Pond Marketing Secrets: Podcast Archive
Scroll down to see each available podcast of Pond Marketing Secrets
Episode 1: The secret of having a coach
SHOW NOTES:
On this inaugural episode of Pond Marketing Secrets, Laura Reale owner of Pondtent chats with special guest, Tom Reber of The Contractor Fight
Marketing, along with sales, need to be top priority for gaining customer trust and building your contractor brand.
There are three main types of marketing, all of which are important.
1.Paid Ads: such as a promoted post on social media, a billboard or advertisement.
2. Content: staying consistent with delivering useful content to your current client list.
3. Relationships: growing your client list into repeat clients and referrals.
Laura and Pondtent offer an easy and effective marketing package for landscaping companies all over. Simply sign up for the service and Pondtent will take care of the rest!
Tip of the Week
Calling Customers! It only takes a few minutes out of your day, but a friendly call to a past customer to see how they
are enjoying your completed work can make a world of a difference.
If you want some great free options, check out Tom Reber's podcast and blog The Contractor Fight or joining his The Contractor
Fight Facebook Group to surround yourself with like minded individuals. Tom also offers The Contractor Sales Academy for those who want to take their business to the next level. Tom will change your mindset about how things need to be done,
teach proven sale processes to drive revenue, and give you valuable marketing tools to continue to grow your contracting business.
Nuggets:
Everyone has to focus on their strengths and what is impor tant to them.
- Laura
Everyone has the best intention to do *that* soon, never wait for something. Find a solution
now.
- Laura
Its really on us, to not just stay connected. But also educ ate our clients in the other ways that
we can help them.
- Tom
There is safety in a brand.
- Tom
SHOW NOTES:
On this inaugural episode of Pond Marketing Secrets, Laura Reale owner of Pondtent chats with special guest, Tom Reber of The Contractor Fight
Marketing, along with sales, need to be top priority for gaining customer trust and building your contractor brand.
There are three main types of marketing, all of which are important.
1.Paid Ads: such as a promoted post on social media, a billboard or advertisement.
2. Content: staying consistent with delivering useful content to your current client list.
3. Relationships: growing your client list into repeat clients and referrals.
Laura and Pondtent offer an easy and effective marketing package for landscaping companies all over. Simply sign up for the service and Pondtent will take care of the rest!
Tip of the Week
Calling Customers! It only takes a few minutes out of your day, but a friendly call to a past customer to see how they
are enjoying your completed work can make a world of a difference.
If you want some great free options, check out Tom Reber's podcast and blog The Contractor Fight or joining his The Contractor
Fight Facebook Group to surround yourself with like minded individuals. Tom also offers The Contractor Sales Academy for those who want to take their business to the next level. Tom will change your mindset about how things need to be done,
teach proven sale processes to drive revenue, and give you valuable marketing tools to continue to grow your contracting business.
Nuggets:
Everyone has to focus on their strengths and what is impor tant to them.
- Laura
Everyone has the best intention to do *that* soon, never wait for something. Find a solution
now.
- Laura
Its really on us, to not just stay connected. But also educ ate our clients in the other ways that
we can help them.
- Tom
There is safety in a brand.
- Tom
Episode 2: The secret of podcasts
Show Notes:
On this episode of Pond Marketing Secrets, Laura chats with Mike Gannon of Full Service Aquatics and host of The Pond Hunter Radio Broadcast podcast. Laura and Mike discuss how having a podcast can increase your company’s overall marketing outreach.
Podcasts are a hot commodity right now for all types of businesses, it’s the newest form of social media marketing that business owners all over are starting to branch into. Though podcasts are a great way to promote your business and services, all marketing is important. Business owners need to always be planting marketing seeds with their clients, for both long term and short term goals.
Don’t be afraid to jump in head first, social media is always changing and two years ago business podcasts were not as popular as they are now. Reach out to podcasts that you enjoy and see how they started up, ask to be a guest, then ask them to be a guest on your show! Podcasting does take time, planning and coordination, so be sure that you don’t spread yourself too thin in the marketing department. Know where your strengths are and hire help to fill in the gaps.
Helpful Hint: Utilize resources that come from companies and manufacturers that you already work with. Many companies offer free marketing tools to help your business sell their products. Integrate those free tools into your newsletters, social media posts, marketing outreach and podcasts!
Finally, don’t let yourself get overwhelmed with it, starting your own podcast isn’t the only way to market your business on this popular social media platform. There are many established podcasts for just about every niche of business, reach out and see about being a guest! Being featured on another podcast is still great exposure for your business and the services you offer. Plant those marketing seeds all over!
Tip of the Week: Always be doing things that are short term, and long term at the same time.
Pond Marketing Group Action: What Laura Did This Week
Laura offers an easy and effective marketing package for contracting companies all across the country. Simply sign up for the service and Pondtent will take care of the rest! If you’d like to see what marketing services Pondtent provides, simply CLICK HERE to see how the service works and what Pondtent can do for you!
NUGGETS:
“One thing about podcasts( and videos) the sound quality has to be good. People will watch crappy videos, but if the sound is bad...they turn it off.” - Mike
“Don’t let yourself be intimidated. If you have somebody you wanted to be on your podcast but you think they’re out of reach, just go for it anyway.” - Mike
“Go where you’re comfortable. Don’t get overwhelmed feeling like you need to be the king of Facebook, when you’re really really good at monthly newsletters.” - Mike
Show Notes:
On this episode of Pond Marketing Secrets, Laura chats with Mike Gannon of Full Service Aquatics and host of The Pond Hunter Radio Broadcast podcast. Laura and Mike discuss how having a podcast can increase your company’s overall marketing outreach.
