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If you’re an expert, author, consultant, course creator or coach, maybe you have a services business, and you made the decision to grow online.

• Maybe you are just starting out. 

• Maybe your business has already existed for some time.

Very quickly you realized you needed to invest in the software tools - so you started your research.

There are so many tools to choose from. It can easily feel overwhelming and confusing. But if you’re a small business, understanding what tools you should consider is much easier than you think.

In fact, there are really just 5 types of marketing tools for small businesses you should know about. We’ll go over what these 5 essential tools for marketing for small businesses are and how they can help you grow online effectively.

The Tool #1 you need is a funnel Builder

Most of the small business owners think that at first they need a website. Because everybody says “if you don’t have a website - you don’t have a business”.

And that’s the most common mistake I want you to avoid....

What is the website?

The website is your business card. Your digital business card that allows your visitors to learn more about you. A website is also a number of pages that are linked one to many. 

So what is the goal of having a website?

Show people that you exist.

But you know what? You are a small business owner, you’re getting out with an idea. What do you want the most? 

You need sales!!!

If you are already selling online, you might have already felt the pain of missing out on sales.  Or if you are just starting, then you surely understand that this is a lifelong struggle. And sales is not what a website is created for. So why do you need to consider spending time on building a website at this stage?

Either way, funnels are here to save your day! 

A website gives the user all the necessary information about you. But funnel leads users through several steps from getting to know about you and your offer, to an actual sale or a conversion event.

Important to know: a funnel is designed to sell one particular offer rather than the whole brand. This efficient focus helps prepare your user to get closer to your offer - increasing your chances of conversion.

If you want to sell different (and not similar offers eg. packages of the same thing) - you need different funnels. 

Here’s how a funnel can make magic to your business:

#1. It is engaging and lets customers take action with the help of CTAs, forms, quizzes, assessments, videos and more.

#2. It gives precisely the needed information, reducing informational noise and focusing on a particular offer or product. 

#3. It is a proven way of getting more sales when compared to a website. 

A funnel building software tool will help you build marketing and sales funnels and it is an excellent option for small business owners just like you looking for an affordable way to optimize their marketing campaigns. 

The Tool #2 you need - is an Email Marketing Tool

Haven’t we all heard that “Email is dead"?

Well, that’s not true…

Email marketing is the king of ROI when compared to any other digital channel. Many marketers see an average of $41 in ROI for every dollar spent, making it a worthwhile investment.

Email marketing is thriving in 2022, which makes it another one of the 5 essential marketing tools for small businesses.  Every online business owner should be using it to connect with clients. 

You don’t want to fall behind, right?

You want to go digital, that’s a fact. 

And email marketing is here to help - it lets you seamlessly manage your email campaigns, build trust with clients, advertise your offer and so much more.

So to be clear - What is an email marketing campaign? 

It is a group of emails, created for specific purposes sent by your business to one or more of your prospects or clients. You could send the same content to all the recipients or even customize the content for the recipients.

Few main purposes of email campaigns are:

1. Sending personalized one-on-one templated emails to potential and existing clients to increase engagement by adding the level of personal connection . 

2. You can use newsletter campaigns as well as click sequences, sales sequences, celebration sequences or reminders.

3. Email automation: you can create simple or advanced workflows powered with AI where certain actions trigger specific emails with concrete goals. No more manual emailing!

But what makes the heart of your email marketing beat, is your contact database. Using the email marketing tool you can divide your database list into smaller lists of clients that share the same characteristics. Let’s look at it:

List A: Everyone who is subscribed for you and never paid you a cent.

List B: Everyone who hasn't visited your site for 6 months.

List C: People who clicked the specific link in the specific email

This saves time, money and keeps you efficient.

A fully functional email tool will also help you manage all your campaigns from one place and will store all the information so that you do not have to search it elsewhere. The analytics will help you keep track of how users react to your emails: they open it, click on it or maybe it ends up in the spam. This gives you an idea of how you can improve your campaigns and convert like crazy. 

There are many types of email marketing software available in the market, and it is true that many of them allow you to do everything we just mentioned.  But let's be honest - you have a lot of other things to do rather than just research the right tool. So it can be difficult to choose the right one for your business. 

However, if you are using our tool - you can access a full range of email marketing features from within the same software tool as your funnel builder. In other words, you don’t need to look for another software. At all.

If you are planning to start your business or you can struggling to close deals for your business - don’t miss out on the importance of a call scheduling tool, an absolutely essential business tool.

The Tool #3 is a Call Scheduling Tool

We know well that the best way to close a deal is most often a short call.  However, we often end up missing out on opportunities because we somehow fail to set up that call while there is time... Honouring appointments is a major responsibility of business owners. 

What’s the best way to ensure that we don’t mess up our appointments?  Back in the day, executives were backed by a powerful secretary. Today, secretaries are not trendy anymore - call scheduling software is. 

AI as your personal assistant. Sounds cool, doesn’t it?

The tool connects your calendar (google, outlook, whatever one you use) to your calling or conferencing tool (such as zoom, Microsoft teams or google meet) as well as to your mailbox. 

