Your Hire Strategy: 3 Steps to Hire the Best Employees

Your Hire Strategy: 3 Steps to Hire the Best Employees

You’ve probably heard it all by now when it comes to developing a hire strategy. Some things you’ve tried have panned out great. Others? Well, quite the opposite. Every single business out there goes through similar challenges.

For obvious reasons, it’s wise to continually hone your hiring solutions. Few aspects of your business can increase revenue and deliver outstanding results as building the right staff can. The negative flip side of that is equally true.

Knowing how to hire will also have a huge impact on whether your staff are happy at your organization. If they feel valued by the team you build, they’ll stick around. If not, they’ll walk. In light of that, here are some things to look for when hiring.

Make Sure Your New Hire Will Be Compatible

Your prospective employee may be an uncontested all-star when it comes to their job performance and abilities. That doesn’t make them an automatic shoo-in for the position, however. You’ll also need to judge their compatibility with your existing employees. 

Think about how much it cost to develop the staff you already have. Now imagine if this newcomer frustrated your valued workers so much that they stopped giving their best, or showing up or to the point they called it quits. This is all the more crucial for supervisory positions. As the saying goes, “People don’t quit bad jobs. They quit bad bosses.”

If you hire the right person, you’ll add another reason for your employees to show up for work every day. If not, you’ll have created a dark cloud when it comes to morale. It’s best to work together as a team to decide if compatibility exists in a job candidate to get a balanced perspective when hiring.

Check Their Social Footprint

Digging into someone’s online social activity when hiring isn’t considered “creepy” like it once was. Heck, people even check someone’s social footprint before going on a date. And these days, who can blame them?

Take a close look at your potential employee’s social activity. It’s entirely possible that a minute’s glance will tell you to move on to the next candidate. However, it’s equally possible you won’t want to move on to the next candidate after doing some searches.

Asking personal questions won’t get you anywhere, and could be awkward and uncomfortable for both parties. Rather, you or your human resources team should be analyzing the candidates’ presence on social media,” says Steve Olenski in his Forbes article entitled, “6 Tips for Hiring the Right Employee.”

Assess Their Ability to Persevere

Sure, you need someone with the right skills who’s a fast learner but you need more than that. You’re looking for a candidate who can handle setbacks and adversity. Because sometimes one’s workload can knock the wind out of them on the bad days. 

You need a staff member who’ll keep going when things get tough. Challenges are inevitable but can be overcome by a worker with persistence. What are you specifically looking for? More than anything after you have the correct skillset, you’re searching for a positive attitude.

This skill isn’t taught in any school yet is, nonetheless, essential. Perseverance only comes about through disappointment and setbacks. Failures are inevitable for everyone. The choice to continue the trudge to success despite failure is what separates the truly successful from the rest of the pack. 

Find someone who’s determined and who won’t give up while maintaining their optimism and you’ll have a winner. Hire them quickly before someone else does!

Could You Use Some Extra Help with Your Hire Strategy?

A good hire doesn’t just happen. Recruitment and the hiring process are a painstaking process well worth the effort. Knowing how to hire is only half the battle, however.

Sometimes your current staffing demands make it hard to devote the time needed to add to your team. If this struggle sounds all too familiar, Smart to Finish can help you with this process. Our team has experience making sure your next hire is the smart hire.

We know firsthand that the right staff makes all the difference in a successful business. That’s why we’ve learned how to recruit and pass that good hire on to you. After all, when you’re successful, so are we.

Do you have additional questions about how we could help to make your hiring a big win? We’d love to interact more with you through a free consultation.

5 Tips for Choosing Effective Marketing Content For Your Blog Or Newsletter

5 Tips for Choosing Effective Marketing Content For Your Blog Or Newsletter

Content marketing is the best way to get information to your clients or customers. This is also the perfect way to gain the trust of your customers and increase your sales.

The problem is choosing the most effective type of content and presenting it in an attention getting manner.

Here are some tips on choosing the most effective content for your content marketing.

  1. Point out the competition’s mistakes. People, in general, want to avoid painful experiences as much as possible. Pointing out all the ways your competitors fail to make life easier for your potential customers works to your advantage. Top ten lists on this kind of thing such as “10 most common mistakes” or “10 things you don’t want to do” are especially effective in driving people to you, rather than your competitor. I’m not saying you should specify or point fingers at specific competitors here!!  That’s not professional (or nice). Instead, use general statements and point out what makes your company better than others.
  2. Give out industry “secrets.” They are not really secrets but if you let people think they are then their trust in you grows. Create content with bulleted lists showing how to do things faster and easier or how to make something work better. People love lists about things because lists are easy to filter through and pick out those points that pertain to them specifically. They also help people retain the information.
  3. Organize it for them. One of the biggest hurdles for some people is the organization of certain things. Do the work for them by giving them plans and ways to organize things to make their life simpler. If you can make something straightforward and easy for someone, they will appreciate it and repay you with their business.
  4. Answer common questions. When you’re discussing a common problem or situation, people tend to have the same questions. By providing the answers before someone even asks the questions, you make them feel more comfortable. It gives them the impression your company truly cares about them and their needs because you’ve taken the time to learn what they want or need.
  5. Latest trends reports. This is a way to help your clients and customers keep up to date with the latest information from your company. This type of content lists the newest information or technologies and explains them in an easy to understand fashion.