Podcasts are a hot commodity right now for all types of businesses, it’s the newest form of social media marketing that business owners all over are starting to branch into. Though podcasts are a great way to promote your business and services, all marketing is important. Business owners need to always be planting marketing seeds with their clients, for both long term and short term goals.
Don’t be afraid to jump in head first, social media is always changing and two years ago business podcasts were not as popular as they are now. Reach out to podcasts that you enjoy and see how they started up, ask to be a guest, then ask them to be a guest on your show! Podcasting does take time, planning and coordination, so be sure that you don’t spread yourself too thin in the marketing department. Know where your strengths are and hire help to fill in the gaps.
Helpful Hint: Utilize resources that come from companies and manufacturers that you already work with. Many companies offer free marketing tools to help your business sell their products. Integrate those free tools into your newsletters, social media posts, marketing outreach and podcasts!
Finally, don’t let yourself get overwhelmed with it, starting your own podcast isn’t the only way to market your business on this popular social media platform. There are many established podcasts for just about every niche of business, reach out and see about being a guest! Being featured on another podcast is still great exposure for your business and the services you offer. Plant those marketing seeds all over!
Tip of the Week: Always be doing things that are short term, and long term at the same time.
Pond Marketing Group Action: What Laura Did This Week
- Made September goals
- Sent 3 different postcards from Vistaprint. (One for Current customers, their “Monthly Zillow”, and big September mailing for all contacts made so far this year.)
- Completed 2 Newsletters
Laura offers an easy and effective marketing package for contracting companies all across the country. Simply sign up for the service and Pondtent will take care of the rest! If you’d like to see what marketing services Pondtent provides, simply CLICK HERE to see how the service works and what Pondtent can do for you!
NUGGETS:
“One thing about podcasts( and videos) the sound quality has to be good. People will watch crappy videos, but if the sound is bad...they turn it off.” - Mike
“Don’t let yourself be intimidated. If you have somebody you wanted to be on your podcast but you think they’re out of reach, just go for it anyway.” - Mike
“Go where you’re comfortable. Don’t get overwhelmed feeling like you need to be the king of Facebook, when you’re really really good at monthly newsletters.” - Mike
Episode 3: The secret of being our client, featuring Michael Garcia
On this episode of Pond Marketing Secrets, Laura sits down with Michael Garcia of Soares Landscaping to discuss the benefits of Pond Marketing Service and new strategies to build your fall marketing plan. Michael has been in the landscaping business for four full seasons now, with marketing help from Pond Marketing Group, Michael has been able to grow his marketing outreach.
Tip of the Week: Go to a professional development event.
Pond Marketing Group Action: What Laura Did This Week
-Contacted people who signed up for spring cleaning service and not fall.
- Sending out email reminders for fall cleaning services
- Physically mailed contracts with individual pricing to those customers who haven’t signed up for fall clean up yet.
Pond Marketing Group’s Pondtent marketing services can be as much or as little as your business's needs. The primary focus of this service is to make marketing and email campaigns a breeze. With only 3 months worth of using the service, Michael’s company has received 8 to 10 replies to weekly tip emails or newsletters that have gone out. Being consistent with your email marketing helps to keep you top of mind to your customers!
Part of Pondtent is sending out a monthly newsletter. One week after that newsletter goes out, Michael reviews the open reports and he can see not only who is opening the emails but also who is unsubscribing. With that feature Michael is able to clearly see which clients really need his services and which clients aren’t ready to do business. When you’re top of mind to potential clients, whenever they need your services, you’ll be at the top of the list for them to call. That’s why these emails work. You can keep up with your clients and let them know what other services you do but also remind them that your business is there for them.
It’s up to you as the business owner to help people connect the dots to how they know your company. The more you’re able to personalize that, the better off you’ll be. Referrals can be a great way to grow your potential client list. The main manufacturers or shops where your business buys supplies from can turn into a wonderful way to build that referral relationship. When businesses you work with regularly see you often and you do favors for them, they want to return the favor and do that for you.
Michael’s advice to new business entrepreneurs is two-fold. Always have the mindset of just starting out, continue to learn as if you don’t know anything. That in turn will take you to new levels of knowledge and success in your business. Read books, find mentors, join associations and find a peer group. Also go into your business knowing that you’re going to have wins and you’re going to have losses. Don’t focus too long on either of those things. Celebrate the wins, but not excessively because you need to keep on top of it. And acknowledge the losses, but don’t dwell on them.
To see a full list of what services visit Soares Landscaping.
For a full list of services, check out this List of Services that Pond Marketing Group offers with Pondtent.
NUGGETS:
I would put together an email marketing, normally during each change of season. But I still felt like there was still something missing in terms of the connection between ourselves and our clients or potential clients. - Michael
I felt like we were missing out on keeping that relationship going, and also keeping the opportunity to work for these clients again in the future. - Michael
To my list, I know I’m top of mind and that’s really all I need because eventually I’ll hear from them. - Michael
It’s one tool, but it’s a stay in front of mind tool. - Laura
On this episode of Pond Marketing Secrets, Laura sits down with Michael Garcia of Soares Landscaping to discuss the benefits of Pond Marketing Service and new strategies to build your fall marketing plan. Michael has been in the landscaping business for four full seasons now, with marketing help from Pond Marketing Group, Michael has been able to grow his marketing outreach.
Tip of the Week: Go to a professional development event.
Pond Marketing Group Action: What Laura Did This Week
-Contacted people who signed up for spring cleaning service and not fall.
- Sending out email reminders for fall cleaning services
- Physically mailed contracts with individual pricing to those customers who haven’t signed up for fall clean up yet.
