Latest / The SmallBizChat with Melinda Emerson / Building a Collaborative Small Business Ecosystem with Pamela Slim

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Building a Collaborative Small Business Ecosystem with Pamela Slim · The SmallBizChat with Melinda Emerson

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  So we say transform your product funnel and entertain a flow of prospects and customers,
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  and they're like, what are you talking about?
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  I just need more customers.
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  And you're like, I know that's what I was saying.
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  And so look into the words that your ideal customers use before they work with you and
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  really just tailor your marketing language to those messages.
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  That, to me, is always the path
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  lady host of the small bizchett podcast.
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  I want to serve you.
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  This pandemic has been so hard on America's small businesses.
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  And on just America in general.
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  If you're ready to start your dream business, boy, do I have a great offer for you?
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  I am giving away 1000 copies of my best selling book, become your own boss in 12 months.
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  Over a hundred thousand people have this book.
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  It has been printed in multiple languages around the world.
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  And I wanted to find a way to serve America's small businesses in this pandemic.
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  And so I am giving away a 1000 copies of my book All you have to do to get your copy is
• 1:02
  head over to beginmybiz.com/free offer to, you know, sign up for your copy all you have to do
• 1:10
  is pay shipping, and we will mail one out to you.
• 1:12
  I am so excited about this.
• 1:14
  I wanna serve you.
• 1:16
  Grab your copy today.
• 1:17
  Hurft off.
• 1:19
  Ending small business failure.
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  Welcome to the Small Biz Chat podcast with a number 1 small business expert Melinda Emerson.
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  Melinda's goal is to end small business failure, and she'll give you the information
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  you need to succeed and live the life you dream of.
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  Now here's the small Biz lady herself.
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  Melinda Emerson.
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  Hi, everybody.
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  I'm Melinda Emerson.
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  Small biz lady, and I wanna welcome you to small biz chat live.
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  I'm America's number one small business expert, and I'm so excited to be here with you tonight
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  because I have an amazing show in store.
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  The small business chat podcast is a peer to peer interview show.
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  That gives small business owners a way to get invaluable insight and expert advice.
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  The mission of small business chat is to end small business failure.
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  Our goal is to give you small business advice and an opportunity to just hear from season
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  experts who are gonna give you all of their secrets to business success so that you can
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  take your small business to the next level.
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  Alright.
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  It's time for me to introduce my guest.
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  Now it's time for my next guest, miss Pam slim.
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  Now she is an award winning author speaker and business coach who works with small business
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  owners who are ready to scale their businesses and IP.
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  She's the author of escape from cubicle nation, body of work, and her latest book is the widest
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  net and I'm so excited it's coming out actually officially on November 11th.
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  So I'm so excited to talk to her today Her and her husband Daryl co founded the Key Main
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  Street Learning Lab in Mesa, Arizona where they host scores of diverse community leaders and
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  regular small business programming.
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  For more information, go to pamlesslim.com/the widestnet Pam, thank you so much for coming
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  back to the small pitchjet podcast.
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  I am so happy to be here.
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  I would do anything for you, and I think you know that.
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  You're the best.
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  You're the best.
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  Alright.
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  So finding and keeping customers is such a challenge for small business owners Why do you
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  think that is?
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  I think it's because people don't know where to look.
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  It would be like saying, go on a trip, but I'm not gonna tell you where So we don't know if
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  we're gonna be going to Colorado to visit John or Philadelphia to visit you, and it becomes
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  very overwhelming when people can look everywhere theoretically, staring into their
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  computer screen.
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  So I think if we have a strategic plan to know the places to look, that's gonna help people to
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  actually reach out and begin to build relationships.
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  Now I know that the pandemic really did make it harder to market Or did it just demand that
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  people get a little bit more specific about their value proposition?
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  I I honestly think it did both, and there is a opponent that is when you look at different
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  business owners that you and I have had many conversations about this and in other settings,
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  when folks may have been right on the edge before with their business where they were
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  getting by, they just had enough sales.
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  I know here in Main Street in Mesa, a lot of our businesses that were restaurants were doing
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  okay, but all of a sudden, when everything shut down, they really just fell off the edge.
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  And so that kind of situation is more radical when somebody needs to completely reinvent
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  their business.
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  And, yes, a lot of people working together began to refine their messaging.
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  I think for other folks that might be in more of a service based business where their clients
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  were already global and they access them over the internet, it was easy to make some of those
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  pivots.
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  So it is one of those things where I I know in my own life, my toughest times have actually
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  made me better and stronger, but I'm telling you going through the tough time, I wouldn't
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  wish that on anyone.
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  Well, I just I have a saying, you know, every kick is a boost.
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  Right?
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  I mean, that that's basically how that works.
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  Now how can small business owners get more clear about their marketing message.
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  Sometimes I feel like people are just like, I do that too.
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  You know, like, like, it's like there's no real specific it's like tell people all the time,
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  strategy is about creating something in your business that's not easily duplicatable by your
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  competitors.
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  And I don't know that people really got that, but I feel like everything that happened in the
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  pandemic made it be like, if you're doing something that's just okay, Nobody's looking
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  for just okay.
