Monday Morning Musings

The market is selling off on a delayed reaction to Friday's nonfarm payrolls report. Our markets were closed on Friday so this is the first chance traders have had to react to the news. Nonfarm payrolls grew by 120,000 in March, which was well below expectations for 200k jobs added. The unemployment rate was steady at 8.2%.

Overnight selling in Asia was also affected by concerns about slowing US economic growth. Japan and China were both lower, with China's CPI coming in above expectations at 3.6%. European markets are closed for the Easter holiday.

Bonds are rallying hard on the payrolls data, with prices up and yields plunging. We had begun to see the 10-year yield moving higher from that 2.00% level where it had been stuck for so long. But today we are back down to that key support area with the 10-yr trading near 2.03%.

Not much in the way of corporate news, but AOL (who still owns that stock?) did sell $1 billion worth of patents to Microsoft (MSFT).

Commodities are mixed, despite the dollar being lower. Oil prices are down near $104.40. Gold prices are higher to $1645, but silver and copper prices are down.

The VIX is seeing a big bounce, up 11% so far today back above its 50-day average to 18.60. Looks like we were stopped out of our VXX hedge a little early.

Trading comment: The S&P 500 is down for a fourth straight day, which is about the most consecutive down days we have seen in the index since last November. Currently at 1379, that's about a 3% decline from the recent highs. I have been expecting a mild pullback in the 3-5% range, so we are now in that zone. The 50-day average for the SPX comes into play around 1371 while a full 5% pullback takes the index down to 1350. Of course, we could easily see something more but I think in that area buyers will step in and we will get a bounce. The key to determining if we will get a bigger correction this spring/summer is the tone of the ensuing bounce and if it is able to take the indexes back to new highs or if it runs out of steam and leaves a double-top looking formation. But in the near-term, I would be looking for a bounce in the markets.

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6 Ways to Supersize your Networking ROI

A few days ago I jotted down notes for an article on how to get more value from your networking efforts and as I sat down to write this article for the 365 Days of Marketing blog, I remembered writing in 365 Days of Marketing about the fact that a lot of people misunderstand what networking is and isn’t, and so may never realize any return on their networking efforts.

If this has been your experience, you may have written off networking as a waste of time in terms of a bona fide marketing tactic. I’m hoping to give you a reason to give it a fresh look, and I’m hoping to give you some useful ways to adjust your approach to networking so that it brings some actual benefits to your business.

As it turns out, the 2nd week of April is actually National Networking Week -- so no wonder it was on my mind!  

In 365 Days of Marketing, I define networking this way:

net-work-ing, noun
meaning: the exchange of information or services among individuals, groups, or institutions
specifically: the cultivation of productive relationships for employment or business

Networking is more than attending meetings with other business owners or showing up at events where prospects might be in attendance.

Real networking is purposeful.

It either involves working together with peers to help improve the business climate in your community or it involves being present, visible and alluring in the same places as are your target market/s prospects or ideal types of clients.

Maybe that’s why so many business professionals give up on networking or put it on the bottom of their priority list; they’ve been doing it wrong! Now that you have a better understanding of what networking is (and isn’t), how are you going to put this tactic to work to help build business?

Here are 6 ways that you can reap a bigger return on your networking efforts:

1. Know what you want to get out of it and be prepared.

When you attend networking meetings and conferences, be prepared with an audience-targeted, short introduction – no more than 30 seconds, and no more than one main point beyond your name, company name and title. For more on networking introductions read this post on the topic called “I’m Sorry, I’ve Already Forgotten Your Name."

In addition to your 30 second power introduction, consider offering something for give away (I frequently bring a copy of one of my books for give away at networking events by way of instant business card drawing). And create a one-sheet which is targeted to that audience and which highlights some important aspect of your business. I like to include a sample blog post along with a short list of “Related Services” that my business provides.

And make sure every one-sheet or take away includes a call to action and the means for the recipient to take the next step in the relationship they have (or want to build) with you and your business. Such calls to action might include an invitation to subscribe to your blog or email newsletter, to visit your business or book an appointment, to shop your store or website, to connect with you on social media, etc.

2. Use your social media platforms to make generous mention of businesses in your networking groups.

All too often we focus all of our marketing communications – social media profiles included – on marketing our own businesses. You can improve your SEO and generate plenty of goodwill among your peers if you will use your social media platforms for what they were intended; social interaction.