Pond Marketing Group’s Pondtent marketing services can be as much or as little as your business's needs. The primary focus of this service is to make marketing and email campaigns a breeze. With only 3 months worth of using the service, Michael’s company has received 8 to 10 replies to weekly tip emails or newsletters that have gone out. Being consistent with your email marketing helps to keep you top of mind to your customers!
Part of Pondtent is sending out a monthly newsletter. One week after that newsletter goes out, Michael reviews the open reports and he can see not only who is opening the emails but also who is unsubscribing. With that feature Michael is able to clearly see which clients really need his services and which clients aren’t ready to do business. When you’re top of mind to potential clients, whenever they need your services, you’ll be at the top of the list for them to call. That’s why these emails work. You can keep up with your clients and let them know what other services you do but also remind them that your business is there for them.
It’s up to you as the business owner to help people connect the dots to how they know your company. The more you’re able to personalize that, the better off you’ll be. Referrals can be a great way to grow your potential client list. The main manufacturers or shops where your business buys supplies from can turn into a wonderful way to build that referral relationship. When businesses you work with regularly see you often and you do favors for them, they want to return the favor and do that for you.
Michael’s advice to new business entrepreneurs is two-fold. Always have the mindset of just starting out, continue to learn as if you don’t know anything. That in turn will take you to new levels of knowledge and success in your business. Read books, find mentors, join associations and find a peer group. Also go into your business knowing that you’re going to have wins and you’re going to have losses. Don’t focus too long on either of those things. Celebrate the wins, but not excessively because you need to keep on top of it. And acknowledge the losses, but don’t dwell on them.
To see a full list of what services visit Soares Landscaping.
For a full list of services, check out this List of Services that Pond Marketing Group offers with Pondtent.
NUGGETS:
I would put together an email marketing, normally during each change of season. But I still felt like there was still something missing in terms of the connection between ourselves and our clients or potential clients. - Michael
I felt like we were missing out on keeping that relationship going, and also keeping the opportunity to work for these clients again in the future. - Michael
To my list, I know I’m top of mind and that’s really all I need because eventually I’ll hear from them. - Michael
It’s one tool, but it’s a stay in front of mind tool. - Laura
Episode 4: The Secret of CRM, Featuring Neil Kristianson
Tip of the Week: Talk to everyone you know about work. When you’re passionate about what you do and excited, it gets them excited and can lead to unexpected business for your company.
Pond Marketing Group Action: What Laura Did This Week
CRM and Automation:
To get more information about the beauty of CRM and automated emails from Neil visit at Email Splat and check out his various services.
Nuggets:
If you take away anything from this, it’s to get organized and have a list of contacts. - Neil
That customer list has so much value, there is money hidden in that list. - Neil
Every company has a process, they maybe just don’t know that they have one. - Neil
We don't want to automate something that’s broken, all that is going to do is make it broken faster. We want to automate something that already works for you, that way it’s something you don’t have to do anymore. - Neil
QA:
12:00 - small feedback noise
>
Tip of the Week: Talk to everyone you know about work. When you’re passionate about what you do and excited, it gets them excited and can lead to unexpected business for your company.
Pond Marketing Group Action: What Laura Did This Week
- Created and sent out the company's monthly newsletter.
- Being consistent with your email communication will keep you top of mind for your potential customers. People will also be less defensive about being spammed if they’re used to seeing your name regularly in their inbox.
CRM and Automation:
- Customer Relationship Management. It’s basically a fancy term for having a list of customers and potential customers on hand to reach out to.
- Neil tries and take that beggining customer journey and automate their process through that initial contact. It makes sure that everyone across the board gets the same great service but also that no potential client falls through the cracks.
- There are a lot of different software options for CRM, so you can find the platform that works best for you. Most importantly is to find the software that works best for your business, not trying to make your business work around the software.
- Laura uses Less Annoying CRM Neil uses Ontraport and Active Campaign gets an honorable mention.
- Using automation ensures that customers all getting the same service and being given the same information about the company. If they already knew that information, they’re being reminded about what your company does and if not, then they’re learning more about you. Either way, it’s a win win.
- It can sometimes be complicated or time consuming to set up, but once you’re past that it’s all automated and this list will absolutely find money for your business.
- Start your list and then sit down and write all your processes out for what emails, marketing, or client contact needs to happen and when.
- When you start having consistency of what gets sent to customers and when, you can spot where marketing changes need to be made to increase your profits.
- You can’t automate things that don’t already exist in the real world. You already need to have a process in place that you know works for your company before you spend time, money and effort to automate that process.
To get more information about the beauty of CRM and automated emails from Neil visit at Email Splat and check out his various services.
Nuggets:
If you take away anything from this, it’s to get organized and have a list of contacts. - Neil
That customer list has so much value, there is money hidden in that list. - Neil
Every company has a process, they maybe just don’t know that they have one. - Neil
We don't want to automate something that’s broken, all that is going to do is make it broken faster. We want to automate something that already works for you, that way it’s something you don’t have to do anymore. - Neil
QA:
12:00 - small feedback noise
>
On this episode of Pond Marketing Secrets, Laura sits down with Derek Johnson, of JVI Secret Gardens and they dive into the secret of sales for contracting businesses. Learn how to better serve your clients by perfecting your sales process, and learn effective new sales techniques for your business.
Tip of the Week: Take time going through your sales process, don’t rush anything.
Pond Marketing Group Action - What Laura (Derek) Did This Week:
-Derek used Facebook Live on their business page to stay top with their potential clients/clients by showing their followers what it’s like at a project sites.
