Saturday, May 9, 2020

Is the last mile in your companys customers journey letting you down

Is the last mile in your companys customers journey letting you down You’ve got a problem: too few of your website visitors are turning into leads. This can be super frustrating. You’ve got a great social media presence promoting your side hustle. Your website is regularly updated with content. You’ve used Google Analytics and can see your ads and organic content are bringing in traffic. Why is your sales and marketing funnel letting you down then? One likely reason is that the last mile in your customers’ journey is failing you. What is the ‘last mile’ in the customer journey, and what can you do to improve it? What is the last mile in the customer journey? The ‘last mile’ is a sales and marketing term borrowed from the telecommunications industry. Broadband and telephone providers talk about the last mile when referring to the final copper wiring that connects the consumer’s home to the broader telecommunications network. Even if they have the best infrastructure in place, telecom firms still need to make sure this last connection is working â€" otherwise the whole enterprise is a waste of time. In sales and marketing, the last mile refers to the final stages of the sales and marketing funnel. Just like the telecoms infrastructure, you can have all the sales and marketing funnel in place â€" a great SEO strategy, business listings on Google Maps, a website packed full of content, active social media and all the brochures and sales content to send clients. But, without the last mile in place, all that infrastructure is a waste of time. The last mile in eCommerce is typically the shopping basket and checkout. In service companies and the B2B sector, the last mile is very often little more than the ‘contact us’ form. So, when we talk about improving the ‘last mile’ in sales and marketing, we’re talking about improving the customer’s experience when they have reached that decision to buy. Why does the last mile go wrong? If you’re frustrated about customers dropping off at the last mile, you’re not alone! Research suggests that a huge 70% of eCommerce customers abandon their shopping baskets during the last mile. That’s a huge amount of potential business lost! There’s plenty of reasons that customers drop off at the last mile. As data from Statista shows, many customers drop off simply because they were only browsing and never expected to buy â€" they were probably never going to convert. Nonetheless, 21% of customers drop off because the process takes too long, and 25% say they leave without paying when website navigation is too complicated. These are things you can change â€" often relatively easily. Imagine you could reduce last mile drop off by just 5% the impact would be huge. 4 steps to improve the last mile on your site If you’re running a side hustle or an online business, you might not have the time to build an elaborate website which closes that last mile gap. So, what can you do instead? The good news is that there’s tons of tools, tweaks and cheats which make it a lot easier to close that last mile. Let’s look at some tactics and tools you can incorporate into your website to close the customer journey. Include Calls to Action (CTA) It seems like a simple change to make but including multiple CTAs around your website can have a huge impact on customer conversion. A CTA is a simple piece of website copy â€" usually a button â€" telling or asking the reader to do something. Use simple, direct CTAs with expressions like: Book a free consultation today Order now Contact me today The benefit: people aren’t left confused  CTAs mean visitors know what to do next and are therefore more likely to do as the CTA says. Make your calendar visible Do you provide any kind of service? Share your calendar live on your website. A simple live calendar showing when you are available means visitors know what times you’re free and can book your time. The benefit: save yourself and your customers the tedium of sending emails back and forth. Instead, let them see when you’re free and book your time without the hassle. Cut the steps required to book you and your services No one wants to ‘sign up’ for an account when ordering something online â€" the pain of remembering passwords, sharing data with another company, being put on one more email list. Once people have decided you’re the company for them, don’t turn them off with a complex process â€" make things as easy and seamless as possible with simple scheduling tools. The benefit: Anything you can do to reduce the number of steps needed to book your services makes it more likely for customers to finish that last mile. Facilitate payment As above, complex payment methods turn customers off in an instant. No one wants to jump through hoops to pay for a product or service â€" it should be as seamless as possible. Use common online payment services like Stripe and PayPal to make it easy as possible for people to pay. The benefit: receive payment easily and securely, while making it super simple for customers to pay you. Shorten the last mile with Book Like a Boss If your website visitors don’t seem to be turning into leads, your last mile might be letting you down. The problem for so many small businesses, side hustlers and solopreneurs is that improving that last mile of the customer journey typically involves using a lot of complex tech and website optimization. If you don’t have the time to tweak your website for hours on end adding plugins and APIs, tools like Book Like a Boss do the heavy lifting for you. Using Book Like a Boss gives you a ready to use web page which includes a calendar where visitors can view your availability and book and pay for your services. You get access to an easy to use dashboard and can take your first bookings in minutes. To find out more, visit Book Like a Boss today.

