This week we started a whole new year and, like many of you, I have been reflecting upon my successes, growth opportunities, and other experiences from 2011. Today I’d like to share some of these with you and I’d also like to invite you to share your highlights from the past year in the comments section below.
- It's a New Year... Let's Celebrate!
1. WINH Turns Terrific Two
My company celebrated its second anniversary in September (which, in this day and age, is an accomplishment in and of itself). However, beyond celebrating this holiday, I am definitely celebrating the growth my company has experienced through 2011. I completed twice as many consulting projects in 2011 as I did in 2010 and was contracted for 64% more on-site support engagements (attending conventions and trade shows to assist my clients with their sales and marketing efforts). Although 2012 has only just begun, it is already suggesting that even greater growth is imminent for When I Need Help.
2. New Products Offer Convenient Path to Success
If you ask the average exhibitor what their biggest issue is when it comes to achieving their trade show goals, they will tell you it is a lack of time and/or resources. To remedy this, I have created a number of new products which are available for my clients to access when it is most convenient for them:
- How To: Trade Show was launched in August. This website, featuring award winning educational articles, is a great resource where you can find sales tips, marketing tools, and real life examples to improve your overall exhibiting efforts. Beyond that, this resource is completely free for When I Need Help clients and friends.
- How To: Quality Leads is a short course, available in both print and electronic versions, designed to teach your booth staff how to improve their exhibiting ROI through revitalized lead generation efforts. This course takes a back-to-basics approach to logically explain each aspect of this process and includes corresponding activities to further cement the information.
- Pocket Packs are like the trigger cards you “grew up” with, offering handy tips on the go (in a socially acceptable way – laminated, business sized cards with key educational content take the place of your cell phone during functions and between meetings, etc). Covering a wide range of important topics like networking, interacting at business meals, etc, this product is useful to any professional interested in improving his knowledge and keeping his skills sharp.
- Gift Certificates are another product specifically requested by my clients. These can be used to treat your clients, team members, or yourself to personalized consulting sessions or ensure that necessary funds are allocated early so that your budget accommodates the on-site support you require later in the year.
Due to the great response associated with these new products, I am already working on additional content to launch in 2012. I’ll keep you posted here and through my newsletters when these offerings become available for purchase.
3. Stepping Up Social Media Involvement
In addition to creating and maintaining this blog, you can find me on LinkedIn (both as an individual and a company) and Twitter. One of my goals for 2012 is to do a better job of communicating with my clients, prospects, partners, and friends through the specific methods they prefer; interacting where and how they are most comfortable. To accomplish this, I will be expanding my social media efforts (revamping my profiles, allocating more time to participate, and seeking out opportunities to connect… speaking of, are we connected on LinkedIn yet? Am I following you on Twitter? Let me know!).
4. Continuous Improvement on Policies, Mailing List, and Website
As a small business owner, I am always looking for new ways to improve myself and my company. Over the past year, I have created and posted additional corporate policies (view them in the Frequently Asked Questions section of the WINH website) to protect my clients and myself, I have implemented your suggestions to improve my monthly e-newsletters (for which the number of subscribers has grown impressively – yesterday’s e-newsletter (January 2011) was sent to over six times as many subscribers as the first e-newsletter, sent in January 2010), and objectively evaluated my website/updated the content regularly to ensure a user friendly experience. Each of these business tools is very important to me and I will continue to improve them through out the coming year.
Also, you will still find new articles here on How To: Trade Show weekly (posted every Wednesday morning at 8:00am) and, assuming you have opted-in to my mailing list, you will still receive a monthly e-newsletter (sent on the first Tuesday of each month).
As always, if there is ever anything I can do to help you or one of your associates, please don’t hesitate to contact me. I look forward to reading through your 2011 highlights in the comments section below (don’t be shy!) and will be back again next week with your regularly scheduled educational content.
Questions? Suggestions? Other comments? Leave them in the comments section below with your 2011 highlights… Thanks again for a great year – let me know how I can help you make 2012 even better!
