Behind the scenes at The Sales Evangelist, we're working to increase organic engagement and interact with our audience, and we've discovered a powerful way to develop new leads through Instagram.

According to Jaeden Schafer, Instagram typically accounts for about 10 percent more organic engagement than Facebook, so it's a great place to gain a new audience and develop new leads.

Who can benefit?

[Tweet "Every business, whether it's B2B or B2C, can benefit from Instagram as long as they know how to use it. #Prospecting"]

When Instagram initially launched, its goal was to share nice looking pictures. If you're following that original idea, your company will likely benefit from it. [02:16]

But what if you're a refrigeration repair company? How do you post compelling pictures of refrigerators? Posting photos of refrigerators all day won't really prompt much growth.

So if, for example, you own a refrigeration company in Miami, post pictures of the area you serve with information about the services you provide. Target people who are the customer persona you're trying to attract.

It basically just needs to be pretty.

Mistakes on Instagram

Many people will offer the same tips for setting up an Instagram account:

• Choose good photos
• Find out what your customers want

Then they expect people to just show up.

If the engagement doesn't happen, they just let the page die, which is the worst possible thing you can do on social media. Since social media is about social proof, outdated accounts are worthless. [05:13]

When people want to buy something online, they often check online to make sure that the social media accounts are updated. If they aren't, they might assume you'll be unresponsive.

Plan to post at least once a week if you want to appear actively engaged. If you're trying to grow, you should post every day.

If you find yourself thinking that you don't have the team or the resources to post every single day, remember that there are tools available to help you.

Later.com is a scheduling tool that will let you schedule 30 posts for free. You can schedule a new post every day that will keep you active and growing.

Instagram tactics

Though Instagram is a great place to find new leads, sellers will also want to move those leads from interested to purchasing.

Avoid letting your account just sit. Instead, use your account to find new leads. You can do that with targeted Instagram ads or automation. Better yet, use your account to like and comment on people's posts that are in your target audience. [07:53]

Consider the food truck business that launched an Instagram page and then shared images of the food it would serve. On launch day, the owners went to its main competitors' page and they liked and followed 1,000 of their followers. They repeated that activity every two days for a different food truck.

It grabbed attention because those people would see the business name on their phone as someone who liked their photos and followed their accounts.

It's a phenomenal strategy, especially for companies that are just starting.

Transition

For B2B companies, it's important to understand how the transition will look after you follow new prospects on Instagram. How do you move them to your website or prompt them to download something?

When a user sees that you liked some of his photos and followed him, then he'll likely click on your account name to check out your Instagram account. Your account bio will act a little like a splash page or a sales pitch. [10:34]

Make sure your bio includes your website, and make sure it really clearly outlines what you do and what your call-to-action is. Direct them to your website or your podcast.

Image quality

For sales reps who might be wondering what kind of content to post, let's use an example of The Sales Evangelist to talk about what that might look like.

For a service-based business, people tend to limit their thinking about the kind of images to post. Choose high-quality images that look really good. [11:53]

If you don't have a high-quality camera, it's ok.

Start with websites that offer free, copyright-free images, like unsplash.com. Type in your keyword and find hundreds of high-quality photos related to your niche. High-quality photos will make your account look very professional.

Include your own "flavor" that meshes with the way you pitch, but make sure that the people who follow your account feel like they are getting some kind of value out of it.

Some organizations use inspirational quotes or even tips such as how to care for your a/c unit. Choose information that will give something back to your audience. [13:45]

You can use entire blog posts as an Instagram caption.

In short, be there, post information your customers want, and do it consistently.

Videos

Videos have a much higher likelihood of going viral. Jaeden reports that an account he manages might get 400-700 likes, while a video on the same account might get 1,000-14,000 views. [15:31]

As a result, videos are a really good way to grow your business because videos are more engaging.

Also, though, if the video includes you talking and sharing information, it builds a relationship with your customers because they get to experience your personality in a way that they wouldn't in a photo. It creates trust.

