Tag Archive for: tools of the trade

Lead Liaison

Tools of the Trade: Trello

/0 Comments/in , /by

In the busy world we live in, we all have our secrets to being more productive and more organized. Technology lends itself to creating more solutions. Lead Liaison is one of those solutions, and we have clients all over the globe that agree! But we didn’t get here by using outdated resources. Here at Lead Liaison, we’ve got several “tools of the trade” that help us be the best that we can be. In this series, we will talk about some of the tools that we use to be more effective in our day. In today’s post, we’ll talk about Trello.

Trello

What is Trello?

Trello is a web-based project management application that is accessible from your desktop, tablet, or smartphone. The way Trello organizes tasks and projects is based off of the Kanban System, which was developed by an industrial engineer at Toyota as a system to keep production levels high and maintain flexibility.

It’s incredibly easy to use, and best of all – it’s FREE. It’s fantastic for managing everything from large projects to small tasks, work projects to family chores. Trello cards are similar to sticky notes, in that you can arrange them (and rearrange them) however you wish. It’s a great way to see the big picture, while still being able to dive into the details with a single click.

Features

Projects are represented by boards, which contain lists, which contain cards. Users and boards can be grouped into organizations, and cards can be assigned to individual users. Cards also can contain comments, attachments, votes, due dates, and checklists (which I find the most helpful). It updates in real time, so that everyone stays on the same page. It’s available on your mobile device (even offline), so you can keep track of tasks on-the-go.

It’s also super easy to customize your experience with backgrounds and color codes.

How Do We Use It?

Here at Lead Liaison, we use Trello all the time. Most of us have it pinned in our browser and check it many times a day. Our marketing team, for example, uses Trello to manage marketing campaigns. We host a shared Marketing Board, which is shared with everyone on the team. It contains several lists: Urgent, In Progress, Back Burner, Future Campaigns, and Wish List. Our lists contain each marketing campaign on separate cards. Within those cards, we keep track of the checklist needed to complete each campaign, comments from the team, reminders, and more.

Trello can also be used for personal use, helping you organize things like Vacations or Chores. I’ve even heard of people using it to plan their wedding! The options are endless.

Cost

What’s extra-special about Trello is the fact that almost everything you would need is in their free version; unlimited boards, lists, cards, members, checklists, and attachments. Their Business Class gives you access to powerful integrations with Evernote, Salesforce, Google Drive, and more. Their Enterprise level pricing offers added security and support. Learn more about Trello’s pricing here.

Lead Liaison

Tools of the Trade: Screencast-O-Matic

/0 Comments/in /by

In the busy world we live in, we all have our secrets to being more productive and more organized. Technology lends itself to creating more solutions. Lead Liaison is one of those solutions, and we have clients all over the globe that agree! But we didn’t get here by using outdated resources. Here at Lead Liaison, we’ve got several “tools of the trade” that help us be the best that we can be. In this series, we will talk about some of the tools that we use to be more effective in our day. In today’s post, we’ll talk about Screencast-O-Matic.

Screencast-O-Matic 1

What is Screencast-O-Matic?

Screencast-O-Matic is a simple screen recorder for Windows and Mac. It allows users to easily record, upload, and share recordings strait from their desktop or laptop. Screencast-O-Matic can be used for video tutorials, support-related videos, and more. This tool is used by businesses, educators, and gamers. Their free version allows up to 15 minutes of recording, which is plenty of time for a quick “how-to” video. Their Pro version offers longer recording limits, the ability to record your computer audio (in addition to your audio input), and editing tools.

Features

Screencast-O-Matic is really easy to operate. It’s got a simple interface that isn’t cluttered with excessive features. Once you’ve downloaded it to your computer, hit “Record” to record your screen, webcam, or both. The application collects audio, as well. While recording, you can draw on your screen, zoom, and add objects (like an arrow). Once you are finished recording, you will be prompted to rename it, make it searchable to others, and upload/save it.