Over the last month, I’ve made it a point to mention every independent business that I’ve interacted with on social media as quickly as possible. It costs me very little by way of time and brings a wonderful return in the relationships that I’m building with other business owners. And hopefully it encourages my peers to do the same on social media in mentioning my services and those of the other businesses in our networking groups (and isn’t that one of the purposes of networking groups, anyway?)

3. Encourage reciprocal links.

Most blogs include a list of recommend other blogs or other websites that the blog’s author would recommend to their readers. Just as you can mention other local businesses on social media, you can also set up links to their businesses on your blog or website as local resources which you would feel comfortable recommending as resources for your customers. And there’s no reason not to point this out to the businesses with which you choose to network and to create reciprocal links in order to boost everyone’s SEO as well as provide a helpful list of local resources for your customers.

4. Write reviews for your networked peers.

Again, you might be asking yourself, why should you spend valuable time talking up other people’s businesses? The first reason should be that you genuinely want to be an information hub to your own customers in providing valuable resources to your customers. It improves your own reputation when you make good recommendations to others, and it makes you look good to both your peer business owners and your customers when you spend time saying good things about other people, and other businesses!

Secondly, reviews, blog comments and other similar online forums can also help you improve your own SEO and visibility to prospective customers. You can leave reviews on sites such as citysearch.com, yelp.com and others. You can also leave your own “shout outs” and complimentary reviews of local businesses on their blog sites, and on their social media pages (as well as your own). You may even choose to feature raves for local businesses in anecdotal stories as posts on your own blog.

However and wherever you decide to leave reviews for other businesses, I would recommend that you adhere to what “mom” always advised. When reviewing other businesses in your community, “if you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all.”

5. Create an online directory.

One of the ways to build influence and become a catalyst for improving the local business economy is to turn your blog and websites into hubs. And not only hubs of information, but your website (and blog roll) is a great place to create a hub of local business listings. Include a directory of local resources on your website which features listings of the businesses within your peer networking groups.

6. Actually visit – and patronize – the businesses represented in your networking groups.

I recently attended a local networking group at the invitation of a friend who said that she was a little fed up with the networking group. When I asked why, she replied that in the year they’d been having the meetings, not one of them had even visited her business.

While participation in networking groups should bring referrals from other members, it might be that a lot of networking groups are missing the person that should be the most obvious referral: you.


If you participate in business networking groups, and especially if you are going to refer your own customers to these other businesses, take the time to visit these other businesses and patronize them when you have opportunity. After all, this is something you want from other group members, right? Time to put your time and money where your desires are!

If you think about it, local business networking groups operate as loosely affiliated cross and cooperative marketing partners in many respects. Wouldn't it behoove your networking group to approach this strategically and make this one of the biggest benefits to local business owners for participation?  Feel free to pass on my tips to your group or even use them as the basis for a more purposeful, concerted effort in order to boost the local economy for all participating businesses!

Like any other part of your overall marketing, networking should be done as strategically and efficiently as possible. You are much more likely to reap a return when you understand what networking is (and isn’t) and you have a plan for getting the most ROI on the investment of time and money you make.

***


Elizabeth Kraus is the author of 365 Days of Marketing.
365 Days of Marketing is available on amazon.com in print or digital format. It contains marketing how-to, inspiration and content for every day of the year -- including Mother's Day and Father's Day to help you build a bigger role for your business in the lives of your clients, 365 days a year!

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7 Tips for Succeeding as a "Coffee Shop Consultant"

7 Tips to Help Consultants, Independent Sales Reps and Other Solo-preneurs Work More Profitably and Productively -

There are many individuals who choose to work as consultants, sole proprietors, home based business owners, independent agents and representatives who could be termed "coffee shop consultants." So-named because many of their meetings occur in coffee shops, restaurants and other non-office settings, Coffee Shop Consultants share some unique problems as a result.

These professionals often devote many hours to providing free analysis and consultation services to other business professionals which go unpaid, for a variety of reasons. They also face the challenge of conducting meetings and doing business without a traditional office space. For these reasons, I wanted to provide consultants and other independent professionals with some tips that can help them become more profitable and productive, no matter where their "office hours" occur.