Secret of Sales
A sale is understanding what someone needs, and then fulfilling that need for them. Asking a potential customer open ended questions with help you to understand what exactly they’re looking for. Then you can paint them a picture of what the whole process will look like.
A big part of the sales process is being empathetic about that client’s particular needs and wants. Learn how to listen with comprehension. Communication with your client’s builds trust in you, your company, and the services you offer. When someone contacts your company, they want you to listen to their wants/needs/problems, and when you actually listen to them, it naturally creates a positive sales space.
See what it feels like to be a customer, pay a consultation fee, connect with a contractor and see what their sales process is. See what it’s like to be on the other side of the fence to better understand how your own customers feel when they’re reaching out to you.
For more great sales tips and a playbook for perfecting your sales skills, check out the Contractor Sales Academy. Derek recommends reading Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus to better understand empathy and how to carry that over into your sales process. And pick up Never Split the Difference to help you create a thoughtful sales process.
More Reading Suggestions:
Anything by Earl Nightingale
Eat That Frog by Brian Tracy
The Compound Effect by Darren Hardy
The Five Second Rule by Mel Robins
For a full list of services offered through Pondtent, visit Pond Marketing Group today!
Nuggets:
I never really knew how to sell. I just knew how to tell a story and explain what was going on. But I really didn’t know how to convey and understand what a customer really needs. - Derek
If I force a sale on someone, they’re probably going to have buyer's remorse. It’s not something that they really needed, it was an impulse. - Derek
I can understand anyone if I keep my mouth shut and just listen. Not hear, but truly listen. - Derek
Being a good listener is a big part of the sales process. - Laura
Ask the person what they need, how you can help them fulfill that need. And then ask them how you can become their contractor. They’ll tell you what they need from you in order to make that sale happen. - Derek
https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/pond-marketing-secrets/id1286389781?mt=2On this episode of Pond Marketing Secrets, Laura chats with Barbi Holdeman of The Pond Gnome, to break down the secrets of using a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) program. Learn from Laura and Barbi how they use Less Annoying CRM as part of their marketing plan. Gain knowledgeable information from these pros, on how to use this CRM to grow your own business.
Tip of the Week:
Laura: Use a CRM (Customer Relationship Management).
Barbi: Make and follow through with your to-do list.
Pond Marketing Group Action - What Laura Did This Week:
Attended two outdoor festivals to promote their business and services. Get out there and do something to make yourself and business known to potential clients.
Less Annoying CRM
With Less Annoying CRM, each potential client can be entered as a contact. That becomes their homebase and starting point. From there you can assign them to your different groups and pipelines so that they are sorted into the best marketing fit for that particular customer. You can keep track of their entire lead process to ensure the best customer service and customer retention possible.
Less Annoying CRM will also sync with your email service, such as MailChimp. So you can keep your clients sorted into the best marketing email strategies for their needs. Every contact should be added to your master email list, so they don’t miss out on your great monthly newsletters or weekly tips! You can also use Less Annoying CRM to group them into more personalized marketing emails, like “Fall Pond Cleanup” or “Ponds with Waterfalls”.
One of the most important things to do is keep your lists clean! Follow through with your lists in Less Annoying CRM. If someone has completed the lead process, move them into the next proper pipelines and groups. This helps you keep track of everything that’s happening with your leads. If you just keep adding new leads into the list and not managing the completed clients the list will just end up as a big mess that you’ll need to sort through later. Less Annoying CRM makes it easy to keep track of clients and move them through the right groups/pipelines, you’ve just got to take the time to do it.
Helpful Hint: Don’t close out of a lead without moving them into a new pipeline or group. You don’t want to lose that contact as a potential lead in the future or forget to put them into the next step in your system. If you close out of a lead without moving them first you could end up losing that contact and all the details you’ve already worked so hard to add in about them!
The secret to marketing is consistency, when you aren’t staying consistent you aren’t staying top of mind with clients and they forget about you. Less Annoying CRM can help you to take control of your customer list to make the most out of the relationships you have established with your clients.
Final advice:
Barbi : Go to Less Annoying CRM's Webpage and watch the tutorial videos! They have tons of great resources available on the site to help you. Also don’t be afraid to reach out to them if you have questions. They are there to help you utilize their product.
Laura: start small until you’re comfortable. You have to start somewhere and just getting started is taking you a step in the right direction.
Let Laura help your company get set-up and grow with Less Annoying CRM! For a full list of services offered through Pondtent, visit Pond Marketing Group today!
Want to start using this great marketing tool? Then check out Less Annoying CRM to learn more. You can sign up for a free trial and watch short training/informative videos on how to use the program.
Nuggets:
A CRM can be as simple, or as hard, as what you make of it. - Laura
Less Annoying CRM is like a logic game, but the answers are all right there for you. - Laura
You have to keep your lists clean. If you just keep putting leads in and never following through with them, that list will just end up a big mess. - Laura
You’ve got to take tidbits from this person and that person, and then figure out what works best for you and your company. - Barbi
Tip of the Week:
Laura: Use a CRM (Customer Relationship Management).
Barbi: Make and follow through with your to-do list.
Pond Marketing Group Action - What Laura Did This Week:
Attended two outdoor festivals to promote their business and services. Get out there and do something to make yourself and business known to potential clients.
Less Annoying CRM
With Less Annoying CRM, each potential client can be entered as a contact. That becomes their homebase and starting point. From there you can assign them to your different groups and pipelines so that they are sorted into the best marketing fit for that particular customer. You can keep track of their entire lead process to ensure the best customer service and customer retention possible.