The final recording can be uploaded to Screencast-O-Matic.com, YouTube, Vimeo, Google Drive, Dropbox, or just saved as a video file on your computer. If you choose to upload your recording to Screencast-O-Matic.com, you are provided a link. When someone else clicks that link, an internet browser tab containing only that video opens on their computer.

How Do We Use It?

Here at Lead Liaison, we use this tool a LOT. I’m not even on the Support Team, and I use it at least once a day. I’m not very good at explaining things, or giving direction, so I rely on Screencast-O-Matic to communicate simple instructions that would otherwise be botched in translation. Being a company that specializes in SaaS, we are often asked to help a customer (sometimes across the world) complete a task in our software. Rather than type out the step-by-step instructions, or schedule a GoToMeeting when both parties are available, I am able to record a short video instead. It takes less time on my part, translates better for our customer, and is more convenient for everyone.

Cost

The company offers a free version that has a few limitations, but it’s worth a try. There is an option to upgrade. Their Pro version is $15/year or $29/3 years (that’s one year free!). The Pro version is so reasonably priced that any business would be amiss not to add this to their toolbox.

 

Lead Liaison

3 Sales Tools I Wish I Had When I Was in B2B Sales

/0 Comments/in /by

salespersonLadies and gentlemen, account executives, and sales reps everywhere, I salute you. I have tried my hand in business to business sales and could just never get a rhythm down. They warned me going in that it’s hard to get your foot in the door these days – boy were they right!

In a market saturated with other office equipment suppliers, I could never quite read exactly how interested my prospects were. I’d knock on doors, get cards (or speak to someone if God was smiling on me that day), log them in the CRM, and then call or email back every few days. When I was super lucky I’d hit just the right person at the right time. Not so lucky I got their voicemail. Really unlucky and I was promptly informed I was literally worse than a murderer to these people. 

It was a numbers game, management would say. Well, that’s not a game I’m great at. I love interaction and nurture, not chasing unqualified leads for months before they finally let me down. But you know, I’ve learned a few things here at Lead Liaison. Things that might have made my short sales career much longer, and much more profitable.  

Here are a few of the sales tools I’ve recently discovered that could have made the difference. 

Send and Track™

I remember sitting in my sales manager’s office trying to figure out how to get a better response. I had a solid cold email template, but I struggled knowing when to make the next touch. I usually didn’t even know if my emails were being read, and I didn’t have any real way of knowing. (Pro tip: don’t use read receipts… well, unless you like getting profanity-laced responses).

“It would be so much easier if I knew when they had at least opened the content I sent them,” I’d say. 

Apparently, I could have known exactly that. Lead Liaison’s Send and Track plugins for Google Mail and Outlook add a tracking code to the links within a tracked email. The first time I tested it, I was pleasantly surprised by a chirping from Chrome and a pop up saying my recipient had opened the email. I logged in to our platform, checked the sales emails report, and saw that they had also clicked one of the links. 

To think, if I could go back in time and use this while I was a sales rep, I could know exactly who to focus on based on interest. I wouldn’t be hounding people just trying to ignore me; I’d be responding to people who actually responded to my communication attempts!

Visitor Tracking

Back then I would have been happy enough knowing which emails were effective, but this would have blown my mind. Imagine knowing the people and companies who are actively checking out your website. For a sales person, this is a huge starting point. What’s that? This person has been to the website 5 times and keeps looking at OCR solutions? Well, time to put on my OCR Expert Hat™ and give them a visit!

But it gets better. Lead Liaison’s ProspectVision™ doesn’t just through a cookie in the user’s browser and tell you what pages they went to. No, we’re able to see what content a visitor downloads, if they watch a video (and how much of that video). With every step, ProspectVision™ builds a more and more detailed profile. It comes down to learning what the prospect wants to know so you can make a real connection with them. You don’t have to spend all month wearing down a gatekeeper to get little bits of info on what this company might want. You get to see it all first hand.

