Archives for September 2016

Are Your Leads A Mirage?

September 29, 2016 by Mike McRitchie Leave a Comment

Generating leads, as the precursor to generating sales, is the lifeblood of any business. You don’t get business, you go out of business.

As a small business marketer who is always tight on time and money for marketing campaigns, I’m always evaluating my lead generating marketing and assessing performance.

Like many small businesses this is a part of a part time function. I need to get to the point quickly and move on.

I’ve done Facebook paid ads and Facebook Page posts and boosted those posts.
I’ve tested LinkedIn public posts and posts to industry groups.
I’ve tested Craigslist Ads.
I’ve made opt-in offers at my website.
I’ve done drip marketing campaigns with email and blog posts.

And until you do the analysis, you can’t tell which is doing best. And although Google Analytics helps you find some of those answers, there is often more to the story.

Just because you get more sales from one platform does not mean it necessarily is outperforming the rest. Sometimes paid ads bring in more bottom line dollars (after deducting the costs of those sales) than so called “Free Marketing” channels.

And in the guest post below (they are marketing their services – aka lead generation) there are some very interesting takeaways I think you should know – whether you’re a mid-sized company who will benefit from their services, or a small mom and pop marketer who can still take these ideas to improve their business’ marketing performance.

As I went through the slides, here are some takeaways I found interesting…

How many visits it takes to convert into a sales lead. You’ll be surprised by the number.
Why an inquiry and a lead are not one and the same. There’s more to this than you think.
How overstating your leads will result in poor cost per lead and ROI assessment…which could mislead you into thinking a bad campaign is actually profitable.

Here you go.

When you’re trying to generate quality leads, relying on conversion data in your marketing campaigns will leave you in a vulnerable spot. Based on “The Critical Importance of Lead Validation” study, as much as 50 percent of a company’s conversions are not sales leads. Overstated conversion data causes you to invest in campaigns that are producing much less ROI than you think, and to make campaign changes that make performance even worse.

as much as 50 percent of a company’s conversions are not sales leads Click To Tweet

By validating leads, the process of separating non-sales conversions from sales conversions, you’ll uncover inquiry data that will help you optimize your campaign to its full potential. That data includes how many sales leads you’ve generated versus other conversions, and the online marketing source for each of sales lead. Without this process it is impossible to determine the true effectiveness of your lead generation.

In the presentation below, you will find more eye-opening lead generation data.

The importance of lead validation by organic seo services company, Straight North.

Aaron Wittersheim is an accomplished entrepreneur with more than 20 years of business and technology experience. He is currently Chief Operating Officer at Straight North, a Chicago-based Internet marketing company.

Top Tips for Hiring Managers and Recruiters

September 22, 2016 by Mike McRitchie Leave a Comment

Whether you’re a recruiter or a hiring manager (or you’re checking out what recruiters and hiring managers are thinking when you’re starting your next job search), finding the right candidate for an opportunity can be challenging at best. And reading between the lines on resumes, getting the most from interviews, and closing the deal – all have their challenges.

So to help you through this process I’ve pulled some of the top blog posts that relate to this subject to help you handle your most challenging issues and get the hire done.

Spark Hire

First off let’s go to Spark Hire a source of video interviewing solutions.

Why Retention is the Key to Successful Recruitment Strategy in 2016

60 percent of candidates take into account an employer’s reputation when applying for jobs and 68 percent of job seekers will accept a lower salary for a company that makes a great impression

three in five Americans would rather spend a night in jail than go without benefits like health insurance, 401(k), and paid time off

top three reasons people change jobs are a lack of opportunities for advancement and dissatisfaction with the company culture and leadership

8 Candidate Questions You Need to Be Prepared to Answer

For recruiters, hiring managers, and candidates – here’s eight questions that are on everyone’s mind these days. Be prepared to ask or answer these.

How to Get Honest Answers From Candidates in a Job Interview

This is an area that many hiring managers struggle with. Being that they aren’t interviewing experts or HR professionals, getting an honest answer can be tough. Finding out in the first 90 days that the candidate isn’t what they respresented is more painful.

Asking the unexpected:

The Magic Wand (“if you had a magic wand & could improve 3 things about your current job) – the best predictor of future behavior is past behavior!

The Fly on the Wall (“tell me about a time when you handled a situation at your job poorly) – a subtle way to dig deeper into the candidate’s working style and leads you to focusing your time and energy on qualified candidates

The Most Difficult Experience (tell me about the most difficult experience you ever handled on the job) – probes for problem-solving and interpersonal skills

The Recruiting Reel Episode 3: Tips for First-Time Recruiters

New to the recruiting business? Check out the ideas in this post. A couple high points are:

There is a secret formula about success in recruitment…lots of appropriate activity.