Less Annoying CRM will also sync with your email service, such as MailChimp. So you can keep your clients sorted into the best marketing email strategies for their needs. Every contact should be added to your master email list, so they don’t miss out on your great monthly newsletters or weekly tips! You can also use Less Annoying CRM to group them into more personalized marketing emails, like “Fall Pond Cleanup” or “Ponds with Waterfalls”.
One of the most important things to do is keep your lists clean! Follow through with your lists in Less Annoying CRM. If someone has completed the lead process, move them into the next proper pipelines and groups. This helps you keep track of everything that’s happening with your leads. If you just keep adding new leads into the list and not managing the completed clients the list will just end up as a big mess that you’ll need to sort through later. Less Annoying CRM makes it easy to keep track of clients and move them through the right groups/pipelines, you’ve just got to take the time to do it.
Helpful Hint: Don’t close out of a lead without moving them into a new pipeline or group. You don’t want to lose that contact as a potential lead in the future or forget to put them into the next step in your system. If you close out of a lead without moving them first you could end up losing that contact and all the details you’ve already worked so hard to add in about them!
The secret to marketing is consistency, when you aren’t staying consistent you aren’t staying top of mind with clients and they forget about you. Less Annoying CRM can help you to take control of your customer list to make the most out of the relationships you have established with your clients.
Final advice:
Barbi : Go to Less Annoying CRM's Webpage and watch the tutorial videos! They have tons of great resources available on the site to help you. Also don’t be afraid to reach out to them if you have questions. They are there to help you utilize their product.
Laura: start small until you’re comfortable. You have to start somewhere and just getting started is taking you a step in the right direction.
Let Laura help your company get set-up and grow with Less Annoying CRM! For a full list of services offered through Pondtent, visit Pond Marketing Group today!
Want to start using this great marketing tool? Then check out Less Annoying CRM to learn more. You can sign up for a free trial and watch short training/informative videos on how to use the program.
Nuggets:
A CRM can be as simple, or as hard, as what you make of it. - Laura
Less Annoying CRM is like a logic game, but the answers are all right there for you. - Laura
You have to keep your lists clean. If you just keep putting leads in and never following through with them, that list will just end up a big mess. - Laura
You’ve got to take tidbits from this person and that person, and then figure out what works best for you and your company. - Barbi
Click to set custom HTML
On this episode of Pond Marketing Secrets, Laura chats with Dan Stanza of Good Earth Water Gardens to share with you the secrets of creating a successful marketing plan. There are so many factors that can go into marketing so Laura and Dan break down how they created his new marketing plan, sharing valuable marketing secrets for your own company.
Tip of the Week: Use a Customer Relationship Management Program (CRM)
Pond Marketing Group Action - What Laura Did This Week: Laura sent out an industry newsletter to potential referral sources/partners.
Basics of Building a Marketing Plan
Start by coming up with your company's goals, develop broad strategies that will help you to reach your goal. Then make a list of tactics that show in detail how you will use your strategies to meet an overall goal.
Goals: something you want to achieve in a set amount of time.
Strategies: something more broad, a generalized what if statement.
“What if we had a list of 100 referral partners this year.”
Tactics: a specific action or task on how you will use strategies to meet your overall goal.
You need to have tactics in place that benefit both long term and short results, your marketing plan needs to have a combination of both. You should focus on both putting yourself out there but also pulling in results from those efforts.
Laura and dan provide specific examples of beneficial marketing tactics based upon what his company’s goal and strategies are. Providing valuable knowledge for implementing your own marketing plan!
Let Laura help your company achieve marketing goals and stay top of mind with your customers! For a full list of services offered through Pondtent, visit Pond Marketing Group today!
Nuggets:
It’s not about how much money you make, but about how much money you keep. - Laura
Networking and building relationships are not things that just happen overnight. You have to really work at that sector. - Dan
Don’t have everything to hit right now or everything to hit in a year, you need a combination of both. - Laura
Tip of the Week: Use a Customer Relationship Management Program (CRM)
Pond Marketing Group Action - What Laura Did This Week: Laura sent out an industry newsletter to potential referral sources/partners.
Basics of Building a Marketing Plan
Start by coming up with your company's goals, develop broad strategies that will help you to reach your goal. Then make a list of tactics that show in detail how you will use your strategies to meet an overall goal.
Goals: something you want to achieve in a set amount of time.
Strategies: something more broad, a generalized what if statement.
“What if we had a list of 100 referral partners this year.”
Tactics: a specific action or task on how you will use strategies to meet your overall goal.
You need to have tactics in place that benefit both long term and short results, your marketing plan needs to have a combination of both. You should focus on both putting yourself out there but also pulling in results from those efforts.
Laura and dan provide specific examples of beneficial marketing tactics based upon what his company’s goal and strategies are. Providing valuable knowledge for implementing your own marketing plan!
Let Laura help your company achieve marketing goals and stay top of mind with your customers! For a full list of services offered through Pondtent, visit Pond Marketing Group today!
Nuggets:
It’s not about how much money you make, but about how much money you keep. - Laura
Networking and building relationships are not things that just happen overnight. You have to really work at that sector. - Dan
Don’t have everything to hit right now or everything to hit in a year, you need a combination of both. - Laura
On this episode of Pond Marketing Secrets, Laura chats with Steve Shinholser of Premier Pond and the Contractor Sales Academy to discuss The Contractor Sales Academy’s foundation. They’ll also discuss why the Contractor Sales Academy has been a successful program for so many, and what your business can gain by joining.
Tip of the Week: Get yourself out there and start meeting new people. That can be, potential clients, other members in the industry, or even companies that turn into referral sources.
Pond Marketing Group Action - What Laura Did This Week: Laura and Steve both attended a trade show event. Aquareale also had a party at a client’s house, showing off the pond and featuring a dessert bar.
