Tipping Points and Small Business Owners in 2010

I must admit, I’m feeling excited at the moment. Why? Well other than the fact that my life is changing drastically in a positive direction each and every day, I’m now witnessing other people’s lives change as well based on the principles I’ve been teaching about here at The Sales Lion. Now please don’t take this statement as if I’m bragging about how great I am or taking any credit for the success of others. Rather, understand that the things I write and teach here are simply truths that are available in many corners of the internet and by no means did I invent any of them. But the fact that there are businesses, families, and children that are benefiting from the teachings found herein, my joy is full and my cup overfloweth with satisfaction.

I mention these things because I received a call this morning from a business owner who recently attended one of my seminars in Texas. The gentleman’s name is James Snyder and he owns a landscaping/pool company (Albert Group Landscaping) in New York state. Since attending the seminar just a few weeks ago, James has made some incredible strides as a business owner in his efforts to embrace marketing and web 2.0 principles. In fact, he has:

• Converted his website over to a new CMS (content management system) with Hubspot
• Published multiple blog articles relating to his field
• Produced multiple videos with his new Flip Camera that are now posted on YouTube and integrated into his blog articles
• Started learning, understanding, and grasping the importance of analytics with his company’s website
• Is active on forums, Twitter, and Facebook
• Outlined a marketing 2.0 plan for the rest of the year

As we talked on the phone this morning and James mentioned all that he was doing, the excitement in his voice was nearly palpable. It was almost like I was talking to a completely different business owner than the person I met just a few weeks previous.

The Mind Runs Wild

And what have been the results of his new practices? Well obviously James was ready to discuss those with me as well. For example, last night he closed a sale with a customer he has been working with for a while. And how did he do it? Well just before his sales appointment, he went and made a video testimonial with a customer he had just done some beautiful work for. And with video in hand, he was then able to show his prospects what made his company special and unique from the perspective of another customer. He said this powerful testimonial was exactly what the homeowners needed to get over the hump and make a decision, despite the fact that his bid was much higher than those of his competitors.

James also spoke to me about how he now sees everything he does as a video opportunity. This statement really got me fired up to hear. You see, as soon as a business owner starts leveraging the power of Video Marketing 2.0, the sooner that person’s mind will run wild with creative ideas for more and more videos. This personally happened to me with my business and now James is hooked as well. And considering he is a landscaper/pool guy , his teaching opportunities through the power of video are practically unlimited.

Finally, James mentioned to me how excited he was to already have people subscribing to his blog (over 30 so far) and the fact that he now gets more traffic in one hour on his website than he would literally get in days before. And what’s crazy is he is JUST BEGINNING. He has only been at this for a few weeks! Right now James can’t even comprehend the changes that are about to come his way, as well as his business’ way, over the coming months. As long as he keeps doing what he is doing, with the same passion and fire, his business will experience exponential and monumental growth.

***Note: Originally, when I wrote this blog, it did not have James’ following testimonial. But once he read the article, he sent me the following video. Very cool…Thanks James!***

A New Tipping Point

When it comes down to it, James Snyder represents everything I’ve been talking about over the past couple of months. He has reached a tipping point (as Gladwell would say) and is now becoming a ‘Small Businesses Owner 2.0’. Just by determining to take another path he is going to reach heights he never dreamed imaginable.

What’s funny about James though is the fact that for quite some time now he has known he needed to take the keys back to his business. But for whatever reason (call it fear, uncertainty, etc) he never pulled the trigger—that is, until the conference in Texas. As James told me this morning, “Marcus, you made me realize that I had no excuses. None. It was time to get it done.”

Well James, you are getting it done my friend. In fact, I suggest readers take a look at James’ most recent blog article to see what I’m talking about. Keep in mind that this is a person that knew literally almost nothing about website design just weeks ago and now he’s producing killer educational blogs complete with photos, videos, and excellent content. Are you kidding me?? Dang CMS and Hubspot are awesome!

No Excuses

Golly this just gets me fired up to see, and it’s another example of really what all of this Web and Marketing 2.0 stuff for small biz owners and entrepreneurs comes down to—No Excuses.

With the incredible advances in technology of the 21^st century, you and I no longer have to be programmers and Tech geniuses to become masters of the web and therefore dominate our niche. It only takes a belief, a desire, and a willingness to do what it takes.

James joked with me how he has been staying up quite a bit lately working on all this stuff but he said that he didn’t mind because he has been too excited to sleep. Well welcome to my world James. It’s the world of creativity, excitement, and late nights. It’s the world of feeling like you are in control of your own destiny. It’s the world where your imagination has no bounds and you feel like there is just not enough time in the day to accomplish all the great things you want to accomplish. And let me just state for the record, I love this world. And no doubt many of you reading this article right now share this same passion.

Well Done

So my hat goes off to James and all those persons out there that have taken back the wheel and are again in control of the destiny of their business. What a wonderful time we all live in to have these tools available to those persons who are only willing and able to use them.

And for all of you out there that have not reached this ‘tipping point’ of business web and marketing control, I hope you will determine to change your paradigm and believe in yourself. Know that the tools are available to you. And know also there are many people out there that are willing to help you make this apparently difficult switch a smooth and exciting transition.

So what has kept you from taking back control of your business? And if you’ve already done so, I’d love to hear about what helped you take that important and life-changing step. As always, your comments below are very much appreciated.

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