chet holmes method

[Case Study] This Boosted Sales 1,100% for Chet Holmes International

[Case Study] This Boosted Sales 1,100% for Chet Holmes International
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At CHI, we’ve never been shy about sharing the strategies our own company has used to achieve success. Since you purchased LeadPages, I wanted to show you something really cool:

[Case Study] This Boosted Sales 1,100% for Chet Holmes International

A few weeks ago, our friends at LeadPages asked if they could profile our company in a case study. I didn’t just say yes—I told them:

“I’m going to be the best case study you’ve ever had.”

Businesses routinely see impressive conversion results when they start using LeadPages’ landing pages and other tools, but I’m not sure anyone would have predicted we could take our sales conversion rate up by 1,100%.

I want to share with you exactly what I did to grow our business while taking our operations into the digital age. In this post, we cover:

  • How Content Can Build Excitement: This sequence of emails and lead magnets kept people highly interested from opt-in to purchase.
  • My Exact Campaign Flow: Step by step, you’ll see how I turned tons of people from cold leads into members of Chet Holmes International.
  • The Four Templates I Used to Build My Campaign: You’ll even get a direct link to download them yourself when you read the post.

I’m still a little wowed by the results we’ve seen, and I think you will be too! The post is full of strategies you can apply to your own business. You might get some good ideas about what you can do with your LeadPages tool, check it out here.
Enjoy!

Amanda Holmes
Chet Holmes International

Reducing Stress and Burnout Leads to Ultimate Small Business Success

There are many methods that, as a small business owner, you can implement to reduce stress and keep everyone happy, healthy and motivated.
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Nearly every job is stressful at certain times. Whether it’s meeting tight deadlines, creating dynamic presentations or dealing with unruly customers or employees, workers experience stress in a number of ways.

For small businesses, stress is a common occurrence among owners and staff members. Enterprises often lack the resources and capabilities of their larger counterparts, and therefore have to handle many tasks at once rather than delegating them to certain departments or outsourcing them to other companies.

This causes stress levels to rise and can eventually lead to owner and employee burnout if left unchecked. Fortunately, there are many methods that, as a small-business owner, you can implement to reduce stress and keep everyone happy, healthy and motivated.

1. Revise your habits: Everyone has a habit of how they do things, and this also pertains to work. While some habits are highly effective, others may be slowing you and your staff down. USA Today suggests taking a look at your daily work habits and changing them to become more efficient. Altering your commute or taking extra, smaller breaks throughout the day may bring down stress levels.

2. Log off email after work: In the age of smartphones, work is now always in the palm of our hands. However, checking email after you and your employees have left work interferes with any personal or relaxation time. The Washington Post recommends that owners and staff members refrain from sending and answering emails when not at work unless it’s an emergency. Keeping work-related emails in between working hours helps you and your employees unplug and unwind.

3. Lean on other small business: In many cases, taking the time to talk to someone about stress and possible burnout helps alleviate problems. Finding other small-business owners who understand and have experienced what you are going through helps you build a strong support system, Fox Business states.

4. Get to the gym: Working out is a great stress reliever. Spending time in the gym can help you work out frustrations and clear your head, writes USA Today. Encouraging yourself and your staff members to get active helps reduce stress levels and avoid burnout.

5. Spend time with your family: As a small-business owner, you may have had to sacrifice time with your family to get work-related responsibilities taken care of. Unfortunately, this contributes to stress and leads to burnout too often. Fox Business recommends setting aside time each week to spend with family that helps take your mind off of work and gets you in tune with your loved ones.

You can also take advantage of business coaching services to discuss ways in which you can make your small company an enjoyable place to work by engaging staff and keeping yourself and your employees motivated, happy and loyal.

Just like any other task, putting practices in place to decrease stress takes time and effort. However, by implementing strategies for you and your employees to get rid of stress, your operations will reap the benefits of a more energized workforce, leading to small business success.