Stories

Many people go to Instagram just for the stories. If you can create a story that captures people's attention, it's a huge new piece of real estate.

When you have a new promotion or a new post, consider using your story to encourage followers to check out your new post. You can promote a podcast, a sale, a deal, or whatever you want people to know.

Once you have 10,000 followers on Instagram, you can put links in your story so people can just swipe up on the story to access your links. [17:44] That's when stories become super powerful because it's a free ad that you can push to everyone who follows you.

Hashtags

Hashtags can be incredibly beneficial or they can be useless, depending on how you use them. Instagram allows up to 30 hashtags per photo, and users should take advantage of all 30 of them to be super specific about the content in the photo.

The platform's artificial intelligence scans photos to see what are in them, and if you use a big list of random hashtags, your photo won't perform well. The value of hashtags is that if someone clicks on one, they go to a hashtag page that shows all the images that used that hashtag.

For smaller businesses, use longer hashtags that have fewer people using them, ideally 20,000 to 100,000 uses. [20:04] Be super specific in your hashtags and use those that fit the size of your business.

Success story

Jaeden had great success with a luxury travel company. He set up unique accounts for different geographic locations: one for Maldives resorts, Bora Bora resorts, Greek resorts, and so on.

Each bio directed users back to the main page.

He said it was an easy way to tap into a saturated market that is often expensive to advertise in. [22:00] Within a month, they were getting about 20 percent of their traffic from Instagram.

If you don't have time to go and follow 1,000 users on a single day, consider using tools like Ninjagram or Jarvee to automate your Instagram efforts. You put your account into it and then select your competitors, and the tool does the work for you.

"New Leads Through Instagram" episode resources

Connect with Jaeden at Fiund.com with any questions you may have or to get additional advice or tips.

This episode is brought to you in part by prospect.io, a powerful sales automation platform that allows you to build highly personalized, cold email campaigns. To learn more, go to prospect.io/tse. It will help you with your outbound to expand your outreach. It allows you to set it and forget it. Your prospecting will never ever be the same.

Previously known as TSE Hustler's League, our TSE Certified Sales Program offers modules that you can engage on your own schedule as well as opportunities to engage with other sellers in other industries.

This episode is brought to you in part by mailtag.io, a Chrome browser extension for Gmail that allows you to track and schedule your emails. It's super easy, it's helpful, and I recommend that you try it out.

You'll receive real-time alerts anyone opens an email or clicks a link.

I hope you enjoyed the show today as much as I did. If so, please consider leaving us a rating on Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, Stitcher, or wherever you consume this content and share it with someone else who might benefit from our message. It helps others find our message and improves our visibility.

If you haven't already done so, subscribe to the podcast so you won't miss a single episode, and share with your friends!

Audio provided by Free SFX and Bensound.

Strategic planning isn’t only for entrepreneurs: Shane Spiers says sales reps must know where they are headed and what the team’s common purpose is.

Strategic planning helps sales reps work better as part of a team and achieve more.

Originally from New Zealand, Shane now calls the UK home. It is where his career has grown to what it is today. His record is dominated by leading and scaling 7, 8 and 9-figure rapid growth companies, mostly in real estate, construction, and service-based businesses.

Shane created Summit Leader to help 7-figure entrepreneurs scale with an 8-figure growth model. His focus is helping businesses scale from entrepreneurial to managed growth. [00:29]

Approximately 96% of businesses earn less than $1 million in revenue. Of the 4% that make it past a million, only 10% make it to $10 million.

With only .4% of businesses reaching the $10 million mark, Shane hopes to have an impact by producing more 8-figure businesses. [01:20]

A COMMON GOAL

As a business moves from entrepreneurial to managed growth, the management, leadership, and logistical challenges become quite different.

The startup ways of working can hinder a business rather than advance it.

Shane has been down the path many times before. He understands the importance of including sales reps in the process of strategic planning to grow a company.

Whether you are a business owner, team leader, or part of a team, it is important to understand what the company stands for and what it believes in.