And…

Never ever mess with your reputation.

How To Tell If A Candidate Isn’t Interested

Want to know when to cut things short? Like a first date that isn’t going well, knowing when to wrap up the interview or move past a candidate will save your energy and time for candidates who are a better fit.

…if your candidate’s questions stop after asking details in the pay and benefits, then this is a red flag.

Recruiter

Recruiter.com drives top talent to companies that want to hire them. Their Job Market distributes open jobs from employers to the largest network of recruiters on the planet.

Their centralized platform serves as a single point of contact for job seekers, recruiters and hiring managers.

5 Traits to Look For When Hiring Remote Workers

These days there are more remote workers and remote contractors that are required to get the job done. Much of this is due to the specialized nature of the tasks at hand and the technology now available to make remote working a viable option for companies.

We look for people that are self-starters/have a high degree of independence, value continuous learning, and are receptive to feedback…

Previous work-at-home experience is a plus, especially if they’ve done it for a long time…

Undercover Recruiter

Undercover Recruiter Undercover Recruiter is the #1 recruitment and career blog in the world.

The 8 Things No Recruiter (Ever) Wants to See On Your Resume

10 Awesome Interview Tips From Actual Hiring Managers

Preparing for, performing in, and handling the post-interview process is critical to both a recruiter or hiring manager’s effectiveness and the same with candidates. Check out some useful tips here.

More than one in five hiring managers surveyed by CareerBuilder say they are less likely to hire a candidate who didn’t send a thank-you note. – Career Builder

I think every recruiter on the planet wants to give their candidates a first-class experience, but we have limited resources. If you’re too aggressive or unpolished during the interview process, companies will think, ‘Wow, this person is going to be really high maintenance if we do hire them. Pass!’” – Brazen

Business.com/Recruiting

The Small Business Guide to Recruiting and Hiring

69 percent of recruiters have had to increase salary offers due to negotiations

More than half of recruiters say lack of qualified talent is their biggest obstacle

78 percent of recruiters find their best candidates from referrals

Attract the Top Talent: Tips for Hiring Millennials in 2016

If your hiring process isn’t yet accounting for the Millennial workforce you need to get on board. Despite the bad rap, Millennials are an ever-growing and highly talented hiring pool you don’t want to ignore. Here’s how to get more from your Millennial hire opportunities.

Millennial workers are some of the most multi-talented employees. While a candidate may have majored in engineering, he may have also taught himself HTML and CSS, have a side hustle doing graphic design and run his own industry blog.

Brazen

Brazen. Everyone deserves a job they love.

3 Things Candidates Care About More Than Money

What are candidates looking for these days?

According to CareerBuilder, one in five employees plan to change jobs in 2016

65% of workers ranked “job stability” as the most important factor when choosing a new job.

Glassdoor found that 96% of job seekers say that it’s important to work for a transparent company

Whether you’re new to this recruiting, interviewing, hiring process or a grizzled veteran, the field is constantly evolving. You need to continue to bring your “A” Game – just as the candidates need to evolve themselves too.

Now go make that next hire happen! Like what you see? Please share and like on your social networks.

Additional Resources You Might Like

How Recruiters Think…Why Your Phone Isn’t Ringing…And Why It Might Not Be You

[How to Get That Job] Insider Secrets to Candidate Selection

Do Millennials Know the Secret?

Ultimate Productivity Tips List: 74 Impactful Ways to Get the Most from Your Day

Do Millennials Know the Secret?

September 15, 2016 by Mike McRitchie Leave a Comment

Growing up I saw my dad struggle to put food on the table. He worked long hours. He worked weekends all summer long (in the agriculture business – and during the picking/canning season he was always on call).

He put up with a##hole bosses who took credit for what he created. He was the go to person when the CEO needed results. But the “Yes Men” were the ones who’d get promoted and big bonuses.

And then the company went bankrupt. And he lost his job. And his pension. And had to start over. After over 20 years of dedicated service to the company.

Starting over sucks!

This video addresses many of the raw-deal realities realities my dad faced – that are now facing the Millennial Generation.

Although there have been many advances in technology and basic necessities that used to be considered luxuries – and would make you among the richest people in the world, there are some pitfalls and half-truths that can derail the unwary.

Here are a few I’ve discovered over my last 50+ years.