Friday, May 8, 2020

Find Out Why You Were Rejected from a Job with These Tips

Find Out Why You Were Rejected from a Job with These Tips Leaving an interview   knowing that you did not do everything in your power to get it can be demoralizing. But, its also a learning experience. What went wrong? How can I correct this problem? What is holding me back? There are some things you should examine about your resume and how you showcase yourself. Here are some tips to updating your resume and getting that job interview to go in your favor. 1. Include your contact information whenever you send out emails. A quick fix, adding an email signature. 2. Forgetting to attach your resume or documents to your emails. As soon as you write, “attached” make sure you attach the document. Gmail actually has a function that asks if you want to attach something when you write “attach”. 3. Sending an email before youre ready. Try sending it to yourself before sending it to HR managers. This way you can proof your email and make sure that its exactly what you want to send. 4. Leaving odd, incomplete or incoherent phone messages. Nothing sounds worse than being rushed or fumbling through your words as you leave a message, Umm, Hi. What? Oh, Hi, this is John   What if the voicemail server doesnt have a redo function? Now you look a little silly. Speak slowly so that you can gather your words and leave a smart, coherent message. Leave your name at the beginning and end with your name and phone number. 5. Lying on your LinkedIn or Facebook profiles. Saying that youre a consultant when youve been out of work for 2 years does not look good. People will think youre employed and look over you for prospective positions. Instead, say that youre looking for “new opportunities” or “a change of pace”. 6. Not telling people that you are looking for a job. Send an email to your friends and family and let them know that youre actively seeking a job. You would be surprised at the amount of people who will come to you with new opportunities. Update your LinkedIn profile to let people know that you are looking for a job. The more people who know that youre looking, the higher your chances of landing a job. 7. Forgetting to use your most current email address. Many people leave older email address on their resume and fail to check their mail as they move on to new servers. You can solve this problem by email all of your contacts from your new email address, as well as updating your resume with the most up-to-date information. Make sure your online profiles include your email address as well. 8. Check your email messages for grammar or spelling errors. Nothing is worse than crafting a thought out email, sending it and then realizing that youve misspelled “Marketnig”. Its a dead giveaway that you do not possess the eye for detail you claim. Spell check before you send that message.

Monday, April 20, 2020

Create a LinkedIn Resume With a GitHub Resume

Create a LinkedIn Resume With a GitHub ResumeThe GitHub resume is a tool that helps create a professional looking resume for your GitHub profile. If you have previously tried using Google Docs or Word Press to create your resume, you are likely familiar with the problems that they have and the functionality that they provide.GitHub provides several different tools to help you create a professional looking resume for your GitHub profile. They provide a powerful auto designer which will automatically fit your resume into the box provided by the template of your choice. You can also choose between many professional looking templates, like Word Press, Drupal, Amethyst, and even Microsoft Word.When creating your resume, you can use their Career History to find out your relevant skills and past employment. GitHub offers easy access to this information from the UI. Once you have found your career history, you can then add more information about your career history in the text box.GitHub als o offers a page builder that will allow you to generate and customize your own pages. The different pages include Project Management, User and Maintainer Management, User Handbook, Version Control, Bounties, Feature Request, Hints, License Manager, Developer and Contributor Management, and even Projects from other developers. You can also edit each page in your resume at any time.Another useful feature of the GitHub resume is the ability to update your resume for free. GitHub provides your resume as a text file and this allows you to update your resume as you change jobs. This feature is very helpful when you have changed jobs since your last submission and you don't want to re-enter your information on your resume.GitHub also provides custom build versions of their resumes. These builds are compatible with all the open source resume packages, such as CV, CVX, SSRN, IMLS, and MultiMarkdown. You can easily edit your resume as you change jobs by choosing which fields to edit in the Cu stom Build section.Overall, GitHub is a highly effective tool for creating a resume for your GitHub profile. It is easy to use, looks great, and is completely free.