It is important to know the common goal and your purpose in achieving it.

A team without priorities, or with different views, cannot work well together. [02:23]

STRATEGIC THINKING AND EXECUTION

Before you can plan where you will be in the long term, you must make decisions about who you are and what you stand for. Decide how you will differentiate yourself from the competition. In the sales world, particularly, be very clear about who comprises your target market.

Know who your ideal customers are, where they are, and what is important to them.

It starts with upfront thinking.

Know where you want to go and make a plan to get there.

Establish your guiding principles first. Build your core. When businesses fail to clearly define their values, it trickles down into the sales force. [03:35]

Think about your core as the provider of stability, power, and control that will support growth. Without a strong core, you risk instability from cultural challenges, loss of focus, disengagement, and a lack of heart.

An organization or team that is weak will struggle.

The core values are what you will do – and won’t do – to get what you want. They are the timeless, fundamental principles that define a company’s culture.

It is the first step in strategic planning because it sets your purpose. It is the root of your business.

Once you are clear about the Why of your company, you can work on the How. Where do you want to be in two, three or even ten years? What you do want to achieve? [05:50]

A PART OF THE WHOLE

No matter how large or small your role, you are contributing to the larger story.

Consider the time when President Kennedy visited NASA and struck up a conversation with one of the janitors. When asked what he was doing, the janitor replied that he was helping to put a man on the moon. And he certainly was.

[08:26]

Strategy follows when you direct your attention and decisions to how you will differentiate yourself from the competition.

Shane believes that decisions about how to best plan and strategize come easier to companies that establish their core principles first.

It is easier to make a decision when you know what you stand for. [09:41]

One common problem among fast-growing organizations is that they simply have too many priorities. In an attempt to cover all their bases, they lose focus.

A long list of objectives combined with a scarcity of time, energy, and resources results in mediocre accomplishments. There is a failure to accomplish what matters most.

If everything is important then nothing is.

Growth and scaling are about taking one significant step at a time, checking the data and adjusting accordingly. [10:40]

ESTABLISH A RHYTHM

Once your core is established and you are clear about your long-term focus, it is time to prioritize. Break the ten-year plan out into a three-year plan, into a one-year plan, a 90-day plan, etc.

Create routine, focus, and discipline. Don’t become overwhelmed by the monumental task of the long-term goal. Set bite-sized goals instead.

Focus on the 3-5 things that will move you forward as a team. Get into the habit of celebrating success every 90 days.

To build and maintain momentum, plan for more meetings or a daily check-in. Discuss administrative and tactical issues, provide updates, and take advantage of unforeseen opportunities. Review progress on a weekly basis.

Use the collective brainpower of your teams to tackle issues before they become problems.

Routines can set you free. Revolve your business around 90-day goals and life becomes more manageable. Take the time to do it properly. [12:41]

When the fundamental beliefs of your company are clear, they will drive your company forward.

The right people will be attracted to your teams.

“STRATEGIC PLANNING” EPISODE RESOURCES

You can reach Shane and check out his many free resources at www.summitleader.com. He also hosts a live webinar every month at www.summitwebinar.com.

This episode is brought to you in part by mailtag.io, a Chrome browser extension for Gmail that allows you to track and schedule your emails. It’s super easy, it’s helpful, and I recommend that you try it out.

You’ll receive real-time alerts anyone opens an email or clicks a link.

This episode is brought to you in part by prospect.io, a powerful sales automation platform that allows you to build highly personalized, cold email campaigns. To learn more, go to prospect.io/tse. It will help you with your outbound to expand your outreach. It allows you to set it and forget it. Your prospecting will never ever be the same.

Previously known as TSE Hustler’s League, our TSE Certified Sales Program offers modules that you can engage on your own schedule as well as opportunities to engage with other sellers in other industries.

I hope you enjoyed the show today as much as I did. If so, please consider leaving us a rating on Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, Stitcher, or wherever you consume this content and share it with someone else who might benefit from our message. It helps others find our message and improves our visibility.

