Month: May 2017

The founding partner of Samurai Business Group, Bob Lambert, gives an insight on how to transform a well-trusted advisor into a well- trusted asset.

What is a trusted advisor?

A trusted advisor is someone whom you trust that gives you valuable insight on a subject. The important word here is “trust” which poses two key components: character and competence.

How do you earn trust?

Trust is an important factor in a successful relationship. It is important to understand how your buyer evaluates whom they work with. Here are four basic criteria a buyer may use:

1. Does your product/service overcome the pain of change?
2. Do they believe your solution meets their compelling reasons to buy?
3. Is your solution viable for them to implement?
4. Does the buyer trust you and your company to deliver on your commitments and promises?

What is the role of a trusted asset?

Below, Samurai Business Group provides the key differences between a trusted advisor and trusted asset. In order to develop skills of a trusted asset, understand what your buyer values. However, more importantly, always put your client first while going beyond your professional opinion. The way one sees a trusted asset is the equivalent to a trusted friend.

Trusted Advisor vs. Trusted Asset

Source: Samurai Business Group

Apply the standard components of a trusted asset into your business practice today!

To learn more join us next week as Bob Lambert will be the guest speaker at Amata’s lunch & learn: Beyond Trusted Advisor – Becoming a Trusted Asset

Click to download Samurai’s Business Group Full Article

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Amata recently hosted speaker Anne Smith, founder of Neuro Focused, at our Michigan Avenue location for the insightful lunch and learn event The Power of Persuasion. Anne explained how our brains are social and actually crave social connections, a fact that we can use to persuade others, particularly in our business communications. The trick is learning how people think when they are in social settings.

Key Tactics for Persuading People in a Group Setting

Mitigate People’s Bias

It is hard to recognize conformational biases within ourselves, but working in groups and communicating makes it easier to recognize these in others and mitigate. Once you know someone’s biases, you can use the tips below to work around them. Below you will find the most common biases people have and how you can mitigate them to create influence:

• Similarity: People who feel as if they resemble another person and are better than others. A solution would be to find commonality between yourself and that person.
• Expedience: A person feels and believes that if a certain belief or idea is right then it must be true. To overcome this, try to paint a complete picture to open up their thinking.
• Experience: People who relate to your experience. Try presenting new perspectives through narration or visualization.
• Distance: People tend to defer to those who are near them, rather than further away. To overcome this bias, try leading with a simple suggestion or invitation. You can also incorporate the solution for a similarity bias because finding a common ground will encourage them to overcome the distance.

Learn How People Visualize

People are more likely to update their belief when information is presented in graphic form. The brain is able to easily recognize pictures and interpret images before interpreting the text. Any time you can add graphics to your argument, do so to boost your persuasive power.

Make It Short

The human working memory is limited- so carefully explain important details you want others to retain and keep it short. Our brain can only focus on one concept at a time. Therefore, we best digest information in brief chunks- such as seven to eleven words in a sentence.

Now you know the three most important applications to use in a business communication, simply follow these three applications above to persuade your audience in the direction you choose.

Who Is Neuro Focused?

Anne Smith, is a certified professional coach who specializes in brain-based approaches to create a new way of thinking. This approach is a three-step process that includes reflection, insight, and action while learning about the brain. If you want to enhance your thinking and improve your communication with clients and key stakeholders, learn more about Neuro Focused.

Watch the full video of guest speaker Anne Smith: The Power of Persuasion.

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Having a great social media presence can help your business flourish while protecting your wallet. Social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest have become highly active networks to help businesses gain recognition. Hubspot found that “92% of marketers in 2014 claimed that social media marketing was important for their business, with 80% indicating their efforts increased traffic to their websites.” This shows that a well thought-out strategy could improve your social media presence and grow your business.

Here’s how to  improve your professional social media presence:

Identify Goals and Objectives

It is important to identify your goals and objectives before you start growing your social media presence. Take into account who your audience is while understanding their needs and how it can tie into your business. Your news feed should portray valuable and relevant content for your audience. Knowing what interests them can shape your objectives and goals- while driving traffic to your website.

Use Hashtags Frequently

Hashtags are a crucial part of social media. They help label content to be discovered and even help you find relevant people or businesses. Using hashtags in your post can create awareness by simply connecting and engaging users on social media, which could potentially lead to an increase in followers and shares.

Don’t go overboard on hashtags! Keep in mind to effectively use hashtags you must keep it relevant and trendy. Before using a hashtag, always conduct a search to see if it is popular and used for the right reasons- sometimes it may be misinterpreted or considered spammy.

Eye-Catching Images/Video

Today, capturing images is incredibly popular. People can easily take a photo or a video with their phones and upload it to social media within seconds. Images are considered “attention grabbing content” since it can quickly portray an experience that the audience can understand and relate to, as opposed to text. It was found that 53% of photos on Facebook generate more likes than a text-based post.

An image is a great way to share your business’ story or message to attract your audience. Remember to make your content original, interesting, and focused. Here are some images you should include in your feed:

• Your Product: Don’t just talk about what you offer- but show the audience your business and brand. Amata, in particular, uses Instagram to capture the brand, services, amenities, and community to give our prospective clients a glimpse of who we are.
• Engagement In Events: Capture an action shot image of your clients or team members at a conference, training seminar, or lunch & learn event. This can be seen at Amata’s events where a photographer is taking photos of our members and then posting it on social media. This helps enrich our online community appearance.
• Fan Shout-Out: Shine the spotlight on your followers! Ask your followers to use a promotional hashtag or tag your page after taking an engaging photo that portrays your business product or service. Amata, for instance, uses images captured at events and tags the appropriate business that was sponsored. This can help generate engagements and drive impressions back to your website.

A video can provide your audience with a unique storyline of your business. Similar to posting images a video can enhance your content strategy. Here are a few ways you can use a video:

• Live-Feed: Keep your followers up-to-date with your daily business activity. Use features such as Facebook live or Instagram story to capture events that your business host or sponsors. Amata, for example, shares a live video feed of every lunch and learn event on Facebook and uploads them to YouTube for future reference.
• Testimonials: Your existing customers are the most influential to prospects. They can help advocate your business story, so shine the spotlight on customers who want to speak on behalf of your business. This can be seen on Amata’s testimonial webpage and its Youtube channel where it has it showcases testimonials in a playlist. We love to hear what our customers have to say about us! It gives us a chance to learn what areas need to be improved and what we’re currently doing well.

It’s time to take the tactics above and implement them into your business’ social media strategy. Studies have shown nearly one-third of the world uses social media networks regularly. Get onboard today to maximize your potential reach to grow your business.

For more information on Online Reputation Management and Campaigns, contact Connections Marketing, a valued Amata member and trusted vendor.

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