80+ Leading Business Experts Share Secrets on Sales Acceleration

inside sales event
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A group of fish is called a school. A group of lions is called a pride. So what would you call a group of the sales and marketing industries’ top authors, speakers, trainers, and thought leaders? You’d call it the Sales Acceleration Summit.

The brightest minds in sales and marketing will share their secrets in a rapid-fire series of online presentations all on one day, Thursday, May 7th. The first summit in June of 2013 attracted more than 16,000 sales leaders from all over the world. 2014’s summit boasted over 20,000 attendees, and the upcoming event promises to be bigger, better and even more exhilarating.

This event is really about what’s trending, what’s working, what’s not working in today’s business landscape.

What would you be willing to pay for the chance to hear and see 15-minute TED-like talks from 80+ esteemed guests like Steven Young, Grant Cardone, and Jim Steele?

And what if those talks were made available for you to listen to at any time? Go ahead and put that money back in your pocket. This virtual event is free of charge for anyone to attend. Registrants can listen live, pop in and out of sessions and access recordings at any time throughout the day.

It’s guaranteed that there will be something for everyone. Click here to register and see full agenda details.

In all, more than 80 sales experts, authors and business leaders will serve up their secrets in 15 minutes or less per session. The opening and closing keynotes will last 30 minutes each.

Confirmed speakers for 2015 include:

  • Steve Young, Co-Founder, HGGC and Hall of Fame NFL Quarterback
  • Grant Cardone, CEO of Cardone Training Technologies
  • Jill Konrath, author of SNAP Selling
  • Jim Steele, InsideSales.com President of Worldwide Sales and Chief Customer Officer
  • Art Sobczak, author of the best-selling book Smart Calling
  • David Elkington, CEO and founder of InsideSales.com
  • Anthony Iannarino Author, President & CSO at Solutions Staffing
  • Stan Slap, Author of Under The Hood
  • Ken Krogue, President, Founder of InsideSales.com
  • Michael Pedone, Founder Sales Buzz
  • Bryan Kreuzberger, Founder Breakthrough Email
  • Aaron Ross, Author Predictable Revenue
  • Mike Bosworth, Author What Great Salespeople Do and Solution Selling
  • Elay Cohen, CEO, Founder of Saleshood.com
  • Steve Richard, Co-founder and Chief Content Officer Vorsight
  • Craig Elias, Founder Shift Selling
  • Brynne Tillman, CEO Social Sales Link
  • Kraig Kleeman, Author, Speaker, Global Strategist
  • Lori Richardson, B2B Midmarket Sales Expert
  • Jim Keenan, Founder A Sales Guy Inc.

Get ready for May 7th we will be presenting our own session on the 3 Ways to Get Past the Gatekeeper. (A combined video between Chet and Amanda Holmes)

Because sometimes the only thing stopping you from getting to the most important people on the planet… Is a secretary.

Don’t tell me that you’re traveling that day or you have important sales calls to make. That’s no excuse not to register. Remember, registering gets you access to the recordings even if you can’t make the actual event. I’ve registered and there are at least 20 sessions I’ll be sure to listen to. Along with the sessions I’ve already mentioned.

Don’t pick up the phone, don’t send another email, and don’t get another cup of coffee until you get yourself signed up for the event. This one’s too good to miss.

It’s shaping up to be the biggest online event of the year for the sales industry. And you can attend all of the value-packed sessions at no cost thanks to our sponsors; Salesforce, Microsoft, Marketo, MarketStar, Apttus, LinkedIn, DocuSign, InsightSquared, Quosal, Gainsight and Domo.

Follow #salessummit on Twitter and Google+ to join in on the live conversation. We’ll see you there.

How to Build a Successful Business Culture from the Ground Up

You aim for business success in all of your endeavors, but it's important to know that you need to lay the foundation for a successful enterprise.
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It’s not easy starting a business and it’s no less challenging keeping a company running successfully. But despite the difficulties you face as an owner, the rewards of managing your own company are well worth it.