If you haven’t already done so, subscribe to the podcast so you won’t miss a single episode, and share with your friends!

Audio provided by Free SFX and Bensound.

Josh Cunningham, founder and CEO of rokrbox,  fast-tracked his entrepreneurial career by helping to solve a recurring problem for real estate clients and learning an important lesson along the way: Don’t trick them.

Josh first stumbled upon the ISA, or Inside Sales Agent, role in real estate while attending seminars with Vyral Marketing founder and CEO Frank Klesitz. Vyral Marketing works with top agents to create content and to get referrals and repeat business.

THE ENTREPRENEURIAL SPIRIT

Many top professional teams buy real estates leads online, but their agents don’t always do a good job of following up on them.

Like any good entrepreneur, when Josh heard a lot of people complaining about a common frustration, he decided to solve the problem. [00:39]

He started rokrbox.

A rocker box is a gold mining tool used in the 19th century to separate the sand and gravel from the gold. Likewise, rokrbox takes your real estate leads and separates the tire-kickers and time wasters from the motivated buyers and sellers. [01:26]

TAPPING INTO THE STUDENT MARKET

Rokrbox is strategically located directly across from the Texas A&M University campus in College Station, Texas. Many sharp and enthusiastic young professionals go there looking to grow their skills.

Josh provides them with the opportunity to develop real-world sales skills, CRM skills, and pipeline management skills. All of his student-employees typically graduate with multiple job offers from some type of sales professional career. [02:21]

Since starting in 2013, rokrbox has worked over a million internet leads, hired over 250 ISAs, and trained them to move forward in their careers.

Looking back, Josh believes that scalability was his biggest sales-related struggle. He knew he could do the job but wasn’t sure if he could train others to do it. When he first started hiring college students, he realized a lot of the same struggles that most people run into when building any sales team.

SET CLEAR EXPECTATIONS

His first mistake was in not clearly setting expectations for the new hires. The job posting on the Texas A&M website was too vague.

It wasn’t clear that a new hire could expect to make a ton of phone calls a day, could expect to be rejected all day, etc.

It was just too ambiguous.

As a result, a new hire might go through the entire interview process and personality assessment only to quit almost immediately after starting the job.

One young man, in particular, spent over 15 minutes learning the types of calls to make, the technology/scripts/dialogue used and the likelihood of repeated rejection.

He excused himself to use the restroom and never came back. [04:28]

Josh blames himself. He had failed to set expectations and to make clear to potential hires what they were getting into.  He felt as if he had tricked people into taking the job which is not how to start a sales organization on the right foot.

OBSERVATION

As a result, rokrbox implemented observation into the business. Now, they invite promising applicants back to pair up with a senior rep as part of the interview process. They spend a full hour learning what to expect on a shift – from the technology to the daily team huddle, to the reports and the metrics.

They are encouraged to ask questions. It is their chance to interview the business.

At the conclusion of their observation session, applicants are asked to send an email to explain how they would fit into the rokrbox culture.

It has been amazing to see the persuasive essays they receive.  [05:43]

ESSAYS

Josh enjoys hearing people explain why they want to be a part of the organization more than having them sneak away on a bathroom break, never to return.

He highly recommends showing potential hires exactly what they can expect. Show them what it is like to be on the phone or knocking on doors. Be totally straightforward from the very beginning.

Josh believes that when building a culture worthy of your organization, it is likely that you will strongly attract the right people and strongly repel the wrong ones.  And certainly, not everyone who attends an observation responds. The work and the pace intimidate some people. [07:30]

But he wouldn’t change a thing.

Rockrbox invests a lot of one-on-one training in every new employee before they are ready to do the job. Twenty hours on the new hire combined with 20 hours of the trainer’s time: Forty hours is a huge investment if someone might either bomb or quit.

TRANSPARENCY

It is definitely better to be transparent and upfront.

Anything less is simply a waste of everyone’s time.