Effective content marketing is all about continually giving the client or customer whatever information they deem useful. It demonstrates to prospects your company is paying attention to the needs of their clients and responding in an resourceful and expeditious manner. If the frequency and/or quality of information begins to slow down, your client base will begin to find another source of information, taking their sales dollars with them.

Making use of a virtual assistant writing service is a good way to fulfill the needs of consistent and effective content writing. By using writers to help create your content, you can easily continue to provide fresh, new content. Once you have the articles, reports and other documents, offer them to your customers freely through email or a blog. Not only will your customers thank you in replies and comments but, more importantly, with their continued loyalty. The Smart to Finish team can help you create content and update your blogs and newsletters. Let’s talk 🙂

Infusionsoft’s Hidden Features

Infusionsoft’s Hidden Features

Infusionsoft is one of the top marketing automation software programs, and we love it! We’ve been working with Infusionsoft for years to help our clients leverage it to make a big difference in their businesses. So, we know all of Infusionsoft’s hidden features, inside and out.

But…we’ve also discovered that many of the new clients are not using even half of the features that Infusionsoft offers. That makes us sad. ☹

It would be like going to Thanksgiving dinner and only eating turkey. How could you miss out on the stuffing and mashed potatoes?!

Today we thought we’d share just a few of Infusionsoft’s hidden features to save you time.

Feature #1: Expiring Credit Card Automation

If you have any type of payment plans or recurring subscriptions, this feature will save you a lot of time chasing failed payments.

Simply head over to the Ecommerce, Settings, and then select Billing Automation. From there you can select the trigger: “When a credit card is going to expire.” Then you can set up an email that will automatically be sent to someone BEFORE their credit card expires. You can set up several reminders too. A lot of our clients like to send reminders out 30 days, 14 days, and 7 days in advance. If you like a more personal touch, set up a task for you (or a team member) to call your client to collect their new credit card.

.For step-by-step directions, go here, or delegate it to the Smart to Finish Team.

Feature #2: Lead Sources

This may just be the most underutilized feature in Infusionsoft, but it’s also one of the most valuable. Don’t you want to know where your new leads and clients come from? If so, then you need to start using Lead Sources. You can use Lead Sources on your opt-in forms and then use different forms based on where you are promoting the opt-in. For example, you can have a Facebook opt-in, an email opt-in, etc. Then, you can review your lead source results to see exactly what source is providing you with the best results. Now you’ll know what channels are working best for you and your business.

Read more and learn how to set up lead sources here, or contact us and we’ll do it for you.

Feature #3: Note Templates & Internal Forms

If you are serious about automation, these are two features that can really free up your time. You can use Note Templates to take care of repetitive tasks. For example, set up a Note Template after a strategy call with a prospective client you want to remember to call back in a week or send them a particular email. Then when you’re ready, select the template, and all the actions will be done for you. You can do this for questions your customer service team gets asked over and over again, and that can save you time and money.

Internal forms work in a similar way, but they also can update contact details for you. They update contacts with new information or even decisions your contacts need to make, like attending an event or scheduling a phone call with you. This is also a great tool for adding new contacts and making sure they get the right tags and follow-up emails. Just a few clicks, and your records are all updated quickly and easily.

Learn more about Note Templates here and internal forms here, but since we’re talking about automation, the best way is to get the Smart to Finish Team to implement these time-savers for you.

If you’re ready to use Infusionsoft’s hidden features to make a big difference in your business and your life (by saving you time), contact us, and we’ll help you get started.

Boost Revenue & Save Time with the Infusionsoft Mobile App

Boost Revenue & Save Time with the Infusionsoft Mobile App

Are you ready to start 2018 off with more time and more money? The Infusionsoft mobile app will help you achieve these New Years’ resolutions easily, all without being tethered to your desk. How cool is that?

I know, you’re probably thinking, another app – ugh! I get it! You have a million software programs and apps, but this one will do the work of many for you.

The Infusionsoft mobile app will help you stay organized, connected with your community, make more sales and…it’s FREE for 12 months! Amazing! It’s still in beta version, so grab it now while you can and benefit from all the future updates.

All you have to do is sign up, connect your business email accounts, and you’re off and running.

The key feature of this new app is that is makes contact follow-up a breeze. This app makes it easy to:

  • Get back to someone about a coaching call or a speaking opportunity
  • See if they’re ready to make that purchase
  • Answer a general question

I know what you’re thinking – doesn’t email do that already? Nope, not like this.

The Infusionsoft mobile app identifies all of the interactions you have with clients or new leads from all of the apps you use, such as your Gmail accounts, Yahoo email, Mac email, QuickBooks, and organizes them all in ONE place!