You work hard to ensure your operations are efficient, whether it’s through hiring top talent, keeping customer satisfaction high or developing innovative products. You aim for business success in all of your endeavors, but it’s important to know that you need to lay the foundation for a successful enterprise.

Incorporating strategies into your business that pave the way to prosperity can be done at any time. However, you want to be sure you are giving both yourself and your employees the necessary tools to become a successful in business. There are a number of methods that can help you get on the path to becoming an efficient and strong company.

Think positive
Having a positive mindset can do wonders. Being optimistic about your business and where it’s going will certainly be contagious for your employees and customers. Small Business Trends recommends establishing a positive work environment that encourages your staff to be more optimistic about their jobs and the future of the company.

Have a solid vision in place
As an owner, you likely have a mental picture of what you want your business to become in the future. However, Business Insider suggests that you create a business growth plan that focuses on exactly what needs to be done to get to there. Having goals in place is an important part of the process, but without outlining how you are going to reach them, your business vision will never materialize.

Be a great employer
If you want great employees, you need to be a great employer. Business Insider writes that you can accomplish this by providing staff with the tools needed to realize success within your company. This can include training sessions, career advancement opportunities and rewards for hard work.

Appreciate your customers
Just as with showing your employees how much they matter, you need to do the same with your customers. Showing patrons you appreciate them can go a long way in boosting satisfaction and bringing in new customers. Business Insider suggests focusing on making your products interesting and innovative as well as giving exceptional service to patrons.

Establish peer networks
You can even go outside of your company to find an effective tool for business success. Small Business Trends states that networking gives you the ability to connect with others in your industry, allowing you to bounce ideas off of your peers and collaborate to develop new ideas that benefit your operations.

Ecommerce is Where Small Business Success Lies

While small companies still bring in a significant part of their revenue from local customers, they can miss out on increased sales and clientele by ignoring their Web presence.
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Small Businesses are known for being positive for community advancement - they are involved in their communities by establishing strong relationships with patrons and networking with other industry professionals in their regions. Most smaller companies do a good job of maintaining their local reputation, but with the emergence of the Internet, these enterprises have more opportunities to expand their reach outside of their communities.

While small companies still bring in a significant part of their revenue from local customers, they can miss out on increased sales and clientele by ignoring their Web presence. Ecommerce presents a greater chance of small business success as it allows owners to attract new patrons from all over the country.

However, before embarking on the ecommerce journey, there are a few things that you, as a small business owner, should keep in mind to ensure your Internet operation is delivering the results you want.

Ecommerce not prevalent among small companies
The fact that small businesses are not as invested in the online sale of their products and services as their larger counterparts shouldn’t come as a surprise. After all, smaller organizations don’t have the budgets of large retailers and therefore don’t have the same amount of resources.

On the other hand, the Web has become an extremely helpful tool for organizations of every size, and small companies should no longer ignore the use of the Internet in their business operations.

According to a recent study by MasterCard, the cost of the necessary technology appears to be the largest obstacle standing in the way of smaller enterprises and ecommerce efforts. Forty-six percent of respondents cited this as the No. 1 reason for the hesitation to adopt ecommerce strategies.

Another main reason was a lack of knowledge on how to sell products online, as 31 percent of owners gave this reason for their slow adoption of Internet sales strategies for their companies.

Use big data to make ecommerce work
However, none of the previously mentioned reasons should hold small businesses back. After all, when weighing the costs of adopting the needed software and hardware against the revenue that online sales can bring in, it should be clear how this strategy can lead to small business success.

Small Business Computing spoke with Kevin North, CEO of ecommerce analytics firm Terapeak, and he stated that big data can play an important role for small business ecommerce. Implementing this technology doesn’t mean that small companies need to spend large amounts of money, North said.