1. Treat Coffee Shop Meetings As Though They Are Professional Appointments (Because They Are) 

As a consultant or independent agent, representative or sole proprietor, your time is your most valuable asset. Treat all meetings, even those that occur with acquaintances in coffee shops, like professional appointments. Set a time to meet, and stick to it. Set a time for your appointment to end, and stick to that, too.

Analysis and consultation does not have to be a 'free' service, just because you meet in a coffee shop. If the information that you provide to clients has value, it should not be given away for free; you may need to set a fee not only for services delivered after a consultation, but for your consultation findings themselves.

One way to recoup a return on some of the unpaid hours that inevitably go into most consultations of this kind is to provide a summary of your findings and recommendations, but charge a fee for a full report, business plan or the specific strategies and tactics a client would need to undertake in order to implement your recommendations. This gives you the ability to demonstrate to a potential client that your expertise has value, without giving all of your information (which is your product, in reality) away for free.

If you do provide free consultations and recommendations for clients initially, then you should establish an hourly fee for subsequent consultations. If you do not, you run the risk of giving away even more valuable time for free; and, as the old saying goes, "Why buy the cow when you can get the milk for free?" Remember that information is at least part of your "product" and learn to value it. If you don't, no one else will, either!

2. Set Expectations

Both you and your client (or prospective client) should have an idea of what you want to accomplish at your coffee shop consultation. You should be meeting for a purpose and for the most part, you should try to constrain your meeting to those topics. This will help you to keep your meeting within the time frame you allotted and it will prevent you from giving away consulting expertise which clients should be paying for.

3. Do Your Homework

Based on the expectations set and the purpose of your coffee shop consultation, if you do some research ahead of time you will be more prepared for the meeting with your client (or prospective client). This kind of preparation can help you to present yourself even more professionally and will reinforce your role as an expert in your field; both of which give you more ability to put a monetary value on your time and business.

Pre-meeting homework might be accomplished by internet research, reviewing press releases, websites or other corporate collateral or reports, contacting mutual acquaintances for information or referrals, or even conducting pre-meeting surveys or questionnaires from meeting participants or employees of their organization.

4. Establish Your Own Desired Outcomes

Unfortunately, many times the only one who receives value from a coffee shop consultation is the individual on the receiving end of the information. When information itself is part of your product - the value that you provide to clients - and when you give this product away for free, sometimes it leads no where.

Make pursuit of specific outcomes part of your consultation strategy! When you agree to a coffee shop consultation, make sure that you are clear on what you have to gain from the meeting, as well as what you are expected to give. Keep a prospect or client record for each meeting which includes your own desired outcomes, the calls to action that you make, the proposals for services that you provide, etc.

5. Write Up An Agenda

Prior to any scheduled coffee shop consultation, write up a meeting agenda for yourself which will enable you to stick to your schedule and give you the ability to meet both the client's expectations and to accomplish your own goals for the meeting. Make a checklist. Write down all of the most important talking points that you want to cover and leave room in the schedule for a discussion of proposal, paid service options and next steps.


6. Ask Open-Ended Questions
Open-ended questions can help you identify other needs that your prospective client may have that you can fill. They can also help you to better understand their preferences so that you can tailor your proposal or presentation to meet their unique needs and wants. 

7. Know What the Next Step Is

Consultants and independent agents often leave money on the table simply because they do not have a plan and a schedule for how they will follow up after the meeting. Next steps might include the production of a proposal or even a paid report, an in-house seminar or workshop, provision of specific services or sale of products, policies or accounts, etc. Even setting up a second meeting can be the appropriate next step in some cases where there is a long buying cycle or where you need time to do research in order to provide your prospective client with a proposal.

Before the end of your meeting, tell the prospective client or customer what the next step is and when it will be taken (if the next step is on your part) and then do it! If after your meeting the ball is in the client's court, ask when it would be appropriate for you to follow up with them, and make sure to do it. Keep some of the responsibility for the 'next step' on your side of the table (meaning, don't leave it up to the prospective client to contact you next) so that you retain the right to touch base with them relative to your coffee shop consultation.