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  I think it's true.
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  To me, the heart of messaging, really great connective messaging, is always in the language
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  that your ideal customers use.
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  And I have a metaphor I use with my clients called the Magic Door because I used to love to
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  read the little the line in which in the wardrobe.
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  So before people work with you, they are just living in their problem.
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  I need money.
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  And by the way, I'm now a super fan.
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  Of our other guests because I think she's totally amazing, Ken.
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  A great job.
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  Before they go through that magic door, they're like, I'm dying.
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  I need more money.
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  Not realizing they need to really fix their sales process to close more sales.
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  Once they go through that magic door and they work with you, All of a sudden then, they can
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  have access to your vocabulary and know how you talk about things and they'll be ready for that
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  message.
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  Very often, we speak to people with marketing language, before they go through the magic
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  door.
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  And so we say transform your product funnel and entertain a flow of prospects and customers.
• 6:48
  And they're like, what are you talking about?
• 6:50
  I just need more and you're like, I know that's what I was saying.
• 6:53
  And so look into the words that your ideal customers use before they work with you and
• 7:00
  really just tailor your marketing language to those messages.
• 7:04
  That to me is always the path through.
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  I love it.
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  I love it.
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  I I and I think you're right on.
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  We gotta be careful.
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  Sometimes we get into this jargon in our industry, and you really gotta make sure that
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  the people you're talking to can actually hear what you're saying.
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  So now in your new book, the widest net, I feel like you're trying to teach people how to find
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  customers right in front of them.
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  So, okay, tell us how you do that.
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  It is really funny in so many different experiences of working with people First of
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  all, many people don't really think critically about every aspect of their life and where they
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  show up and where customers can be.
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  I'm I'm a soccer mom.
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  My son Josh has played soccer for a really long time, and I always find it fascinating as an
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  extrovert.
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  And somebody who loves community that all go.
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  I've talked to all the different parents on the team.
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  And, you know, through the years sitting on the sidelines, you begin to have conversations.
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  I'm often the only one who knows that one of the soccer parents is actually a startup
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  founder, and he bought and sold the company, and he has connections with somebody else.
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  And so knowing sometimes just who what does your neighbor do?
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  What do people on the soccer field do?
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  Believe it or not, when I do my drive through at Starbucks in the morning, I now have ongoing
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  conversations through the days.
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  With the folks there, one person's working on a startup, one's dad has a new business.
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  So sometimes if you just ask people more what's going on in their work life, the customers are
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  right there.
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  Other times, you're not just asking your ideal customers.
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  Who are the other service providers you're working with?
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  So if you connect with them, they often have access to ideal customers that you both can
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  share and refer.
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  So why is it important to identify your values before you start targeting potential customers.
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  Values, if you think about whatever your product or services, really what it is that you
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  sell, there are many people who are selling that.
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  Your values are gonna determine how you connect with them and everything from what marketing
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  strategy is really gonna work well with you, what are your internal policies and procedures,
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  what kind of brand and messaging do you have?
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  And I think our our ideal customers automatically have a sense of why they connect
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  with people, certain people, and why they they don't others.
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  To me, when you talk to them about it, it's almost always because of values.
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  And they might say, gosh, Melinda, I love how you just show up.
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  You're always so prepared.
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  You're positive.
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  You bring really interesting people together, and your production value is so good.
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  That really is a value that you have about how you show up in business.
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  I I appreciate that.
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  I feel like when I think about your book and just overall your body of work, I feel like
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  what you're trying teach people overall is the value of developing ecosystems, or what you
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  refer to as multiple watering holes in your in your customer's ecosystem.
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  And I was wondering if you could just talk more about that sort of like having the spirit of
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  collaboration versus competition.
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  Cause I think that was one thing that I think the pandemic forced some people to do.
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  It forced people to help each other because they didn't have a choice, but you have always
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  kinda had that spirit in that philosophy.
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  So I was wondering if you could kind of elaborate on that.
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  Yeah.
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  I I really contrast that ecosystem collaborative strategy with what I call empire
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  culture.
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  So there is a certain business culture where you say it's all about centering yourself
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  building your empire, your audience, or your fans, and your followers, not like John was
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  saying, your members are actually people you have a relationship with.
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  I love to be in a situation where I center my ideal customer in the middle of an ecosystem,
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  where by the way, they're already looking for resources and support They're reading your
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  book, John's book.
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  They're they're listening to Kedma's advice or a podcast.
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  Are customers already are going multiple places in an ecosystem for information advice.
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  So if you connect with a watering hole, which is just a place in person or online, where
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  these people have been gathered by your ecosystem partners, it's so much more of an
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  efficient way for you to begin to reach and connect with them.
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  And I think if we center our efforts saying, how can we together find our perfect spot in
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  the ecosystem given our strengths, so that our focus is in solving our customers' problems
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  completely and not in saying, I'm better than Melinda.
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  Who's better than John?
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  And having some kind of a competition.
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  That does not ever serve our customers, and it doesn't allow us to innovate and improve the
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  small business ecosystem.