Taking the time to shop around to find the right deal and the right technology to fit your needs will help you adopt the best ecommerce strategy for your company. Big data gives you insights into what your patrons prefer and how you can shape your online sales methods to grow your operations.

The payoff will be increased revenues, higher customer satisfaction and ultimate small business success.

Leaders and Bosses are Not the Same

Be a Leader
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Be a Leader

Understanding the difference between a boss and a leader can mean all the difference in achieving small business success.

Achieving business success will take a lot of effort on the part of the entrepreneur and any individuals he or she hires to see to it that the organization not only survives, but also thrives. Much of this effort will occur with respect to the types of workers who are brought in. Ensuring that everyone has the same goals and collaborates well within a team environment is one part of the process that must not be overlooked. However, of even greater importance are the leadership characteristics being displayed by the owner of the enterprise.

Many people who start their own companies are likely talented individuals who are skilled in a specific craft or trade. However, in order for a business to grow beyond mom-and-pop status into a marketplace leader, entrepreneurs will have to employ help and guide these individuals in a way that ensures the success of the organization. This isn’t a task that comes easy to most people. One of the ways to address this issue for owners is to work closely with a business consultant to help him or her obtain the skills needed in order to be successful in this area.

However, it’s important for those with their own enterprises to understand the subtle differences between being a boss and a leader. Failure to grasp the distinguishing characteristics between the two can be harmful and cause the business to not reach its full potential.

The difference between leaders and bosses
On the surface, to the uninitiated, these two words may have the same meaning. However, they couldn’t be more different, especially when it comes to running a successful operation. A recent article from Inc. Magazine offered a perspective that entrepreneurs can gain from when working to drive their companies to small business success.

It’s important to remember that true leadership is inspiring. Getting people to work together in harmony isn’t easy and wielding a heavy handed approach that instills fear, such as tactics employed by bosses, will oftentimes yield negative results, Inc. wrote.

Additionally, the best leaders are those who don’t look down on others, including the staff that they may have assembled. Instead, owners with successful enterprises understand the concept of teamwork and get everyone in his or her employ to understand that one person won’t contribute to a company thriving. Success will come from the combined efforts of everyone in the group.

How to lead effectively
Being a good leader doesn’t happen overnight. It is a process, one that must be realized through trial and error. However, it is unmistakable part of business success that must not be overlooked. A separate article from Inc. highlights how an entrepreneur can be the type of person that gets others to buy into his or her vision and help the enterprise stand out in what has become an increasingly competitive marketplace.

The first step in this process is to be someone who empowers others. Micromanagement never works and in many cases, is counterproductive. Giving staff members ground to make certain decisions without your input as the company owner, will build a deeper level of trust and will inspire workers to give their all. It is also important to recognize staff members for their efforts on a job well done. Not only is the acknowledgement appreciated, but it also lets workers know that you are keeping a watchful eye on their performance. This will encourage them to strive for excellence at all times.

By understanding the difference between leaders and bosses and mastering the former as opposed to the latter, small business success can be easily realized and a company can reach great heights in the process.

Business Success Begins with Productive, Positive Habits

Maintain a positive and motivated attitude
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Maintain a positive and motivated attitude

For small business owners, having a positive and motivated attitude can go a long way.

Being positive can have an impact on nearly every aspect of life. For business owners, having a motivated attitude can go a long way. This behavior is likely to rub off on employees and customers, resulting in a happier workplace and higher satisfaction.

Bringing about this kind of change starts with you as an owner. Introducing positive and productive habits not only benefits your daily life, but your company operations as well. Once you’ve adopted these strategies, you can then encourage your staff members to take on the same methods.

A positive attitude requires you to make small and big changes, but they will create a happier working environment for you, your employees and your valuable customers.

Big steps to a positive attitude
Certain habits can be hard to break, especially those that you have been practicing for many years. But knowing that adopting a positive attitude can positively impact your small business should be incentive enough to get the ball rolling on picking up those kinds of habits.