Let Them Play

I can’t tell you how much stress and frustration comes from the elementary school system’s desire to create college-bound robot kids. Homework every night that becomes a battle between parents and kids and the “Common Core” curriculum that punishes all involved.

So what happens is homework drags into dinner then off to a sports team activity then home and to bed. To do it all over again. The kids never getting to play for the fun of playing. Thinking they’re failing because the 5-step math problem that requires solving four different ways and showing your work is so above their cognitive abilities (not age-appropriate).

…homework, an age-old source of angst for many families, has gotten even more complicated. Parents, like myself, are trying to guide children through questions that make little sense to adults who were taught math using other methods.

…a recent study in Psychological Science found that math-anxious parents who help children on homework breed math-anxious children

Which leads me to…

No, Everyone Shouldn’t Go To College

Teaching coding and robotics in 3rd grade. Really? Preschool college prep?

In the drive for better school rankings, teaching the basics and having a mix of work and fun/exercise/social time (aka recess) has transformed into trying to cram too much work into the school day followed by an overflow of homework. Recess that used to be where kids learned how to interact with others and get their exercise – has become so regimented that kids no longer think for themselves. Certain games are prescribed. Every minute is regimented.

So what happens? The average kid gets left behind. They end up more confused than ever. And they hate school.

And if they get by, then they think they have to go to college to get a good job. So they apply to overpriced colleges (prices having tripled over the last 30 years in real dollars), bury themselves in debt, are taught information that is largely useless in the real world (by professors who are more concerned about getting their grants than teaching kids) and end woefully unprepared for the working world. With a debt-millstone that dooms the next 20-30 years of their work life as they try to repay the debt of their Psychology or History degree while holding down a $40k to $50k job. One they could have easily gotten for a cost of $50k to $100k less.

What about trade schools? What about manual labor? What about small businesses and entrepreneurship? Everyone doesn’t need to go to college.

Invest In Yourself

Your future earnings are based on your skills, your reputation, and your relationships – develop all three. And although a good college education can boost all three, what you do to invest in those areas during your working lifetime will make the difference between average pay and exceptional. Readers are leaders – and learning can also make life more interesting and enjoyable – just don’t overpay for it. Make sure the return on your investment is worthwhile.

Always Prepare Yourself For The Next Opportunity

Whether you’re an entrepreneur leading a company or have a 9-5 job, you have to be always building yourself up for the next opportunity.

Companies don’t last forever – they get sold or go out of business. And when that happens, you may be gone, or the new culture may not fit you. Layoffs do happen – even to the best people. The job market changes and industries evolve. Are you prepared?

Preparing yourself includes everything from preparing your resume to building relationships to educating yourself to build your skill and knowledge base.

Your Home Is Not An Investment

I know everyone has heard, “Your home is your best investment.” But what happens when you lose your job and you find yourself getting behind in your mortgage payments – and then lose the house? Unlike mutual fund retirement plan investments you can’t just pull out equity easily and quickly.

What if a good job that is a boost in income and career potential is 100 miles away? Then that home is a ball-and-chain that prevents you from realizing your full potential.

And what if the housing market tanks? Yes, home prices don’t always go up. If you need to sell then, can you take a $50k to $200k hit to your nest egg?

Live Simply

Live simply – more isn’t always better. The Joneses really are more broke you think (they just hide it in visible luxury stuff). When you buy the McMansion in the exclusive nice neighborhood, suddenly you find yourself upgrading both cars. Then you hire the housekeeper, landscaper, and pool boy. Your kids the nanny or tutor. They need designer labels to not be embarrassed at school by their peers. And so the hamster wheel spins. Once you start you find it difficult to get off. And then you pile up debt to keep up.

Dump the insane lifestyle and life gets easier. You find everyday life more enjoyable. You are saving for your future. You will be able to retire instead of work til you’re 70.

Dump Debt

Once you crawl into that debt hole, getting out is like escaping quicksand or a riptide. It is a tough habit to break. Instead create a gap between your salary and spending. And aggressively dump that into savings. By doing that you create more freedom to do what you want. It also gives you “Screw you!” money so you’re not trapped in a bad job.

Take an 80/20 assessment of your finances. Rank your spending from top to bottom in size. What are the leaks you need to plug? Can you get a cheaper place (without jeopardizing your security or future opportunities)? Can you get a beater car for $2,000 instead of a $500 a month car payment (for an asset that is worth less every year)? Can you reduce your car insurance costs by shopping it every year? Can you cut cable and get a cheaper phone plan? Can you bring lunch and eat dinner at home instead of going out? When going out can you cut out the overpriced alcohol (often what adds 30-100% to your dining bill)? Can you do cheaper travel or reduce the number of expensive vacations? $30-$50 to camp vs $200 to $500 a night for hotels is a big difference.