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  I completely.
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  I completely agree.
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  So how do you know the best place to focus your marketing efforts?
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  When you begin to look at all of the places in which you can be serving new customer bases, I
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  have 10 different segments of my ecosystem wheel in the model in the widest net.
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  And so those can be places like associations, which are huge amounts of people who can
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  gather, let's say, over a topical focus area.
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  So if you're a business coach and you say, I wanna serve financial advisors, You can
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  probably find so many associations that already have gathered people that way.
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  There can be academic institutions.
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  There can be service providers.
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  So you operate like an accordion.
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  First, you wanna look way out and say, where are all the possibilities in which I could
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  connect with customers that would be a long term scalable interest, and then you wanna come
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  in really small and say, with criteria, What are my specific business goals?
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  What makes the most sense in terms of where it is that I should focus my efforts?
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  Because Often, we're strengthening the work we're doing with customers.
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  As John is saying, looking at your top 20% and really strengthening the work you do with them,
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  And then if there's a new area, that's something that usually takes some more focused
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  time of lots of seeding and connecting before it it bears fruit.
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  So you wanna be doing a process to me.
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  It's usually the beginning of the year, once a quarter, and little check ins every month where
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  you say, do I have the right places?
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  And am I focused on the right audiences?
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  Alright.
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  So how can Main Streets everywhere learn about supporting small businesses from online
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  entrepreneurs.
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  I've learned so much from my Main Street partners down here that do so much good work
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  about creating great customer experiences.
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  I want all of them to have email lists I'm like, y'all need to ask people for their email
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  because if they do some of the things we know where anytime you have a point of contact, and
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  you make sure that you get the person's email list and then provide useful, informative
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  information to entice people to come back to buy again.
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  You might feature your favorite customers and who's not gonna show all their friends their
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  feature in their favorite cafe's email newsletter.
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  I think some basic tools like that can really be effective for our Main Street businesses.
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  I love it.
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  I love it.
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  Alright.
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  Last question.
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  What is the best business advice you've ever gotten?
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  I was on a panel at South by Southwest with Guy Kawasaki who is a great friend and who gave me
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  a big break many years ago when he posted my blog post on blog.
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  And somebody in the audience said, how do you get the attention of busy influencers?
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  And he said, you know, people say I have the Midas touch thinking that everything I touch
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  turns to gold.
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  Actually, I only touch gold.
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  And it was just it just struck me in the middle by forehead, and it just always reminded me if
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  you want to connect with people who may have a bigger platform than you and have more
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  visibility you need to make sure that your body of work is excellent.
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  That's gonna increase the odds that somebody's gonna wanna work with you.
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  Love it.
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  Love it.
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  And what's your favorite app?
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  I say TikTok.
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  I love TikTok.
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  I send them to my kids.
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  I get entertained, and I learn every day as a marketer.
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  I am so impressed and excited by new things that are happening there.
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  And even though my daughter won't let me use it yet, because she's a teenager, I learn so much
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  every day, and so it's my favorite.
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  Yeah.
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  TikTok University is really, really interesting.
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  Thought people were just dancing on there too, and then I started digging in.
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  I'm like, oh, people are actually teaching people something on here.
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  Let me learn about this.
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  So alright.
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  Next question.
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  Favorite old school marketing tip.
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  Old school prospecting.
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  People say never do cold outreach and, like, don't waste your time reaching out to people.
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  I am like, all day every day.
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  Some of the best situations that I've had is where you do strategic outreach, reach out to
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  somebody, send them a love letter, It is amazing how that can open some doors.
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  It doesn't always happen immediately, but do not really rule out old school prospecting.
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  I love it.
• 15:54
  I love it.
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  I'm big on handwritten notes, so I love love letters.
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  I love that.
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  Alright.
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  Last question.
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  Favorite business book you ever read.
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  Favorite business book.
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  I gotta say the art of the start by Guy Kawasaki.
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  I love his writing.
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  I love him as a person, and it's really long time enduring advice.
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  Listen, thank you guys so much for coming on the small biz chat podcast.
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  Thank you so much again to my guests.
• 16:19
  I'm Melinda Emerson, the small biz lady.
• 16:21
  Listen.
• 16:22
  If you're still struggling, fig figuring out how to sell online, head on over to
• 16:26
  smallbizladyuniversity.com for the holidays, My signature course how to sell and market online
• 16:31
  is discounted by 50%.
• 16:34
  Look.
• 16:34
  You're never gonna get it this cheap, so you better go get it now from now to the end of
• 16:38
  November.
• 16:39
  We're gonna be offering it for 497.
• 16:41
  So head over to smallbizladyuniversity.com and check it out.
• 16:45
  With that, I always tell you that you never lose in business, either you win or you learn.
• 16:50
  Goodbye, everybody, and god bless.
• 16:54
  Thank you for listening to the Small Biz Chat podcast with Melinda Emerson.
• 17:00
  For more resources and small business success strategies, visit succeed as your own boss.com.
• 17:06
  Subscribe to this podcast wherever you listen to podcasts and join us next Wednesday.