P.S. As a post-script tip, my advice to you is that if you utilize a coffee shop or another public space to conduct a meeting or networking event, patronize the business: buy a coffee, a sandwich or something and be lavish in praise and word-of-mouth recommendations for this business among your network of professional and personal acquaintances.  Remember, it's far cheaper than rent!  

***

Elizabeth Kraus is the author of 365 Days of Marketing, Little White Marketing Lies and the 2012 Small Business Marketing Calendar. 

Related articles

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Which Comes First: Your Product or Your Marketing?

Thinking about launching a new product - or even a new business?  Find out why marketing should be at the heart of your planning process, from the beginning. 

It used to be that Marketing professors and books opened up marketing discussions by presenting the "4 'P's of Marketing," most of which occur toward the end of the long range or marketing planning cycle:

• Product (the goods, services, information, etc., that will be sold)
• Price (the amount of money or other rate of exchange at which a product will be sold) )
• Placement, also called "Distribution" (the means by which goods or services will be made available for sale, including the means of distribution and the real or virtual stores where they will be made available for purchase), and )
• Promotion (how you will tell potential buyers about your goods or services and the ways you will entice them to buy)

In fact, for many people, the last "P" in this list, "Promotion," actually comprises their view of marketing. They view the other three items in the list as part of other business processes (such as accounting and operations).

So when should marketing come into the equation?

Recently, marketing guru and best-selling author Seth Godin asked this question: When should you add marketing?

He makes the point that marketing is not something to be added after you have all of the rest of the questions answered, suggesting instead that now, more than ever, marketing is the starting point for any business. I couldn't agree more!

If you adopt Godin's conclusion, that it is marketing conversations which are the starting point and so must be the core of your business planning process, it begs the question: What are these marketing conversations?

I would suggest that there are two major categories of conversations which comprise the beginning of any effective business start up, planning or long range process, both of which come down to a phrase I saw many times while visiting London: "Mind the gap." You'll see signs with this phrase at entrances and exits to subways, the bottom of escalators, etc., warning pedestrians that they need to pay attention so that they don't trip over the gaps between where they are and where they want to be.

And gap-finding is a great way to think of marketing when it comes to determining whether your start-up business idea or the product or service you want to add to your business is a worthwhile endeavor.

Here are some of the marketing conversations that can help you determine consumer supply and demand:

The first category of marketing conversations that should be at the starting point of your business process pertains to totally new products and services. The gaps that you need to identify, or which must exist in order for you to know that you are on the right track are these:

• Is there an unfilled need or desire that represents demand for the product or service (or new business type as a whole)
• Is there an underserved market or niche market which represents demand for the new product, service or business
• Is there an as-yet undefined up and coming market which represents demand for the new product, service or business

The second category of marketing conversations which should occur before launching new products or services or changing your business model have to do with current customers, rather than new markets or un-served demand. When thinking about your current customers, clients or patrons or the "ideal client type" and target markets that you pursue, you will want to identify these types of gaps:

• Are there other products or services your customers, prospective customers or ideal client types want or need that you could provide
• Could you provide the products or services that your customers, prospects or target markets want in a better way (more efficient, more quickly, etc.)
• Can you significantly improve the customer experience in a way that is meaningful to your customers, prospective customers or ideal client types

Starting with marketing is essential!

You can see how putting marketing conversations at the beginning point of your business planning accomplishes many things. First and foremost, it puts the needs, desires and wants of your customers and ideal client types at the heart of your business planning. And consequently, this type of thinking can also help you make better business decisions and avoid costly mistakes!

The question, "Which came first, the chicken or the egg?" is representative of man's quest to know which came first in the process. And it's a question which has yet to be answered, in terms of the literal chicken and the egg. But when it comes to the question, "Which comes first, the product or the marketing?" the answer should be clear.

Marketing conversations are essential if you want to know whether a new business idea, or an idea for a new product or service for your business has merit, because if no demand exists, you may be left with 'egg on your face,' as the old saying goes!

***

Elizabeth Kraus is the author of 365 Days of Marketing.
365 Days of Marketing is available on amazon.com in print or digital format. It contains marketing how-to, inspiration and content for every day of the year -- including Mother's Day and Father's Day to help you build a bigger role for your business in the lives of your clients, 365 days a year!

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A King Dollar Tax Cut

You wouldn’t know it from falling stocks, but the Fed’s apparent decision to hold off on future bond buying, or QE3, in response to an improving economy may turn out to be a very bullish omen for the equity market and the economy.

