Intro: [00:00:04] Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX studios in Atlanta, Georgia. It’s time for Atlanta Business Radio brought to you by on pay Atlanta’s new standard in payroll. Now here’s your host.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:24] Lee Kantor here, another episode of Atlanta Business Radio. And this is going to be a good one. But before we get started, it’s important to recognize our sponsor on pay. Without them, we couldn’t be sharing these important stories. Today on the Land of Business Radio, we have Lori Manns with Quality Media Consultant Group. Welcome, Laurie.

Lori Manns: [00:00:43] Thank you. Happy to be here.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:46] Well, I’m excited to learn what you’re up to. Share a little bit about your practice. How are you serving folks?

Lori Manns: [00:00:52] Well, I am Lori Ammons, president of Quality Media Consultant Group, and we are a business consultancy firm specializing in advertising, marketing and sales strategies to help entrepreneurs and small businesses grow and scale. And that’s what it’s all about. So I’m just ecstatic to be here. I’m actually celebrating 13 years of being a business owner this month, so I’m happy.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:22] Well, congratulations on 13 years. Can you share a little bit about your back story? How did you get involved in this line of work?

Lori Manns: [00:01:30] Well, yes, I became an entrepreneur accidentally. I got downsized in 2009 and decided that I wanted to put my future and my income in my own hands. And so I started this business and never looked back. And I knew that because I had spent 20 years in the media industry, that I knew something about helping people to advertise and market and sell their products and services. And I knew I could figure out a way to develop a profitable business model with the right training and the right contacts and network. And so I just figured it out by trial and error, and here I am 13 years later.

Lee Kantor: [00:02:17] Now, during that time, did you find kind of that ideal customer? Have you identified who that perfect client is for you, the one that you can help take to new levels?

Lori Manns: [00:02:29] Yes. Well, you know, it was trial and error in the beginning because although I knew my target audience was going to be small business owners, I started the agency to work with corporations, and I still do that in one part of my business. But when it came to entrepreneurs and small business owners, I accidentally stepped into that field of coaching and consulting because as I began to brand myself as a subject matter expert, I began to get a lot of people questioning me about how they could market themselves better and how they could develop a sales plan. And so I figured out that my ideal client was someone who was purpose driven and who had a plan and was also faith based. Because my trajectory. Always got so much better when I combined my faith with my business acumen. And so I figured out that I was connected to and I was drawn to people who were purpose driven and faith based. And I also knew that I worked very well with people who were service based entrepreneurs, not that I couldn’t work with people who had product based businesses, but because I was a service based entrepreneur, I knew that I could connect with them a lot better because when you’re selling an intangible, you really have to be clear on who you are and what you bring to the table and what your strengths and weaknesses are, as well as how can you add value. And so I am really good at helping people to come up with how to market themselves and how to tap into their intrinsic gifts, skills and talents to become marketable and become known as subject matter experts. And so those are the people who are most designed to work with me and who I am called to serve.

Lee Kantor: [00:04:30] Now, earlier you used the word plan. Do you find that most of your clients, when they start working with you, that they don’t have a plan? They’re kind of just winging it based on whatever it is, kind of the the winds are telling them to do.

Lori Manns: [00:04:47] Yeah, I find that a lot of people have a loose definition of a plan, whether they call it a business plan or just a plan for how they’re going to grow. If they call it a growth plan, it’s very loose. It’s not something that is structured or even written down in most cases. Some people just kind of have a willy nilly idea as to how they want to grow their business. And when it comes to a business plan, most people don’t have a formal business plan. Not that it needs to be a 50 page dissertation or anything of that nature, but even just an idea as to how they’re going to grow, what their business is going to look like three years, five years, ten years from now, and how they’re going to grow it. And most people have not thought that far in advance. They know what they’d like to do. They have goals, but they don’t really have a plan necessarily for how they’re going to get there. And so that to me is a lot of what’s lacking in entrepreneurship today. People depend a lot on social media, and they just plan to show up on social media and hope that that really transfers into money and results. But that doesn’t always happen. So, yes, to answer your question, I do find that a lot of people don’t have a plan and they certainly don’t have one that’s written.

Lee Kantor: [00:06:13] Now, what are some components of a solid marketing or sales or growth plan?

Lori Manns: [00:06:20] Well, you really have to start at the beginning. And the beginning is what are your goals and what’s your mission, your vision and. Core values, because when you start at the beginning of why does this company exist? What what are you here to do that’s answering? What’s the mission and what’s the vision? Where do you see yourself? What are the top five goals that you want to accomplish? And then what are the core values that you represent as a company? And then what is the pitch? What is it that you’re going to be telling people that you’re going to do for them? And of course, it’s the brand. What is the brand about and what’s that brand promise about? And when you learn all of those things, then you can start to formulate the more important stuff, like who is your client? Who is your target audience? What problem do you solve for them? And when you figure out the main pain points and problems and struggles that your target audience has and how your company is uniquely positioned to answer those problems and address those challenges, then that’s when you can start to market and you can start to create products and services that are going to resonate with your target audience so that you can have a profitable business model. And then you can get into more in-depth stuff about operations, you know, and. All these other things that come into play when you’re running a business. So I think it has to start with the foundational things first and move from there.

Lee Kantor: [00:08:05] Now, as you mentioned, there’s a lot of folks out there that move maybe too early into all of the social media channels and all of the ways to communicate before they really have a true north of what they’re trying to accomplish and get this foundational stuff right. And they’re just kind of dabbling in a lot of different places rather than honing in on a handful that they can really make a difference. How do you kind of educate your clients to avoid that kind of spreading content out there in a whole bunch of places that, you know, at the end of the day, their clients probably are aren’t even paying attention to.