Tuesday, April 14, 2020

Steven Slater Proves It You Need an F-You Fund - Money Under 30

Steven Slater Proves It You Need an F-You Fund - Money Under 30 Steven Slater Proves It: You Need an F-You Fund I love the Steven Slater story. In case you’ve had your head in the sand for the past few days, here’s the quick version: Slater was a Jet Blue flight attendant who had a really crappy Monday at work. After an altercation with a defiant passenger, Steven Slater let fly an expletive-filled rant over the airline’s PA, grabbed a beer from the galley, popped an emergency exit slide, and departed from his career. About an hour later, police arrested Slater at his home near JFK airport. Having worked service jobs before, I snicker at Slater’s story. I don’t doubt the seriousness of his legal troubles or the recklessness of his actions. But, I know every past and present service worker has dreamed of quitting in a “take this job and shove it” blaze of glory. Most, of course, never act. And those who do usually don’t go out in first-class fashion like Slater. But what does this have to do with personal finance in your twenties? It’s about the utility of the F-You Fund. I know nothing about Steven Slater’s financial situation. I don’t know that flight attendants earn all that much, but he’d been at it for close to twenty years and, if he were smart, could have had a decent emergency fund and other savings. But did Slater have an F-You fund? An emergency fund is money to pay the bills for six to nine months in case you lose your job. An F*-You fund is money to pay the bills in case you just can’t take it anymore. Similar, but different. If I wanted to create an F-You fund, I’d save more than just minimum expenses for a few months; I’d save a year’s worth of after-tax salary…enough to live on for a year. Think about it: If you had a year’s salary stashed in a high yield savings account somewhere, you’d know that if you really got fed up at work, you could just quit. Let’s be honest, popping the chute is never going to be a wise career move. But you never know when you might face a day, like Steven Slater, when enough is enough. Have you ever quit a job suddenly? Were you financially prepared? How do you think having an F-You Fund would change your attitude towards work? (Feel free to comment on Slater, too, but let’s not get carried away…)

Monday, March 16, 2020

How You Really Sound in Meetings [Video]

How You Really Sound in Meetings VideoMeetings tend to bring out theweird in people. Think about it you have a room full of totally different personalities who are obligated to work together for a commongoal. And, lets face it, most of them dont want to be there. googletag.cmd.push(function() googletag.display(div-gpt-ad-1467144145037-0) ) Its a situation justasking for awkwardnessespecially if youre the one who has to actually, you know, speak up to get things done.Watch the video below by the folks over at FastCompany to seehow even the most well-meaning meeting leaders can come across as wacky and out-of-touch.