You’d be amazed how revamping your priorities and periodically right-sizing your finances and spending habits can rocket you ahead in your savings goals and clear out debt in no time. If you need help, check out Dave Ramsey – the king of living within your means.

Self-Sufficiency Is King

No one will care for you when you’re old – the government is already broke (they just haven’t recognized it yet) and that guaranteed pension might not be worth anything when you need it (how many cities have gone bankrupt – leaving their retirees left holding the bag?)

What are you doing to take care of yourself in retirement? Fool.com article shows…

According to the Social Security Administration, the average retired American couples gets $2,212 per month, or roughly $26,500 per year, in Social Security income. That’s not a lot of money when you consider that the average American household earned $53,657 in 2014 and the average annual expenses for an American retired couple over age 65 were $41,403 in 2013.

The CBO estimates that the Social Security Trust Fund will be depleted in 2029, and that could result in a 29% across-the-board cut in monthly Social Security benefits in 2030.

Premiums for Part D Medicare insurance, which covers drug costs, are often withdrawn directly from Social Security checks and those premiums are growing more quickly than Social Security income. Also, Medicare premium surcharges that come directly out of Social Security income are determined by income limits that aren’t adjusted annually for inflation. As a result, Americans face a one-two punch that could mean Medicare premiums take a much bigger cut of Social Security income in the future than they do today.

According to a December study from Transamerica, the total household retirement savings of American workers age 50 and older is a median $135,000.

What does this all mean? If you’re not aggressively preparing (read “save your ass off”) for your retirement, you think it is hard living paycheck-to-paycheck now, while you DO have discretionary savings, how hard will it be when your healthcare costs are eating you alive?

Find Meaning

Life’s too short to do work without meaning. Yes, you need to work at something that will pay you enough to survive and set you up for a secure retirement. But once you get that handled you should be looking for jobs, companies to work for, or entrepreneurial options to get the most financially and satisfaction-wise out of your work life.

Plan your life “on purpose”. Otherwise you’ll find yourself in a place you do not wish to be due to decisions you did not make (but were made for you). You only get one run at this life – so make it count.

Now You

So what are you doing with your life? Are you building your future the right way? And living life to the fullest? Are you making a difference?

I’m Not Qualified!

September 8, 2016 by Mike McRitchie 6 Comments

I had a dream last night.

No, it wasn’t a Martin Luther King speech quality dream.

I dreamed that there was turmoil in the Republican nomination contest.

Trump was not able to continue. And he tapped me as his replacement (yes, I probably do spend too much time listening to talk radio and political goings on).

Now I know a lot about what is happening in the U. S. and world politics. But could I rattle off details of Middle East Policy? Or deal with the Beltway craziness and insane media?

You could say I was a little freaked out.

So I said, “I really can’t do this. Although I’ve voted a lot in the past, it has been a few years and I’m not registered to vote.”

I know that might be hard to believe given my political junkie status. But being frustrated with the system that seems to always be choosing the best of two bad (or horrible) options (depending on your perspective), and having the normal business of life’s daily chaos, I never felt the urge to jump back in and let my vote be counted.

Now maybe this time around might be different given some of the stakes at hand in the Supreme Court and Federal Judiciary that often plays a big part in where the political winds blow.

But back to the story and why it should matter to you.

I’m Inadequate?

The core element is a sense of inadequacy deep in the heart of all of us. Yes, we can put on a confident attitude and a happy smile. But deep down we all share that, “Am I worthy?” or “Can I really do it?” question.

It can show up in several ways.

You see a job posting that you think is a little out of your league. Do you go for it? Or does your self-doubt talk you out of even applying?
You have a good opportunity offered to you but it is across the country – away from your hometown, friends and family. Do you take the plunge? Or second guess yourself and walk away – preferring the secure world of the known?
You have a big project coming up and the boss asks if you want in. Do you put your fears behind you? Or do you pass, leaving you feeling that deep pit of regret years later?

We all have strengths and weaknesses. That is the human condition.

And yet life’s adventure has so much more color and vibrancy when you sometimes take that risk and go for it.

Would you become President if they asked you?

Maybe that’s not your thing. But what other opportunities are you passing up because you’re second-guessing yourself?

Do you have an opportunity you’re considering now? Here’s some other posts that might help your decision.

Do You Need a Personal “Climate Change”?

The More We Learn…The Less We Know

What “Airplane Repo” Can Teach You About Your Business

Do You Need a Personal “Climate Change”?