In fact, less stimulus from the central bank sets up a potential tax-cut effect. Here’s why: Limits to the Fed’s $3 trillion balance sheet will bolster the value of the dollar.

The beleaguered greenback has fallen roughly 40 percent over the past ten years as a result of the Fed’s interventionist go-stop-go policies. Since the banking crisis of 2008, the dollar has dropped 8 percent.

But as the Fed ended QE2 last year, and as its bond-buying “operation twist” comes to an end in June, the dollar has started rising. In response, gold prices have been falling significantly. Slower money creation will do that.

And along with gold, oil prices are now slipping lower, with West Texas crude approaching $101. Still too high, but much less scary. Wholesale unleaded gas prices also could fall in response to the drop in crude, which might take the pressure off retail gas at the pump. If that’s the case, and the King Dollar scenario plays out, the recent energy-price shock could reverse, imparting a mild tax-cut effect on consumers and businesses.

Although Bernanke & Co. do not target the dollar, a stronger greenback is the surest way to bring down energy and food prices, which all too often have plagued households and the economy.

The Joint Economic Committee has estimated that the cheap dollar has contributed about 45 cents to the rising gas price. Lately, with the drop in crude oil, nationwide gas prices could be starting to level off at just over $3.90 -- even though refiner closings and bottlenecks in some parts of the country have pushed that price much higher.

No, a stronger dollar won’t offset the failure to implement the Keystone Pipeline. But it could provide some motorist relief at the pump.

The point is, if the Fed quits printing new money, the value of dollar money will go up. And the inflation tax will go down. Despite Ben Bernanke’s economic worries, the Fed is beginning to see that the economy is at least growing by roughly 3 percent. That’s not fabulous, but it’s not bad either.

The latest ISM surveys for manufacturing and services, the decent 209,000 ADP employment report for March, and pretty good car sales all suggest that the first-quarter economy was just as good as the fourth-quarter economy. And these economic stats are moving the Fed away from more easing moves. Hence, King Dollar is recovering at least a bit.

The dollar view on the economy and stocks is a minority case, but a very important one that should not be overlooked. During prior stock market booms, particularly in Reagan’s first term and Clinton’s second term, King Dollar rose and gold fell, oil prices came down, and foreign capital sought out dollar investments in the U.S. because of the reliability of the currency.

For investors, a strong dollar helps.

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Gone Fishin'

I will be out for the remainder of the week. Please check back Monday for our regularly scheduled program. Happy Trading--

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Monday Morning Musings

The market opened slightly lower this morning on the first day of the new quarter, but has since rallied back into positive territory.

Asian markets were mixed, while Europe is mostly higher this morning. We got a host of PMI manufacturing data from overseas, with some conflicting data out of China. The official government PMI reading rose to 53.1 from 51.0 last month. But the private PMI figure for China from HSBC fell to 48.3 from 49.6 previously. If I had to choose, I tend to side with the PMI figures since my gut says there is less smoothing going on there than the govt. figures.

In Europe, France posted its weakest PMI in 32 months (46.7) while the UK posted its strongest reading since May (52.1). But overall for the eurozone the PMI was only 47.7, which still indicates contraction for the region.

In the U.S., the ISM Manufacturing index rose to 53.4 in February from 52.4 the prior month, indicating still healthy growth for that sector.

In corporate news, Groupon (GRPN) shares are lower after reporting a revision to its Q4 results. Avon (AVP) shares are higher after reports that French beauty company Coty is submitting a bid to acquire Avon for a 21% premium to Friday's close.

The euro is lower this morning, but that is not hurting most commodities. Oil prices are higher near $103.50. Gold prices are also higher around $1682, and copper and silver prices are higher as well. The silver etf (SLV) is up nearly 3% so far today.

The 10-year yield is lower to around 2.17%; and the VIX is flattish near 15.40.

Trading comment: We often see this action in the beginning of a new quarter/month were funds get put to work, but I think the key action will be later this week when we see if there is any follow-through. If the indexes break to new highs that will obviously be a good sign, but if they are unable to and we see further distribution that could be a clue that we are due for a bigger pullback. I want to tread lightly at this juncture, especially as we approach Q1 earnings season.

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