Contractor Sales Academy
The Contractor Sales Academy is a group of like-minded small business owners. Steve and Tom Reber of The Contractor Sales Academy have three key ideals they want to help your small business achieve.
When you join the Contractor Sales Academy, you’ll be put outside of comfort zone. Which is one of the hardest thing to do, but also offers the greatest rewards. There is a 90 minute webinar each week and a private, very active Facebook Group full of like-minded individuals. 90 minute
Attitude is the hardest thing to change in a person, so The Contractor Sales Academy will push your mindset and business to the next level. It’s straight talk about how to do a good job at what you want to be and how to increase the amount you put into your own pockets. Only 4% of small businesses top 1 million dollars in sales, start learning these valuable sales techniques now to get your business on the right path.
If you want to take a test ride of some of the sales skills that The Contractor Fight Academy will help you to master, visit Shin Fu Sales Training. For a smaller one-time fee, you can see what The Contractor Fight is all about and how joining can help your small business grow. Steve’s business went from a 22% close rate to a 94% close rate after the Shin Fu Sales Training!
There is no magic wand to make businesses successful. If you want master a new sales technique, shift your mindset to a new way of thinking about business, identify those who will never be your clients and stop wasting time on them, and experience a dramatic change, you will have to put in the work. If you sit back and do nothing with the group then you’ll gain nothing from it.
Are you ready to put in the work and learn new skills to take your business to the next level? Check out the Contractor Sales Academy website today and take back your business now!
Let Laura help your company achieve marketing goals and stay top of mind with your customers! For a full list of services offered through Pondtent, visit Pond Marketing Group today!
Nuggets:
If you don’t ever do anything that’s not scary, then you’re never going to get anywhere. -Steve
Start to run your business instead of the other way around where your business runs you. - Steve
Silence is one of the most powerful sales tools you can possibly have. -
Tip of the Week: Get yourself out there and start meeting new people. That can be, potential clients, other members in the industry, or even companies that turn into referral sources.
Pond Marketing Group Action - What Laura Did This Week: Laura and Steve both attended a trade show event. Aquareale also had a party at a client’s house, showing off the pond and featuring a dessert bar.
Contractor Sales Academy
The Contractor Sales Academy is a group of like-minded small business owners. Steve and Tom Reber of The Contractor Sales Academy have three key ideals they want to help your small business achieve.
- Make more money
- Save more time
- Enjoy your life to the fullest
When you join the Contractor Sales Academy, you’ll be put outside of comfort zone. Which is one of the hardest thing to do, but also offers the greatest rewards. There is a 90 minute webinar each week and a private, very active Facebook Group full of like-minded individuals. 90 minute
Attitude is the hardest thing to change in a person, so The Contractor Sales Academy will push your mindset and business to the next level. It’s straight talk about how to do a good job at what you want to be and how to increase the amount you put into your own pockets. Only 4% of small businesses top 1 million dollars in sales, start learning these valuable sales techniques now to get your business on the right path.
If you want to take a test ride of some of the sales skills that The Contractor Fight Academy will help you to master, visit Shin Fu Sales Training. For a smaller one-time fee, you can see what The Contractor Fight is all about and how joining can help your small business grow. Steve’s business went from a 22% close rate to a 94% close rate after the Shin Fu Sales Training!
There is no magic wand to make businesses successful. If you want master a new sales technique, shift your mindset to a new way of thinking about business, identify those who will never be your clients and stop wasting time on them, and experience a dramatic change, you will have to put in the work. If you sit back and do nothing with the group then you’ll gain nothing from it.
Are you ready to put in the work and learn new skills to take your business to the next level? Check out the Contractor Sales Academy website today and take back your business now!
Let Laura help your company achieve marketing goals and stay top of mind with your customers! For a full list of services offered through Pondtent, visit Pond Marketing Group today!
Nuggets:
If you don’t ever do anything that’s not scary, then you’re never going to get anywhere. -Steve
Start to run your business instead of the other way around where your business runs you. - Steve
Silence is one of the most powerful sales tools you can possibly have. -
On this episode of Pond Marketing Secrets, Laura chats with Jay McCormick of McCormick Landscaping about how getting your water features displayed in Garden Centers or retail stores can help boost your referral business!
Tip of the Week: Take time to be with your kids/family. You’ll be happier in business if you’re happy overall with your life.
Pond Marketing Group Action - What Laura Did This Week: Made a list of 35 names (old customers, regular customers, potential customers) to spend time reaching out to. Laura and her husband each set a goal to call 10 per week from this list to build and develop that customer relationship.
Garden Centers:
Finding a garden center or landscaping center to build a referral partnership with for your pond business can be a great way to find new customers! With any referral partner, building this type of relationship takes time and effort, but the rewards for both businesses make it well worth the effort. Jay has many water features on display throughout garden centers and retail spaces in his area, giving him great business referrals. Listen in as Jay walks you through how he worked with these different retail spaces to get his water features displayed there.
Find out more about Jay by visiting The McCormick Landscaping Website, finding him on Facebook or even giving him a call with more questions, at (803) 215-1672
Let Laura help your company achieve marketing goals and stay top of mind with your customers! For a full list of services offered through Pondtent, visit Pond Marketing Group today!
Podcast Editing and Show Notes via Podcast Buddy
Nuggets:
You can go through just about any garden center and see that there is retail space being wasted. - Jay
You have to go in prepared, with a plan, to show them why this will be a great benefit for their store and customers. - Jay
Every step you have to take, is another step that a customer isn’t going to find you. The more you can give them to take away or do for them, the better off you are. - Laura
Tip of the Week: Take time to be with your kids/family. You’ll be happier in business if you’re happy overall with your life.