Have a collection of people that are all driven and motivated, in a cohesive unit, and headed in the same direction. A team that supports and enjoys each other becomes a better team because of it. It’s the most harmonious thing you can do with any business.

Know the culture you want to create and then protect it. Invite others to observe whether or not it is right for them. [09:16]

Once you become a leader of others, give them your expectations and the tools to succeed.

Clearly communicate all of it – the good, the bad and the ugly. [11:22]

“DON’T TRICK THEM” EPISODE RESOURCES

To learn more about how rokrbox converts the online leads of top sales professionals in the real estate industry, visit www.rokrbox.com or contact Josh directly at josh@rokrbox.com.

This episode is brought to you in part by prospect.io, a powerful sales automation platform that allows you to build highly personalized, cold email campaigns. To learn more, go to prospect.io/tse. It will help you with your outbound to expand your outreach. It allows you to set it and forget it. Your prospecting will never ever be the same.

Previously known as TSE Hustler’s League, our TSE Certified Sales Program offers modules that you can engage on your own schedule as well as opportunities to engage with other sellers in other industries.

This episode is brought to you in part by mailtag.io, a Chrome browser extension for Gmail that allows you to track and schedule your emails. It’s super easy, it’s helpful, and I recommend that you try it out.

You’ll receive real-time alerts anyone opens an email or clicks a link.

I hope you enjoyed the show today as much as I did. If so, please consider leaving us a rating on Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, Stitcher, or wherever you consume this content and share it with someone else who might benefit from our message. It helps others find our message and improves our visibility.

If you haven’t already done so, subscribe to the podcast so you won’t miss a single episode, and share with your friends!

Audio provided by Free SFX and Bensound.

Eric Graf, CEO of Flockgen, explains how mid-market businesses can trade relationships with one another to expand service offerings and lower customer acquisition.

As sales reps, we need to make appointments and we need to make sales but often times, we don’t know how to find the best people. Typically, we develop a prospect list and a sales pitch and bring on a marketing team.

It becomes the core business.

Eric cites this as a common problem that negatively affects business with regard to customer acquisition.

At Flockgen, clients are able to increase their bottom line because the cost of customer acquisition is spread among the partners.

Expanding beyond the core

Mid-market companies can expand the conversation with their customers beyond just the core aspects. When they do, they will realize that the prospect of monetizing exists in multiple areas which are often overlooked.

At Flockgen, the cost of customer acquisition is spread across multiple services far beyond what mid-market companies might do in the core.

As an example: There are already a number of partners with great businesses that sell telecom products. Some have had the same product for the past ten years, but their sales reps can’t talk to the customers beyond the core even if they wanted to.

They don’t have anything else to present to those customers. [00:53]

Flockgen offers an alternative solution.

They can drive revenue with those relationships around completely different products and services. Ones that have nothing to do with telecom.

They leverage those relationships to introduce new products and services in a way that doesn’t require a lot of cost because they already have hundreds of partners that offer many different things. [02:46]

Such a partnership allows you to do more in one place instead of finding a partner with many companies on your own.

By focusing on the ways mid-market companies work together to become stronger and build revenue, everybody wins.

Creating a well-oiled referral process

Referrals are a natural part of sales. They drive revenue and create business.

Flockgen partners with people they know and trust.

Using the telecom example again, suppose you have a salesperson selling phone systems all day long. As a partner with Flockgen, the salesperson could also talk with customers about sustainability, controlling costs, or operations. He has a credible way to have that conversation because Eric and his team have provided him with content and talking points.

He doesn't have to be an expert in the field. Instead, he just has to be able to access the interest in the client. [04:16]

The Flockgen Difference

The Flockgen concept developed organically. Eric spent the last ten years working in the energy industry where he saw a lot of disruption. There were many new companies with new services and new products, and declining costs all around.

Previously, Eric was in the telecom world, which he views as a more mature industry in terms of sales and marketing. Everyone knows each other and works with a collaborative spirit despite competition. Actual channels exist that allow people to team up and co-market.

