There’s nothing better than a fired-up client … a client eager to spend resources and energy on doing smart things in a smart way … a client ready for results and willing to do what it takes to get them.

And there’s nothing worse than having to tell that client to holster it back up because they aren’t ready to pull the trigger.

That is sometimes the situation we find ourselves in when our small business clients are interested in implementing social media strategies before they have made sure that the location they are driving traffic to – usually their Web site – is prepared to handle the traffic.

When it comes to marketing their own brand, many small- and mid-sized businesses are working with limited resources.  So a decision to increase focus in one area often inadvertently becomes a decision to decrease attention in another.

Embarking on a social media strategy is a major undertaking for any company, an effort that often manages to soak up a lot of internal resources.  This can mean that the more mundane efforts it takes to update the company Web site can often go ignored, leaving the place you are trying to drive more traffic to looking something less than its best. Why is this a problem?  Because social media efforts are just a means to an end, with your final goal being to convert traffic into sales.

It’s important that the first step of your social media strategy be taking a look at your Web site and making sure it is an effective end-destination for every tweet, blog post and shared video.

• Are there clear “calls to action” throughout your Web site?
• Are your products and service pages current, accurate and complete?
• If you are targeting a specific audience with specific services/products needs in your social media efforts, are those services/products easily found?
• Are your contact pages updated and complete?  Is it easy for customers to continue the dialog that you started with a social media vehicle?
• Is your Web site content of interest to your social media audiences?

Pages that need simple corrections should be taken care of right away.  Any section that needs more extensive effort should be avoided as landing pages for social media traffic.  Once you are comfortable that your Web site is ready and able to do handle the new traffic, your company can feel comfortable in taking its first shot at social media success.

Recently, I spoke with a new prospect, who decided not to participate in one of our webinars because he preferred doing business “face to face” and stated that if I wouldn’t travel to his office in Ohio, he didn’t want to continue in discussions. Understood – that is certainly his prerogative which I’m sure has served him well for many years.

It made me sit back however and consider objectively the pros and cons of online meetings. Online meetings are certainly both time and cost effective, and less intrusive but may lack traditional warm, personal contact. The challenge is to improve the ability to build a strong, personal relationship with customers through the technology.

I have been doing online webinars for almost five years and have used several tools during that time –like WebEx, Adobe and Gotomeeting and others. Regardless of the tool, what I found to be critical to a successful event is to maintain personal contact as much as possible. So here are some suggestions based on my experience.

At the start of the meeting, build a sense of community by introducing the participants to each other.  Let them each say hello to each other (assuming the group is small) just as you would if you were standing before them in a conference room. This is a polite courtesy you would do if you met in person, right? If the group is too large for personal hellos, address the group as you would in a larger auditorium with a nice welcoming statement that is as personable as possible. This will help everyone feel both included and valued. Let your personality shine through before getting into your formal product information.

Use of a webcam will let people see both you and your environment and is key to improving a sense of personal relationship. Set the stage! Show yourself as you would for a visit to the client’s facility. Let them know you are a real person and are professional in your appearance. Also, displaying a background that reflects some of your own personality helps.

Follow-up each online meeting with a phone call and a personally tailored e-mail. Each should serve to highlight any questions the individual raised.  Try to include something specific to their own situation.  Be sure that, although they were a part of a bigger discussion, their insights are relevant and you heard them.

Keep in mind that online meetings are not a replacement for face-to-face sessions, but often costs and logistics dictate that need. And if want to hang on to the traditional practice of bringing bagels to a customer’s site for a meeting – have some delivered!

In the words of Randy Jackson on American Idol:  “Just keep it real baby! “

The E Myth — Revisited, by Michael E. Gerber — Why Most Small Businesses Fail and What to Do About It (The dog-eared book to the right is my own personal copy from 1995).

The subhead says it all! As you know if you’ve read my other posts, I’m all about overcoming the small business epidemic (a term that I coined several years ago), which gets right to the point that “most” small businesses don’t work, or fail.

Needless to say this book speaks to me. Actually, it’s been speaking to me for years and was instrumental in the development, structure and continuing success of my own business, Cazbah.

The term E Myth relates directly to the Myth that; I am an Entrepreneur, therefore I know how to start, run, manage and succeed at a small business. The data regarding small business failures in this country say otherwise. In fact, most small businesses are started by what Gerber refers to as “technicians,” people that make things or do things and start a business because they think they have a better way of making or doing things. I’ve always related the difference between leaders and managers to this point, namely – managers do things right, leaders do the right things. So simple, so relevant…

One of the characteristic pinch points for entrepreneurs is that they can never seem to get ahead. Gerber refers to this as working in the business, rather than working on the business. They are so busy making stuff that they never raise their eyes to the horizon to see what’s coming or where they are going. Like walking across a field looking at your feet. You may never get to the other side…

There are many, many small businesses (most actually) that I’ve interacted with over the years that are in a perpetual vicious cycle. They go out to their markets sell something, bring it back to the shop and build it, go out sell something, bring it back build it..(repeat). Their financial results porpoise as a result. Picture the fish (o.k., mammal), above the water – below the water – above the water – below the water, etc… It never ends and they never really grow or get ahead. They just exist like this, in some cases from one generation to the next.

Gerber offers some simple and actionable advice on how to correct the E Myth through the development of the Franchise Prototype. This is a business model that adopts the attributes of a franchise business. He goes to great lengths to give credit where it’s due (Ray Crock – McDonalds). Here’s a little tidbit to give this point some credence. “Regular” small businesses fail at a rate of 70% – 80%. Franchises succeed at a rate of 75%. Get the point? As an aside, for the entrepreneur considering a business venture, being a franchisee may represent your best choice!

Most small businesses lack structure and any repeatable process documentation, the attribute that truly defines the franchise business model. Gerber contends that the strategic systemization of your small business will reap huge returns and resolve the E Myth… and he’s right!

If you are 1) an Entrepreneur, 2) business owner or manager, 3) considering becoming an Entrepreneur, 4) may someday be in a position of business management, 5) are currently employed or, 6) are considering employment… (you get the point): You owe it to yourself to read this book!

Michael Gerber’s E Myth is what I consider to be one of the foundational texts that every small business should have on its book shelves and have in practice! Buy it and read it.