Wednesday, March 11, 2020

Free Personality Tests That Are Fun

Free Personality Tests That Are Fun Psychology tells us that ourpartality typehas a big impact on our life. Its no wonder that free ansprechbar personality tests and personality quizzes and analyses like Myers Briggs, 16 Personalities and the Big Five are so popular to take. Which personality test is right for you? Well, it depends in part on what youre looking to find out.Some of us simply want to better understand ourselves while others are trying to figure out why andhow we build certain kinds of relationships. Personality tests are becoming more important when it comes to getting a job as well. Increasingly, pre-employment personality tests are being used by employers and job candidates themselves to try to identify thebest jobsandcareer paths, which is why we carve out a special section for job and career-relatedpersonality tests.Regardless of why you take a personality quiz or aptitude test, the fact of the matter is that it can be enjoyable to indulge in a bit of navel-gazing from time to time. Just dont take these test results too seriously. After all, one prominent critic, Professor Adam Grant,has calledone of the most widely known and taken personality tests, the Myers-Briggs, a fad that wont die whose accuracy is somewhere between a horoscope on one end and a heart monitor on the other. If youre curious and uninitiated with personality quizzes and self-report inventories (i.e. self-serve psychological tests) to assess your individual personality (but that are notlage IQ tests), the following 18 tests are free and fun-- even for those who dont consider themselves great test takersFull Fledged Personality TestsThe Myers-Briggs, 16 Personalities and Big Five personality tests tend to be the best-known for a reason. They are full-fledged analyses, and there are versions administered by official assessment providers (which usually involve some sort of cost, but also come with a certification). If youre very serious about understanding your official result s, you may want to go that route but there are plenty of free, erreichbar approximations which you can use to get a sense of them first1. Myers-Briggs Personality TestThe Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (also known as MBTI) test is the one responsible for the fact that people call themselves a combination of four letters like ENTJ or INTP. This personality test will look very similar to those who have taken the 16 Personalities test or the jung und unschuldig Typology test (both discussed below) because the 16 Personalities test is a mashup of the Myers-Briggs and Jung Typology tests. The originalMyers-Briggs test taken through the organizationis not free (it costs $49.95) but there are plenty offree online imitationsout there.2. 16 PersonalitiesMaybe you thought there were a lot more than just 16 personality types, but like Myers-Briggs, the whole idea is that the combination of four different characteristics defines our personality. Usually this test takes people less than 20 minutes . You answer the extent to which you agree or disagree with statements such as You consider yourself more practical than creative, or You try to respond to your emails as soon as possible and cannot stand a messy inbox.Then, at the end of the 16 Personalities Test, youre told where you sache on 4 different spectrums (1) how much you like to make decisions versus keeping your options open (2) how much youre a details versus big-picture person (3) how much you make choices based on emotion versus logic and (4) how much you think aloud versus think before you speak. Some of these tests will categorize your results into memorable archetype names such as Defender or Commander.3. The Big Five Personality TestMost professional psychologists use the Big Five model of personality to describe personality differences. This test will take you approximately 15 minutes and require you to answer about 50 questions. The5 factorshave been defined as openness to experience, conscientiousness, extrave rsion, agreeableness and neuroticism, often listed under the acronyms, CANOE or OCEAN.The Big Fivepersonality traitsare considered to have high reliability, internationally applicable and even have basis ingenetics and biologyg, such that neurologists have done work tomap brain regionsto these five traits.4. The HEXACO Personality Inventory TestFor those who are not satisfied with measuring personality only along five dimensions, the HEXACO test adds a sixth element to the Big Five Personality Test (hence the H). H stands for the honesty-humility domain and is factored into these 100 questions that require roughly 15 minutes of your time.Psychometric Tests and Career Assessment Type Personality Tests5. Human Metrics Jung Typology TestSimilar to 16 Personalities, this personality test asks for your level of agreement with questions that ask how you interact with others and think or feeling about things. This free personality quiz is based on Carl Jung and Isabel Briggs Myers methodol ogy which underpins the 16 Personalities test but the output is framed as both a personality assessmentas well asa career assessment of which jobs and professions are best suited to different types of people.6. The PI Behavioral AssessmentThe Predictive Index is mainly used by employers in the recruiting process and talent management process to objectify workplace behaviours so you can predict the drives and motivations of others, be a better manager and communicate more effectively.In short, its trying to optimally match job seeker types and hiring managers for job performance based on a persons abilities. For that reason alone, it might be worth taking if youre interested in working at one of the companies that uses this assessment. While it is a testing service sold to employers who want to understand employee drives and patterns, a free version is available so long as you submit your company information, and we think its worth the time to become familiar with this test, especial ly since a prospective employer may use it7. Career Values Assessment by MyPlanMyPlan is a website that offers many career planning tools, including career assessments. Career Values Assessment is one of their free career assessments, which they describe as 20 questions which will take you 12 minutes to complete. The end result a description of how you with six core work values such as recognition, achievement, independence, relationships, support and working conditions, as well as a rank ordering of your needs. To make it even more useful, youll get a ranking of hundred of job titles reflecting your answers.8. Career Clusters Interest SurveyThis is not necessarily a full-on personality test, but this is a very interesting career assessment based on answers to questions about your personality type and activities you enjoy or things you like studying. The test takes 5-10 minutes and will result in a series of career clusters that was designed by university career services centers.9. The MAPP Career TestSince launching in 1995, more than 8 million people have taken this free assessment to help determine a better fit job or career. The test takes 22 minutes to complete online and your results are mapped against over 1,000 possible careers in the database. The test has been certified as reliable by psychologists, and is used by school counselors, career coaches and recruiting firms.10. The Holland Code Personality TestThe Holland Code Personality Test meakoranverss your interest level in the 6 categories of careers described by Dr. John Holland, whom the test is named after. Depending on your answers to 87 questions asking you to rate how much you like or dislike various activities such as designing a magazine cover or analyzing the structure of molecules, youll learn whether you are Realistic (building, fixing, working outdoors), or Investigative (thinking, researching experimenting), Artistic (creating, designing, expressing), Social (helping, teaching, encourag ing), Enterprising (persuading, leading, selling) or Conventional (organizing, categorizing, recording).11. O*Net Interest ProfilerHosted at MyNextMove.org and sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor Employment Training Administration, the O*Net Interest Profiler asks 60 questions about work activities and how you feel about them. The output at the end of the personality test rates you on the same six dimensions as the Holland Code Personality Test. However, there is a practical and important difference. At the end of your assessment, you will be prompte to answer some practical information about what job zone (read experience level) you fall into. 12. Sokanu Career AssessmentSokanu is a free career testing platform that offers a career matching to help people find their ideal careers and with hiring decisions. They have created a test and prediction engine and 750 career profiles in helping people understand and enter careers. Their test is free and takes 20 minutes to complete. At the end, you should receive 3 reports an archetype report that explains who you are and what kind of work will likely fulfill you a personality report wherein approximately 150 personality traits are analyzed and a trait report helping you understand where you fall relative to other people who have taken the test.Partial Personality TestsSometimes you want to just understand an aspect of your personality and not spend the time on a full-fledged personality diagnosis. In these case, the following tests might help you isolate specific things such as temperament or emotional intelligence. 13. The Typefinder Temperament TestThe Typefinder Temperament Test takes 20 minutes and will help you understand your temperament, which is a key component of your personality. Youll discover whether youre a Preserver, Responder, Theorist or Empath, which will help you better understand yourself and how you are perceived by others around you (at the office or beyond the workplace).14. The Keirsey Temperament Sorter The folks at the Keirsey Temperment Sorter describe this test as one of the most widely used personality instrument in the world used for people to identify their personality type. The end objective is to make sure you have deeper self-knowledge and not to suggest a certain type of vocation or job, under the theory that you must deeply understand yourself before you can be effective at any role. This online test includes 71 questions based on the best-selling books by Dr. David Keirsey.15. Emotional intelligence TestEmotional intelligence is considered a prime asset in life, and in the workplace. Its also (stereotypically) thought to be a strength of women, in particular. How does your emotional intelligence and aptitude stack up? This test will help you understand whether you empathize well with others and express, perceive and assess other peoples emotions accurately.Just-For-Fun Personality TestsWhile different personality tests may or may not have scientific v alidity, lets not forget one of the reasons that so many types of people love them they can be fun. While we think all of the free personality tests weve listed are fun, the following quizzes are particularly entertaining. Sadly, they may not actually tell you much (except that you like personality tests), but thats OK16. Photo Career QuizIf youre not one for verbal questions, this entirely visual test is comprised of 30 questions that include two images each. You are simply asked to answer which of the photo pairing appeals most to you. While it is not technically a psychologically rigorous test, the folks at Truity describe the results as comparable to those given at the end of the Holland Code Personality Test.17. Buzzfeeds Whats Your Actual Personality QuizIts all big print atop big images. Our only complaint is that its so loud and obvious on the screen that it makes it hard to pretend you are actually on a useful website for work purposes. But its very fun and quick if youre l ooking for a momentary diversion and want some confirmation that you are indeed Type A (or not). Either way, this personality quiz is for kicks -- not for any major life decisions18.What Is My Spirit Animal?Ok, so maybe this one is really just for kicks, but on the other hand, all you have to do is take a short 8-question personality quiz and ta-da Within 5 minutes you will know what animal spirit you channel and what it means. Your affinity with an animal is analyzed, and you never know...this might be a fun ice-breaker somedayIn all seriousness, though, if youre a new graduate, or switching careers, a personality test can help you take a step back and look at these from a fundamental or more philosophical view than just the narrow lens of what your most recent educational credentials or skills are. You may be better to understand your strengths and weaknesses, and personality style, as well. Chances are that if you take even a small sampling of these personality tests, youll come out feeling like you better understand yourself -- and your future career path -- better than before you started.And if you want to build your very own personality test, give SurveyAnyplace a try.