Buying Signals

Now we’re talking leads. And I don’t mean a list of businesses in your area marketing has identified as target clients. I mean honest-to-goodness warm leads. Based on website activity, email response, and interaction with content on your website, we create a score for qualified leads. Once they hit a certain threshold, you get a buying signal.

Think about that for a moment. You’re probably a very busy person with a huge funnel to keep up with. It can be hard to really put together a roadmap of someone’s interest, especially when they prefer to research on their own. But now, without having to breathe down their necks, you know when they’ve exhibited purchasing behavior. That kind of insight would have been life changing for me.

If you’re new to the industry, information is power. If you’re already a sales superstar, you already know that. I won’t say cold calling is dead, but wouldn’t you prefer a warm lead to knocking on a door? I know I would have. And hey, with marketing automation as powerful as it is today, the early adopters are the long-term winners.

Request a demo of these tools and more!

 

Lead Liaison

Tools of the Trade: Evernote

/0 Comments/in /by

In the busy world we live in, we all have our secrets to being more productive and more organized. Technology lends itself to creating more solutions. Lead Liaison is one of those solutions, and we have clients all over the globe that agree! But we didn’t get here by using outdated resources. Here at Lead Liaison, we’ve got several “tools of the trade” that help us be the best that we can be. In this series, we will talk about some of the online tools that we use to be more effective in our day. In today’s post, we’ll talk about Evernote.

Evernote

What is Evernote?

Evernote is a “project management tool”. Essentially, it’s a tool used to take, organize, and store notes. Evernote can be downloaded to your computer, accessed by a browser, and even has iOS and Android apps.

Features

Evernote allows users to organize their Notes within Notebooks. I use their Search function a lot, because I take TONS of notes! Using the Search function gets me to where I need to be quickly. And that’s important when I’m trying to jot something down before I forget it. The interface is so simple, yet beautiful. It’s not complicated or overwhelming. They offer the same text capabilities as any other document interface (formatting options, bullet points or number lists, linking, etc.). Users have the ability to upload PDFs or other documents to their notes, as well as connect Evernote to Google Drive for linking relevant projects. It also has browser extensions that allow you to save a web page, in its entirety, with just one click.

How Do We Use It?

Professionally, I have notebooks for partnerships, vendors, marketing campaigns, internal meetings, how-to’s and useful videos/articles (I use the Web Clipper for this one). Within those notebooks, I have a note for each item. Within that note, I track updates. For example, if I have a call with Vendor A, I’ll search for that vendor’s name before I hop on the call. The search function will take me to the specific Vendor A note, which is organized in my “Vendor” notebook. Within my note, I’ll record the date and purpose of the call, and then use the bullet-point function to keep track of our conversation.

I take all meeting notes in Evernote, as well, so that I can easily reference them later. Whenever we have a new Feature Release, I’ll take notes in Evernote of the internal unveiling so I can easily relay the information to my clients without forgetting key points.

Personally, I use it for journaling, recipes, and keeping track of important phone calls, account information, or notes from pediatrician appointments.

Cost

Their basic package is fantastic, and it’s free! It allows up to 60MB of new data per month, and will sync across two devices (computer and phone). It’s everything you need to get started, and might even be enough to sustain you. I take notes every day, and I haven’t run into a problem yet. It’s everything that I need.

They’ve got two paid plans, Plus ($35/year) and Premium ($70/year). Those offer many more capabilities, like email forwarding, text search for PDFs or Microsoft Office documents, and customer support. They’ve also got a Business plan, and companies like CareerBuilder use it as their company standard. Evernote is our company standard as well, but as I mentioned earlier, the basic package is powerful enough for our needs. Visit Evernote’s Pricing Page for more information on the capabilities of each plan.

Lead Liaison uses relevant and useful tools to help achieve daily tasks. The completion of those daily tasks results in better sales and marketing software solutions for our clients. To find out more about the capabilities that Lead Liaison has to offer, check out our Platform Overview page or request a free demo.