Lori Manns: [00:08:52] Well, I tell people that the best content strategy is to focus on the customer, focus on the client, because it’s not about you. It’s about them. And when you create content that is value based because it. Is about topics your target audience cares about. Then they’re going to be dialed in and they’re going to be paying attention. And so when you answer the questions that they may have in your content and you address the topics that they care about, then that’s going to help you build your brand as a go to resource and a subject matter expert in that industry. And so I just say avoid being all over the place by simply focusing on the audience. Who are we speaking to? How can we help them? What do we need them to know? And if you focus on those three questions, answering those questions and you add the last one, why should they care? That’s going to help you to develop the type of content that’s going to resonate with people. And of course, it’s going to keep you from being all over the place in your content marketing strategy.

Lee Kantor: [00:10:19] Now, is it possible to kind of tie results and financial results to some of these kind of efforts? Because it seems like in today’s world, it’s difficult to know where a person or a client came from because they’re being maybe touched by you or somebody that knows you in a variety of places.

Lori Manns: [00:10:48] Well, that’s a great question. I think it starts with yes. To answer the first part of your question, you can tie in some financial results to your marketing strategy or your social media marketing strategy. And it starts with having a great call to action and. The thing that you have to focus on is giving people the type of messaging that is going to move them. And that messaging has to move them emotionally and it has to inspire desire so that they want to dig into their pockets when they see that call to action that you’ve given them to take the next step. And so I truly believe that if you’re sharing the type of content that is going to make people think. Or make them entertained or educate them about something or intrigue them about something, then they’re going to want to take the next step and they’re going to be positioned to buy at that point, because you’ve already gotten their interest. You’ve already inspired some type of desire within them to learn more or take the next step. So if you give them an invitation and that’s all the call to action is, if you give them an invitation, then they’re more likely to take you up on it.

Lee Kantor: [00:12:20] Now, can you share a story of maybe a problem a client had that they went to you for help and then you were able to take them through that and help solve the problem and take them to a new level. Now, you don’t have to name the name, but maybe just share the problem and the solution and how you were able to help them.

Lori Manns: [00:12:42] Well, I can think of a client who was in a. The financial industry and just being a. Financial services provider and coming up with a product and a service that they wanted to get out there in the marketplace, but was not quite sure how to do that. So I helped them to develop a marketing strategy that positioned them as the expert, and they started to get opportunities for speaking and other things that turned into monetary fulfillment for them. I can also think of a real estate investor that was trying to get into coaching and consulting, and I helped them come up with a marketing strategy to put their. Program out there in a bigger way and start to create the type of content that was going to resonate with the folks who would be interested in taking a course on real estate investing and development. And their numbers just started to pick up and eventually blazed so many trails that they have expanded since working with me. So it’s all about the marketing strategy that you use and if you are a professional, an entrepreneur or whatever you consider yourself, it’s about doing the marketing that is going to resonate with you and that you’re going to feel good about, and that is also going to connect with the target audience. So if you are a solo entrepreneur and you’re someone who is camera shy, then video marketing might not work for you. But if you’re a solo entrepreneur and you’re not camera shy and you can deliver a message very well on camera, then video marketing could definitely work for you and could move the needle in your business and create that know like and trust factor a lot quicker so that you can connect with your audience better and in turn turn that marketing into monetization where you are actually making money.

Lee Kantor: [00:15:05] Well, is there any upcoming events that you’re participating in?

Lori Manns: [00:15:11] Yes, actually, because my firm is celebrating 13 years in business this month. We are hosting an event that is virtual and it’s called the Trailblazer Business Summit. And it’s an online event where we invite entrepreneurs to. Come and learn and grow together. And the theme for this year is Connect, Innovate and dominate. And we truly believe that in 2022 we are still learning how to connect with each other better and in more engaged ways online because of being on the tail end of this pandemic. We’re also learning that it’s so critical to innovate and create new products and services all the time and stay on the cusp of just creating new things. And also, it’s important to dominate in your industry so that you can be seen as the go to resource, the go to expert and the number one choice and obliterate your competition. So we’re all about connecting, innovating and dominating our spaces and places where we show up as entrepreneurs and small business owners. And so we have several speakers talking about everything from social media strategies that are going to take you to that next level, meaning six figures or seven figures, because I have some people in my network who have used social media only to build their businesses. And then we’re going to be talking about topics like blockchain and cryptocurrency and smart budgeting and investing and book publishing and marketing and so much more. And it’s such a great event because there’s a diversity in speakers and diversity in the topics, so we’re excited about it. It’s going to be happening Saturday, April the 23rd at 10 a.m., and I’m excited to share it.

Lee Kantor: [00:17:10] And who is the ideal person to participate or attend this summit?

Lori Manns: [00:17:16] I would say entrepreneurs and small business owners who are looking for strategies, tips and tools to level up in their businesses and of course level up means different things to different people. But when I say level up, I mean expand your brand awareness and increase your revenue and increase and grow your network. So if that sounds like you, this is a place for you to be because you’re going to do all of those things. You’re going to expand your network, you’re going to learn strategies to increase your sales, and you’re also going to make connections with purpose driven entrepreneurs who are trying to get to that next level and who have already attained a certain level of success that most entrepreneurs only dream about.

Lee Kantor: [00:18:04] So if somebody wants to learn more about the summit and or get on your calendar to learn more about your practice, is there a website?

Lori Manns: [00:18:13] Absolutely it is w w w quality media consultants dot com. Again, that’s quality media consultants dot com.

Lee Kantor: [00:18:26] Well, Laurie, thank you so much for sharing your story. You’re doing important work and we appreciate you.

Lori Manns: [00:18:31] Thank you so much, Lee. It’s always great to talk to you and I appreciate the opportunity.

Lee Kantor: [00:18:35] All right, this Lee Kantor we’ll see you next time on Atlanta Business Radio.