Friday, March 6, 2020

The Ultimate Graphic Design Resume Samples Trick

The Ultimate Graphic entwurf Resume Samples Trick Graphic Design Resume Samples - Is it a Scam? A great deal of graphic designer job positions can be found in various industries and fields of expertise. Graphic designers frequently must work with the demands and constraints of their customers and bosses to produce results that please a number of people. For instance, if youre a great makeup artist, a portfolio with photographs of earlier work can help others decide what might suit them. The Ultimate Graphic Design Resume Samples Trick Resumes also supply you with the chance to generate a positive first impression and convince prospective employers that youre the suitable candidate for the job. They are crucial to the job search. Effortless navigation and simple graphic design is a good sign to acquire online clients from any distribution policy in the world. So as to design a web site, web designers needs to develop an array of skills and qualifications. Web consultants m ight also be accountable for adding downloadable files or clickable email info, which demands the usage of file transfer protocol (FTP). The graphic design resumes display both the talents and the essence of the author, helping to construct a brand even if working independently. The Magazine Style Resume template is the ideal selection. You can also find the Resume Templates. To find out more on what it requires to be a Graphic Designer, have a look at our complete Graphic Designer Job Description. Graphic Designer is a wide term skill which can be applied to various positions. The 5-Minute Rule for Graphic Design Resume Samples An expert web designer is liable for the design and placement of images and the evolution of supplemental text. Your resume or CV may be among the most important projects you ever design. Graphic Design Resume Samples Ideas Designers will almost always discover that including the Adobe Create Suite is a fantastic starting point. So, the Graphic Des igner Resume must have the right experience stated there in addition to the area of experience. Creativity Graphic designers must be creative thinkers. Technology Graphic designers have to master a variety of kinds of technology in the current world. Briefly explain why youre searching for a graphic design job, for example, variety of years in the geschftliches miteinander and your strongest skills. A career portfolio is a group of your work and qualifications for any particular job or sort of position. The most essential part of a graphic designer is the limitation of the job which has been assigned to them. Even though he resume is only the first crucial step in landing your dream position, its often the thing that can make it or break it in terms of your employment.