Pond Marketing Group Action - What Laura Did This Week: Made a list of 35 names (old customers, regular customers, potential customers) to spend time reaching out to. Laura and her husband each set a goal to call 10 per week from this list to build and develop that customer relationship.
Garden Centers:
Finding a garden center or landscaping center to build a referral partnership with for your pond business can be a great way to find new customers! With any referral partner, building this type of relationship takes time and effort, but the rewards for both businesses make it well worth the effort. Jay has many water features on display throughout garden centers and retail spaces in his area, giving him great business referrals. Listen in as Jay walks you through how he worked with these different retail spaces to get his water features displayed there.
- Walk through the retail space, take pictures and make notes of the dead retail space you see. Show these garden centers that you can bring them big retail and sales value by adding a feature in those spaces for them. See where you can install a water feature that will not only help their business, but help you too.
- Talk to employees/supervisors. Get a feel for what their system is like in that garden center. You’ll have to build and foster a referral partner relationship with them. Look for a place that has high traffic (higher value for your business). Map out where you’d suggest the feature to go and propose it as a business plan. You have to have a plan to talk with the owners, be prepared show them how it’ll benefit them, and make it a business proposition. If you go in unprepared the management and owners will not take your proposition seriously, so do your homework.
- The Garden Centers Jay works with brings in about 20% of his business. He’s also worked out a good deal with the garden center because they get a cut of each sale he makes from their referral. These stores will need to know that they’re a good fit for this referral partnership too. So do your research about the company, you can’t just walk in and say you want to put a feature in and have them bend over backwards for you. You need to have a plan and show how that plan benefits them and their customers. Show them how the current space isn’t being utilized and give them a better way to make that retail space profitable for both businesses.
- Once installed you can’t just leave a water fixture and expect it to sell itself or take care of itself. Make an effort to stop in at these stores and check on how things are going. Offer trainings about the water features to the store employees, be available to answer questions there from customers about the features. You want the features to always look their best for your sake and for the impression of the customers and the retail store.
- Make it easy for interested customers to find you. Leave business cards near each feature that they can take, have a stack of business cards handy for the store’s employees to share. For Jay, each feature gets a little sign with his company's name, the name of the water feature on display right there, the components of that particular water feature, and what the ballpark pricing is.
- Don’t limit yourself to just garden centers. Other high traffic stores also have space for water features, including restaurants. You don’t have to be in the same industry as a retail space for one of your water features to bring value and benefit to for you both. Jay is working with Texas Roadhouse to install his next water feature display, getting his name out there even more and offering a beautiful waiting space for the customers at Texas Roadhouse.
Find out more about Jay by visiting The McCormick Landscaping Website, finding him on Facebook or even giving him a call with more questions, at (803) 215-1672
Let Laura help your company achieve marketing goals and stay top of mind with your customers! For a full list of services offered through Pondtent, visit Pond Marketing Group today!
Podcast Editing and Show Notes via Podcast Buddy
Nuggets:
You can go through just about any garden center and see that there is retail space being wasted. - Jay
You have to go in prepared, with a plan, to show them why this will be a great benefit for their store and customers. - Jay
Every step you have to take, is another step that a customer isn’t going to find you. The more you can give them to take away or do for them, the better off you are. - Laura
On this episode of Pond Marketing Secrets, Laura chats with Jodi Decker of, Decker's Landscape and Aquatics. Listen in, as they discuss how Jodi got into running a garden center and retail pond space, the benefits of having a retail space, and valuable advice for starting your own design and retail space!
Tip of the Week: Start thinking about what you want to give your customers for the holidays.
Pond Marketing Group Action - What Laura Did This Week: Starting planning out the 2018 goals for Aquareale with the intention of having them completed by December.
Garden and Design Centers:
Jodi and her husband got into the garden center business because the house they bought came with one on the property. So as they worked on the property they opened up the garden center for business and it all took off from there! As they changed their main business to focus more on water features as a niche in the industry, they opened up a retail shop / design center for water feature owners to have a place to grab supplies. This was back in the day before online retailers were available, and something that Jodi noticed was lacking in the community was a place for these water feature / pond owners to pick up necessary supplies. Talk about a great way of seeing a need that their clients had and fulfilling it! They now have the small garden center and 2 pond retail stores / design centers to service the community!
Retail:
The one thing with having that retail space is that you absolutely have to focus on customer service. With online retailers, just about anything can be bought online now, but having quality customer service and quality products in your store sets you apart from the rest. You also are able to show customers and potential clients that you are an expert in this industry, giving them peace of mind when making purchases for their own ponds/water features. Yes, having a local space will give you the ability to serve people in your community who need pond supplies in a pinch, but if they don’t have a great experience in your store then you’ve lost them not only as a retail customer but potentially as a future contractor client as well. Set yourself apart by really taking the time to build those client relationships with people who walk through the door and share in the passion of the industry, because that is how you’ll get them to buy from you. Not only just supplies, but when they’re ready for a new water feature or to update an existing one.
Jodi’s Advice:
-Focus on the design center concept of a retail space. Don’t just offer the items and pieces that people need to maintain their water features. If you also set up the retail space to function as a design center / mini showroom you’ll be able to have a beautiful meeting space for potential customers who are looking to make the commitment in having a pond / water feature installed.
-When creating the space and shop, remember that one of the biggest benefits of having a store front is from the pond work that it will bring in rather than only focusing the profits from the retail side of it.
-Your main focus has got to be on providing a great customer experience, because that’s the one thing that they can’t get by ordering parts somewhere else.
-Find and partner with a distributor, that’s a huge resource for you.