September 1, 2016 by Mike McRitchie Leave a Comment

Its Monday Morning. You’ve grabbed your Starbucks coffee and got a smile from the barista. You’re driving to work, listening to talk radio or some music, negotiating traffic mindlessly – like you do every week. You park, walk to the office, and are about to open the door to walk in.

What do you feel?

Are you excited and energized to start the day? Dreading it? Feeling behind before you start? Excited to catch up on the weekend events with your coworkers?

Now imagine you’re on your way home. You’ve made it through another day at work. You’re thinking of seeing your spouse and kids when you get home. Is there homework that needs to be done? Shopping or food picked up for dinner? Are they going to be happy to see you? Or will it be chaos when you arrive? Did everyone have a good day? Or were they frustrated or mad about something? You open the door and find out.

These are the conversations we have in our head every day (conscious or not). And they are the feelings we get that we often aren’t aware of. The impact on our health and wellness is often understated. And the impact on what you achieve, the results you get, and the happiness you attain is immeasurable.

My friend Julie Broad (@thejuliebroad) tweeted this article about how your environment affects you and the results you get.

There were some pretty cool insights (below) – check out the article (it’s a quick read)

the role that the shape of the continent you live on plays in how societies develop
three key strategies you can use to put your environment to work for you
and how our environment can help us to be more “lucky”

And it got me thinking about all the situations that environment plays such a key role in the results you get.

Here’s some examples.

DIVORCE

Is divorce contagious? A Pew study shows participants are 75% more likely to get divorced if they have a friend who’s divorced.

SPORTS

In sports, momentum plays a big part in who wins a game when the participants match up closely. And when those around you struggle or are doing well, teammates or those around them, can also catch fire or start missing. A great illustration of that was Tiger Woods. Check out what happened (and it wasn’t when his wife came at him with a golf club…but you could probably make a case that his downward slide was a result of a series of bad environments – cheating on his wife, using different caddies and coaches, and getting out of the winning flow, and being around those who struggled – not a recipe for success).

HIGH FINANCE

In the movies, “Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room” and “The Big Short,” they both tell of situations where financiers, businessmen, and regulators all conspire to promulgate a “too big to fail” atmosphere. Where the “everyone’s doing it” mantra runs rampant. And as a result, basic logic and moral behavior go out the window.

JOBS

And in the work world, your results are often impacted by the environment you work in too. That environment is the company you work for (and what they stand for) or the specific office environment or work group.

Those you associate with on a daily basis absolutely impact your results. If you’re in a place where your boss and peers celebrate successes (yours and theirs) and support each other (we recently got a gong to ring and celebrate hitting project milestones – an inexpensive and cool way to remind everyone we’re winning and have them participate in those successes – by ringing the gong or hearing it and sharing in the celebration), you’re likely to grow and learn and create good results for the company and grow your own skill-set and career.

But if you’re in one that is degrading and bullying and negative all the time, you’re likely to stay in “survival mode” and your results will reflect that.

What is your environment like?

At your home, work, hanging with friends and other social interactions, is your environment supporting you? Or is it dragging you down?

Life’s too short to not maximize your happiness, productivity, and contribution, isn’t it?

If your environment isn’t supporting you, figure out why and what you can do to change it. Often times it is just a matter of shifting things around.

Whether that is changing a team member’s role on the team or adding someone new or getting a negative person off the team, as a manager sometimes you can implement that change directly.

Or is it changing cube assignments to put people next to each other who can help (you’d be amazed what happens when you can hear related conversations in the adjacent cube or talk to someone without having to call them on the phone or go to another office – so much more gets accomplished and rapport with that person increases).

Or maybe you need to change your routine. Drive a different way to work. Change your phone’s ringtone. Buy a new outfit (yes, I’m supporting retail therapy 🙂 go figure). Or volunteer for something outside of work (I just volunteered to be an assistant coach for my daughter’s soccer team – it gives me another thing to get excited about as I help the girls learn soccer skills, improve their teamwork, and have an enjoyable time learning – a great lifetime skill).

Is your job no longer satisfying? Does it seem you’re constantly putting out fires with your business and struggling to gain momentum?

Maybe a change is due? Or maybe it is just a tweak that is required.

I recently was contacted by someone who needed help sorting out that next step in their career. The job they had had served its purpose but now physical health had made job requirements more taxing and a shift was needed. Talking through those options and helping sort out what that next career was likely to be – particularly midway through their working life – often requires some outside perspective.

If you’re in a similar situation, contact me. We’ll see what we can do together to right your ship.