyle, Partner and Director of Strategy at RoundPeg, shared in The Huffington Post that ever since her company became a certified B Corp, it has strengthened its commitment to the world and has also inspired its own team. Knowledge is power and marketing is moving away from encouraging a superficial society. Or, as Boyle puts it, “… [it’s] the exact tool needed to make the good choice the easy choice.”

When B Corps succeed, every business succeeds.

Ultimately, as more states pass legislation, more businesses choose to file as this entity, and more positive word of mouth grows, the less the B Corp movement stops being a novelty and becomes the norm in society. The beauty of the B Corp is that there are no sacrifices in forming one. You get to run the business of your dreams, earn a profit, and better the world along the way.

If you’re still asking yourself, “Why B Corp?” you might already know the answer.

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The idea of robots taking over human tasks sounds like something straight out of the Jetsons. But robots have been making humans’ lives easier for decades.

Consider the Rumba that eliminated the household chore of vacuuming. Or the microwave that made it faster to cook up dinner. And more recently, Amazon Echo, which is a device with built-in artificial intelligence designed to recognize your voice and understand what you need.

Technological innovations don’t look like they’re slowing down any time soon, so it’s no wonder more people are looking for apps and software to take over (or at least simplify) other tasks.

Human resources tasks are a prime example of this. There are quite a few redundancies in the human resources department, which adds work to the plates of already strained employees. As technology advances, some of these administrative tasks get passed on to robots instead of humans. Could this be jeopardizing jobs? Let’s take a look.

Scheduling

Scheduling is perhaps one of the biggest time drains in human resources’ departments–at least if technology isn’t being put to use. Now, more businesses are using software to manage schedules. By offering an app to manage shift changes and view schedule rotations, employees no longer need to reach out to a single contact person. Instead, they’re able to make the changes themselves, eliminating the need for a point person.

Although this task can be outsourced to an app, it doesn’t seem to be stealing people’s jobs. Usually, the scheduler is also a manager or an executive. Having an app take care of this task has allowed this point person to focus work hours elsewhere.

Benefits

One of the first things you do when a new employee starts is set up his or her benefits such as health insurance, 401(k) plans, and more. Setting up and managing these benefits can take a lot of administrative work (and hassle). With new apps designed to simplify the process, employees can get to work faster and HR administrators can focus on other demanding tasks. The software may simplify the process, but the process still requires human-to-human interaction to answer questions and ensure everything is set up correctly.

Payroll

There are a lot of complexities in payroll, and therefore, room for human error. This is especially true when some employees get bonuses and others don’t, or when not all employees have payroll direct deposit.

Software that manages payroll can be a tremendous benefit–especially to small businesses that don’t have large human resources departments. Typically these businesses outsource payroll to an app because they don’t have someone on board full-time to manage the process.

In Conclusion

The conclusion is no, technology is not stealing human resources jobs; instead, it’s helping small businesses work more efficiently. Although apps and software eliminate some tasks, they typically aren’t enough to replace a person in the workplace.

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