Let Laura help your company achieve marketing goals and stay top of mind with your customers! For a full list of services offered through Pondtent, visit Pond Marketing Group today!
Podcast Editing and Show Notes via Podcast Buddy
Nuggets:
One of the biggest challenges in our industry I think, is that a lot of people don’t know that our industry even exists. - Jodi
Our retail stores are a big marketing dollar on our install side of the business. - Jodi
It’s a huge commitment, because you have to staff it AND you have to staff it with the right people. - Jodi
Tip of the Week: Start thinking about what you want to give your customers for the holidays.
Pond Marketing Group Action - What Laura Did This Week: Starting planning out the 2018 goals for Aquareale with the intention of having them completed by December.
Garden and Design Centers:
Jodi and her husband got into the garden center business because the house they bought came with one on the property. So as they worked on the property they opened up the garden center for business and it all took off from there! As they changed their main business to focus more on water features as a niche in the industry, they opened up a retail shop / design center for water feature owners to have a place to grab supplies. This was back in the day before online retailers were available, and something that Jodi noticed was lacking in the community was a place for these water feature / pond owners to pick up necessary supplies. Talk about a great way of seeing a need that their clients had and fulfilling it! They now have the small garden center and 2 pond retail stores / design centers to service the community!
Retail:
The one thing with having that retail space is that you absolutely have to focus on customer service. With online retailers, just about anything can be bought online now, but having quality customer service and quality products in your store sets you apart from the rest. You also are able to show customers and potential clients that you are an expert in this industry, giving them peace of mind when making purchases for their own ponds/water features. Yes, having a local space will give you the ability to serve people in your community who need pond supplies in a pinch, but if they don’t have a great experience in your store then you’ve lost them not only as a retail customer but potentially as a future contractor client as well. Set yourself apart by really taking the time to build those client relationships with people who walk through the door and share in the passion of the industry, because that is how you’ll get them to buy from you. Not only just supplies, but when they’re ready for a new water feature or to update an existing one.
Jodi’s Advice:
-Focus on the design center concept of a retail space. Don’t just offer the items and pieces that people need to maintain their water features. If you also set up the retail space to function as a design center / mini showroom you’ll be able to have a beautiful meeting space for potential customers who are looking to make the commitment in having a pond / water feature installed.
-When creating the space and shop, remember that one of the biggest benefits of having a store front is from the pond work that it will bring in rather than only focusing the profits from the retail side of it.
-Your main focus has got to be on providing a great customer experience, because that’s the one thing that they can’t get by ordering parts somewhere else.
-Find and partner with a distributor, that’s a huge resource for you.
Let Laura help your company achieve marketing goals and stay top of mind with your customers! For a full list of services offered through Pondtent, visit Pond Marketing Group today!
Podcast Editing and Show Notes via Podcast Buddy
Nuggets:
One of the biggest challenges in our industry I think, is that a lot of people don’t know that our industry even exists. - Jodi
Our retail stores are a big marketing dollar on our install side of the business. - Jodi
It’s a huge commitment, because you have to staff it AND you have to staff it with the right people. - Jodi
In this episode, Laura talks with Saundra Springer, founder of Springer Ponds about the journey of going out on her own and building her pond business. Saundra pulls back the curtain and lets you into her mindset for networking, building client base, accounting, and much more!
For more information visit mypondtent.com
For more information visit mypondtent.com
In this episode Laura invites Rachel Biafore of R&A Water Features & Landscaping to discuss the secret of having a PR person on staff. You wont want to miss Laura's tip of the week about marketing, learn about prioritizing your social media, how to maximize videos, and much much more.
For more information visit www.mypondtent.com/podcasts
For more information visit www.mypondtent.com/podcasts
The Secret to Starting Pondtent
In this episode, Laura talks about her visit to the Aquascape Academy training and her best takeaways.
In this episode Laura reviews the marketing tactics she applied to her business in 2017. She breaks down what worked and the strategies that didn't.
Continental Ponds owner Tim Trammell joins me to talk about his marketing efforts and his innovative 100 doors campaign
Laura's take on the recent CSA Revolution and what she learned about marketing.
Laura's take on the Revolution-- part 2.
By popular demand, a step-by-step guide on how to use Zillow to search for new pond owners in your area.
Laura's take on the Water Garden Expo-- the second largest pond gathering of the year.
Laura and Allison Biezad set up a Callfire Account for Allison, live. Callfire is a program that sends out a recorded message to your clients.
Laura talks about three different kinds of consistency: words, visuals and actions
Laura talks to Jeff Duggins of P.O.N.D.S For more information on his services, visit http://www.p-o-n-d.services.
Laura talks about her ongoing marketing efforts, struggles and successes in 2018.
Laura goes through three new marketing tools she's trying.
Laura and special guest Barbi Holdeman, from the Pond Gnome, talk about how they communicate with their clients.
Laura talks about the four new people AquaReale hired this month and the exact process we went about to do so.
Laura interviews Lora Lee Gelles, the publisher of Pond Trade Magazine. Find out the three ways YOU can be featured in Pond Trade Magazine.
Laura and Allison Biezad talk about how they capture leads and track the leads through a pipeline
Laura goes through what's working for AquaReale this year and gives an update on her cool new things.
Laura and special guest Brian Hoagland talk about how to make your marketing reflect you and your personality
Laura and Alison Biezad talk about their next steps in marketing
Laura and Cole Frisby talk about how to get your marketing "stuff" together
Laura and Tom Smith, owner of Garden State Koi, discuss Tom's marketing efforts and successes.
Some suggestions on working as a married couple, including what works for us in business and life.
Alison Biezad and I discuss what's holding us back and how to get out of our own way.