Fox Business writes that small enterprise owners should start with tackling their fears. Any worries and concerns you may have with company operations or your leadership abilities can be diminished simply by taking them head on. For example, the source highlights one owner who had a fear of public speaking. To get stronger in this area, she decided to teach a large class as a volunteer, reducing her fear of public speaking.

Additionally, business owners should not be afraid to fail. Failure is inevitable for any organization and things are not going to be perfect every day. Fox Business suggests that you take the time to learn from your failures, accept them and move forward. This strategy gives you a more positive outlook as you use the lessons you learned from failures to improve your business processes and procedures, leading to greater efficiency.

Smaller changes for a positive attitude
While the above strategies require a bigger change in terms of thinking and acting, there are also smaller habits you can adopt to encourage more optimism for yourself and your business.

Entrepreneur Magazine offers some tips for owners who want to instill a positive outlook. For one, focus on following your own business growth plan and stop comparing yourself to other companies. Only you are aware of your struggles, strengths and motivation, so spending time worrying about other enterprises s a waste of time.

Additionally, you can schedule activities that boost happiness, Entrepreneur states. This can be done with both personal and professional events. Having lunch during the workday with friends or hosting an after work party with your employees fosters optimism among you and your staff.

Perhaps one of the best methods to follow is to take the time to think about your accomplishments, Entrepreneur recommends. This will put everything in perspective and will give you the chance to see that you are working hard toward your goals, giving you motivation to achieve more business success.

Avoid a business disaster with proper planning

A solid disaster recovery strategy should be a part of any effective business growth plan.
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A solid disaster recovery strategy should be a part of any effective business growth plan.

A solid disaster recovery strategy should be a part of any effective business growth plan.

When starting your business, you mapped out everything you wanted to achieve and the steps to take to get where you wanted to go. Now that your company is up and running, you most likely still have a plan in place to deal with your organization’s growth. But what about if disaster strikes? It doesn’t happen to every enterprise, but that doesn’t mean that it won’t happen to yours.

A solid disaster recovery strategy is part of any effective business growth plan. Even if a disaster never occurs, it will give you, as an owner, peace of mind knowing that you have something in place to keep your operations running. Even though developing a disaster plan may sound daunting, all it takes is some research and preparation to create a strategy that will stand throughout any possible disaster.

Business disasters can range from natural occurrences, such as hurricanes, tornadoes or floods, to more technical issues, such as a cyber attack or data center loss. Whatever the case, getting a plan in place now means your business can recover more quickly and efficiently should an emergency happen.

- Assess the various risks: Businesses that are located in the Southeast United States may not have to worry about extremely cold weather conditions possibly disrupting their operations every year, but they do have to worry about tornadoes. Companies in every region of the country have to deal with various weather-related disasters that happen in their areas, so figuring out what could potentially throw off your enterprise for a few days is the first step to determining how you can handle them, suggests the Minnesota Society of Certified Public Accountants.

You should also take the time to assess any technical dangers, such as information loss due to hackers, the source recommends. This will help you lay out the proper protocols for recovery.

- Create a business continuity plan: Crain’s Detroit Business states that small companies need to develop a strong business continuity plan that outlines what steps will be taken in case of an emergency. The source also recommends that you determine which staff members will be in charge of which responsibilities so that employees know who to reach out to.

- Take a look at your systems: Looking at the systems you have in place can help you poke holes in anything that could be severely impacted by a disaster, writes the Minnesota Society of CPA’s. Do your employees have a way to work if your company’s Internet is down for an extended period? What if your facilities are damaged? Is there somewhere else you can operate out of while recovering? These questions can give you more insight into improvements that can be made to your disaster recovery plan.

Whatever the disaster, whether it’s weather-related or tech-based, you need a plan to get your operations back in line should something occur. Also, having your employees provide their advice and input on the strategy ensures everyone is onboard and prepared for anything that happens.

Career tips to help your business connect with employees

Understanding employee motivations can help increase productivity.
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Understanding employee motivations can help increase productivity.