Eric hoped to build similar channels in the energy industry by borrowing the ideas that worked for telecom.

Educating their partners is a key. How does referral marketing work? What are the pros and cons? [05:32]

Rightsizing the program and menu for each of their individual partners is what sets Eric and his team apart. No two businesses are the same, even if they do the same thing. What works for one might not work for the other, or for their sales team.

Matching capabilities

Flockgen matches capabilities in an intelligent way with their partner sales team so that everyone feels comfortable and credible when having conversations. It allows them to drive relationships further. [06:31]

Establishing bilateral relationships with their partners is crucial to the success of every party. Each can refer business to the other by promoting services up and down their respective networks.

One partner could be driving revenue one day and receiving referrals the next day from others in the network who are doing the same thing.

Getting started is easy. It is just a matter of understanding what you do, what a new customer base would mean to you, and what services you offer.

Flockgen makes sure everyone in your organization is on the same page.

[Tweet "You can’t grow a company alone. Sharing a pool of clients is essential. It saves money and time to partner and share opportunities. #ClientAcquisition"]

If you are a large company, then you already have the business development teams and the corporate development teams in place to establish relationships. But it can be difficult to keep those relationships fresh. [09:29]

Eric’s approach is for everyone to meet in the middle to allow collaboration and to set clear terms with one another.

He believes that despite doing well at the start, many businesses that focus on partnering and collaborating will fail because they are not structured correctly. One partner gets the shorter end of the stick, perhaps. [11:37]

Flockgen focuses on healthy partnerships. They maintain the relationships so that you can concentrate on talking to clients and building value.

Transparency = Trust

Providing transparency is critical to the success of the partnerships they create. When both parties understand the terms, it protects the credibility of the relationship. What happens when I refer to you? What happens when you refer to me?

It becomes a matter of trust. It drives behavior. [13:39]

When everyone brings the right attitude, a real willingness to focus on the customer, and is respectful of the initial relationship with the client, value is added to all of the relationships. [15:03]

Flockgen partners only with those who stand by their work. Those they can trust to do good work and who do not hesitate when asked for customer references.

It’s not who you know, it is who you know that you can trust.

The partners utilizing the networks at Flockgen are driving their revenues and driving their commissions. It works because everyone is focused on creating the best customer experience.

There are lots of folks who represent or promote similar services but they don’t backstop and track and monitor, or intervene when necessary, as relationships mature and transactions come together the way Flockgen does. [17:45]

Flockgen levels the playing field.

Mid-market businesses in the US generate 26% of the revenue in the US despite comprising only 1% of the commercial active firms. A large portion of the market is generally overlooked and underserved.

Eric encourages everyone to take those businesses seriously when thinking about who you are selling to and how you are positioning your services and products. [18:26]

Think about how to reach those customers.

"Lower Customer Acquisition Costs" episode resources

The front door is always open at Flockgen. Visit them at www.flockgen.com

This episode is brought to you in part by mailtag.io, a Chrome browser extension for Gmail that allows you to track and schedule your emails. It's super easy, it's helpful, and I recommend that you try it out.

You'll receive real-time alerts anyone opens an email or clicks a link.

This episode is brought to you in part by prospect.io, a powerful sales automation platform that allows you to build highly personalized, cold email campaigns. To learn more, go to prospect.io/tse. It will help you with your outbound to expand your outreach. It allows you to set it and forget it. Your prospecting will never ever be the same.

Previously known as TSE Hustler's League, our TSE Certified Sales Program offers modules that you can engage on your own schedule as well as opportunities to engage with other sellers in other industries.

I hope you enjoyed the show today as much as I did. If so, please consider leaving us a rating on Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, Stitcher, or wherever you consume this content and share it with someone else who might benefit from our message. It helps others find our message and improves our visibility.

If you haven't already done so, subscribe to the podcast so you won't miss a single episode, and share with your friends!

Audio provided by Free SFX and Bensound.