And more importantly, you can even add a survey inside the booking form to prepare for the call and close deals like ninja…

This way the whole process of booking meetings, notifying, and rescheduling the calls becomes a matter of 10 seconds. When you go about choosing your suite of tools, a call scheduler is something that you should never miss out on.

You have now the right set of tools to go and get leads, get appointments and make sales. 

The Tool #4 is a Sales Pipeline Tool

In case you are selling a high-end offer, or you have a complex and long sales process you definitely need a sales pipeline tool (sometimes called as Dealboard or Opportunities)

A Sales Pipeline is a part of a CRM tool (as well as an email marketing tool and a scheduling tool). It helps you keep track of the sales you have made or are in the process of making. Sales Pipeline is a great way to keep track of a client’s movements along the sales pipeline. 

Not only do you get all the relevant information regarding the client or lead, but you can use the information to craft your communication and even communicate using the same tool. 

With all this being said,  you can finally say goodbye to dozens of spreadsheets you’re using for the sales process. Here’s how awesome it is:

1. A clear visual informational tool that helps you stay on track with the sales process of the client. 

2. Certain sales processes can be pretty complicated. It may require many steps, and a deal board can be a great tool to make sure you do not miss anything or anyone

3. Stay up-to-date with the pipeline. It helps you take the necessary steps to communicate with your clients. 

4. It stores all the required information and notes it down for you in the single place. 

5. Track the progress and activity of each sales representative if you’re not alone 

The Sales Pipeline built in our tool is best in class regarding the sales needs of solopreneurs and small business owners.

Tool #5: Website Building Tool

We are getting there… When you have a sales funnel, email tool, call scheduling tool and a sales pipeline tool - it’s time to invest your time in building a website - a digital representation of your business.

Here are  the top reasons why you need a website:

Reason #1. Before buying, potential buyers want to check if you’re credible and trustworthy. They will likely visit your website and look for testimonials, case studies, and info about your company. The question your website must answer - are you able to deliver on what you promise? To get a resounding, ‘Yes’, how your website looks is important. A professional, well-designed website builds trust. When you have both the content and a professional website, you will see more people purchasing. 

Reason #2.  Website is also a great place to educate and engage with your clients with videos, blogs and other content to help your community grow.

Reason #3. You can generate additional leads from your website. Websites are not made for sales purposes. But even if you create one just to tell your story and share your experience, some visitors can fall in love with your brand and become clients just after the first visit by falling into your sales funnel that is linked to your website or a blog. 

A website has all the information that a user needs to know. It acts as a directory and tells the user not only about your product but also about your story and vision, which is a great way to connect!

We do recommend having a simple multi-page website based on your business type. 

Let’s start from just 7 pages:

• Home page

• About us page

• Services page

• Contact Us page

• Schedule Page

• Terms & Conditions

• Privacy Policy

There might be a little bit more supporting pages, but let's start from just 7. No need to start from complex and long pages.

Building your website is a fun and exciting activity, but only if you have the right tool to help you with that. There are hundreds of website builders out there, and those can make your life easier.

We have prepared a few templates to choose from in our incredible software tool. Just plug-and-play. Copy edit the template with your content, add images that resonate with your business (your own or easily selected from the largest free photobank and you’re done).

That is how you have your perfect website without emptying your pocket or burning the midnight oil You also don't need to invest in hiring web developers. That's quite a bit of saving during the early days of business when every penny counts.

Would you like to give James Cook Media True All-in-One Software Solution for small businesses a try?

Schedule a call with us and let's discuss how we can help you select & handle your technology

Bonus: Membership tool

If you are an author, expert, consultant or coach,

If you are a service provider,

Or even a business owner…

You might consider creating educational materials. The best way to host them is a membership tool.

Courses, Modules, Lessons, Assessments, Tracking system, Drip email sequences, password protection … If you want to bring the power of education to your business, your need to have a membership tool for all of what I’ve just mentioned. 

And if you’ve never heard about my Mini Launch Formula before - it’s time to explore how you can start getting paid upfront for your knowledge and expertise without wasting time on social media content marketing, hosting webinars, writing blog articles or trying to turn freebie-seekers into paying customers.

Do you want to learn how to build and scale your business predictably by putting a proven sales funnel in place, writing and automating all of your emails, building a sales pipeline, creating a working website, hosting your courses and getting the confidence you deserve?  No matter who your audience is.... we have a system to transform them from visitors into applications and, hopefully, clients.

You do not need to be a tech expert to use technology or software to grow your business. These marketing tools for small businesses are helpful for any growing business and can be set up quite easily. 

The best part about James Cook Media Software Platform is that it lets you take care of all these from ONE SIGNLE PLACE. 

From creating a funnel or funnels, or a website to tracking your customer’s journey to finally managing your communications - you get it all with James Cook Media Software tool!

More importantly, all these benefits come packaged with tools, templates and incredible tech&marketing support with our Support pricing plan which allows you to get all of the above unlimited for a really affordable price

So let's schedule a quick call, speak about your business goals, your technology needs, and I'll show you the ways to help you automate your marketing, your sales and your business.

Book your call now