Understanding employee motivations can help increase productivity.

Professional consulting services help businesses on the cusp of reaching new levels of profitability, efficiency and output attain their goals. Such services also help employers better connect with employees and learn best practices for worker interaction and leadership.

One of the best ways to make sense of what drives workers is to look at things from their perspective. Some overarching career advice from Business 2 Community can help managers and owners understand the motivations of many of their workers, as well as know how they can adapt their offices to better accommodate staff. Some of the advice will apply to you and your managers as well.

Personal branding

Employers and employees should both have an idea of how they want to be viewed by others and make changes to that effect. For workers, those differences may involve extra effort in certain business behaviors and a focus on learning new skills. Reputation is a factor that can be controlled by both individuals and businesses if they put in the work.

The corollary to managing perception is that everyone needs to be honest about who they are. Making positive changes is entirely possible for employees, but they likely can’t become totally new people or go against instinct. Instead of enforcing a too-rigid corporate culture, supervisors should find out what their employees are deeply interested in and see if they can fit those passions into new work opportunities.

Management should offer to help employees who want to learn and do more and be proactive about letting their workforce know that mentoring and counseling for professional growth is available.

When companies bring in a corporate consulting service, they should involve employees as much as possible. Asking for and acting on feedback is a great potential source of growth for employees and supervisors. And when an employee is successful, management should make note of a job well done as well as subtly encourage others to offer congratulations for good work.

Employee-to-employee interaction

Workers often care the most about their relationships with colleagues, according to research by TinyPulse reported on industry website Employee​ Benefits. The happiness of staff often has more to do with co-workers and less to do with managers, especially with businesses becoming less hierarchical and more focused on collaboration.

Employers can foster positive relationships though non-traditional benefits like catering lunch or offering out-of-work activities in a low-pressure fashion to help develop those horizontal bonds between employees on the same level.

Focus on these ideas when hiring sales people and other employees

A focus on why potential employees should join your company can bring in the best talent.
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A focus on why potential employees should join your company can bring in the best talent.

A focus on why potential employees should join your company can bring in the best talent.

Attracting high-quality employees is a major part of any business growth plan. By bringing in great sales people, administrative workers and support staff, companies have a much better chance of meeting and exceeding their goals.

Whether your organization is adding a few workers as part of a steady increase in activity or onboarding lots of new employees due to drastically increased demand for your services, advice from industry source Small Business Trends can help you emphasize the unique benefits of your business and attract the best employees.

Make benefits attractive

It sounds simple, but a high-end benefits package will bring in plenty of top talent. What you can do to differentiate your offerings when it comes to insurance, bonuses and other perks not related to salaries is the more complicated proposition.

Companies that are the best at bringing in top talent put a strong emphasis on benefits - 70 percent of top talent attractors versus 28 percent of other businesses, according to Small Business Trends. Asking current employees which insurance company they would like to use and researching the results is one way to develop a strong offering. Linking bonuses to individually attainable goals, instead of company-wide metrics, is another way to attract high performers.

Besides health care and extra cash provided for a good performance, other incentives like providing employees with flex​ time or allowing them to work at home when feasible, as well as wellness offerings, can make your company stand out in a competitive hiring market.

Flip the perspective

One easy question can help you better understand your hiring process, according to The Business Journals: Would you apply to the position your company is offering, given the salary, benefits and duties included in the package?

Bringing in great employees is one answer to the question of how to grow sales. So if your job descriptions aren’t exciting, informative and giving potential workers a positive glimpse at the career they could embark on, they need to change.

Instead of exclusively focusing on new employees, successful companies need to also attract and analyze internal candidates for open positions. If your business performs well, it means your current workers are doing a lot of things right. A focus on inside-the-organization advancement means happier employees, less time spent training and onboarding and a higher level of trust. Keep records of employees who want to try different positions across the company and notify them when openings arise.