The app lets you know when you need to follow up AND even provides recommended responses for you. It’s like having one of the Smart to Finish Team on your phone. 😉

If you know you want to check back with someone at a later time, you can schedule an email for a later time and date. If you need to change the reply later, you can do that too. This app is great because it lets you stay on top of everything and will help your community feel the love.

You can also set reminders about important dates, track invoice due dates, payments received (or not – yuck!), and set up automated follow-ups about these items. It’s just another way to automate your business and your life.

The Infusionsoft app is still in beta test mode, so you may see a glitch or two. But it’s free and totally worth a look. We love Infusionsoft because they are constantly innovating and releasing new and better ways to help you make the most of marketing automation.

Another piece of Infusionsoft news – no user conference this year. Some folks were disappointed, but I think it’s GREAT news because they’ve committed to focus all of their resources on improving their flagship Infusionsoft product. They also want to build out more resources like the new Infusionsoft app to ensure they are truly focused, like the Smart to Finish Team is on helping small businesses succeed.

Ready to learn more about the new Infusionsoft app, or need help with your Infusionsoft account? My team of experts is standing by to help you make the most of your Infusionsoft account in 2018 – contact us to get started.

My Top Infusionsoft Apps to Make Infusionsoft Work Easier!

My Top Infusionsoft Apps to Make Infusionsoft Work Easier!

If you are using Infusionsoft to automate your marketing, you may know that there is a huge assortment of add-ons and tools that can make Infusionsoft work even better for your business. Our clients ask for our recommendations all the time, and I’m sharing my five top Infusionsoft apps with you today:

Spiffy

If you want to customize the look and feel of your Infusionsoft order forms without having to write any code, Spiffy is the solution. Here are some of my favorite features:

  • It works with your existing Infusionsoft order forms.
  • It has a ton of customization options.
  • You don’t have to worry about any hard-to-implement integrations.

All forms are mobile-ready, and if you can copy/paste a hyperlink, that’s all it takes to get your forms looking great. Some of the options include: a mobile-friendly keypad for entering card numbers quickly and easily, ability to customize your browser icon and meta title, an option to add a link to your Terms & Conditions without having to use any code(!), an easy way to change the size of your payment buttons making them big and sleek, and so much more.

Infusionsoft WordPress Plugin

Infusionsoft has a free plugin that connects WordPress directly to Infusionsoft. With the plugin, anytime a user fills out your opt-in form on WordPress, they’ll automatically be added into Infusionsoft. Then, any automation campaigns you’ve set up will run. You can install the plugin directly inside of WordPress with just a few clicks. The plugin makes it easy to kick-off sequences like thank you emails, triggered phone calls, newsletter delivery, and drip nurture campaigns. You can read our full review and see a step-by-step guide here.

Zapier

With Zapier you can create powerful, automated workflows without writing or even understanding any code. Zapier connects the other software systems you use and updates your Infusionsoft contacts so you don’t have to waste time copying/pasting data from one system to another. It’s easy to set-up a “zap” and sync data between your systems.

You can connect hundreds of other software sites using a zap such as:

  • GoToWebinar
  • Google Calendar
  • DropBox
  • Slack
  • QuickBooks
  • Facebook ads
  • ZenDesk
  • SurveyMonkey

And there are many more, too. Imagine entering data on a Google Sheet and having that data automatically update an Infusionsoft contact, apply a tag to that record, and then kick-off a campaign!  That’s just one example; the possibilities to streamline your workflow are endless.

MyFusion Helper

Similar to Zapier, MyFusion Helper is a collection of 50+ Helper applets to extend the capabilities of Infusionsoft. They integrate with systems like DropBox, Trello, Excel (plus many others!) and have some really cool date and formatting functions you can use. A great example of this is related to product refunds. If you have a 30-day refund policy, you can add a date helper that will calculate when the 30-day refund time period is over. Then, it will set up internal practices on how to handle refunds outside of this time period.

Another helper that I absolutely love is Email Validate It. Today more than ever, email deliverability is vitally important. The Email Validate It Helper makes sure that the email the user typed in is valid. Many times people make small typos that cause emails to bounce. The Email Validate It Helper finds those mistakes, flags them, and even finds other root issues or potential problems with the email itself.

There are also helpers that integrate with Vimeo and Wistia that allow you apply a tag based on how long someone watches you video. What’s great is that with one small monthly fee, you get access to ALL of the helpers – with no limits! Not sure if it’s right for you?  There’s a FREE 30-day trial!

Wicked Reports

Wicked Reports transforms your Infusionsoft data into clear, actionable information. You can easily see the following information:

  • Which emails make sales
  • The best time to send your emails
  • Which Facebook ads provide leads that turn into your best customers
  • The entire click journey of a customer in an easy to read display

In addition to showing you Infusionsoft data, Wicked Reports syncs data between Facebook ads, Google Adwords, Google Analytics, and Infusionsoft so everything is in one place. There’s no need to create Excel reports and manually enter data. Understanding how your marketing is actually working is the first step to taking your business to the next level, and Wicked Reports makes that easy.

If you’re ready to take get the most out of your Infusionsoft app, or even get started with marketing automation, contact the Smart to Finish Team. Our Infusionsoft experts are standing by to help!