Electronic signature Word for Sales Teams Later

teamslater is an innovative tool within airSlate SignNow that enhances team collaboration for document management. It allows multiple users to work on eSigning and sending documents seamlessly, increasing efficiency and reducing turnaround time. By integrating teamslater, your business can streamline workflows and improve overall productivity.

The pricing for teamslater varies based on the plan you choose with airSlate SignNow. Generally, subscriptions are offered at various tiers to accommodate businesses of different sizes. It's cost-effective, especially when compared to traditional document signing methods, helping you stay within budget while maximizing functionality.

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Yes, teamslater seamlessly integrates with various software applications, including popular CRM and productivity tools. This integration ensures that your teams can work within the platforms they are already familiar with, streamlining the document signing process. As a result, teams can enhance their efficiency without disrupting their current workflows.

Absolutely! teamslater is designed to cater to businesses of all sizes, including small enterprises. It provides an affordable solution to manage documents and streamline eSigning processes, making it accessible for small businesses looking to improve their operational efficiency.

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All brokers use some sort of software suite to help them continue on the go.“Approximately 71% agents responded that they did use some form of CRM service that is integrated with website and other 3rd party software like MLS & Zillow.”Right real estate software which is combination of CRM + Transaction Management + EMail application can be selected by doing feature-by-feature comparison only.Yet, successful sorting out of important features of an integrated back-office system is intimidating, especially to non-technical people.RealtyShine is bringing to your eyes real estate industry-specific suite of applications that you need to expect from a software vendor to avoid generic piece of property management solution:Tenant/contact managementTenant self-service portalsDocument management (lease agreements, 1099s, official notices, etc.)Native mobile applications for iOS, Android & WindowsProfessional web portal integrated with CRMRent payment processingWorkflow managementWork order/maintenance managementApplicant screeningAccounting and financial managementProspect/lead trackingLead scoringUnit inspection formsIntegration with ILS (internet listing service)Reporting and AnalyticsOnce shortlisted any property CRM, check out its Marketing Automation(MA) and Billing/Invoicing capabilities, because transaction management module may have been excluded from CRM, as you have already mentioned.Although many CRM providers boast to have added MA functionalities, they are quite limited in scope.At RealtyShine, we work passionately to make our customers look brilliant on reality space by delivering futuristic real estate tools that are fully web enabled.To know about pricing and plan, you can navigate to this page.

You have to face the reality that you are heading back to school as the first year(s) are learning experiences. There are so many figures out there, like 80% of American agents leave in their first two years or something like that but it is reflective of people coming in with only a focus on making money and not a career.be open minded, learnbe trainable and then apply what you are taughchoose a broker not by the commission split but based on the training programBest, absolute best bet for success, get hired by a strong team, one with good leadership and one that is actually hard to get into. You will learn more working in a strong team in the first year than you will in five years on your own.If you join a team, who is their coach, Tom Ferry, Ken Goodfellow or whoever? If the team is not being coached by a top coach, do not bother, find a better team.Go to office meetings, learn what is happening, go to board and brokerage events, seminars, head to NAR Expos, absorb, learnI have been at it 50 years and I still sit down at lunch most days, when I am working in my home office and I turn on YouTube and watch a real estate or training video.Read the Millionaire Real Estate Agent and online, the remarkable, List More, Sell More by my favourite trainer, Jerry Bresser.If you put in less than 10 hours a day the first year, you are slackingCover as many open houses as possible for agents in your office but check them out first as some are dogs, or impossible to find even with 10 arrows pointing. Only cover saleable listings.Take a top producer to lunch. Not coffee, that is too cheap. If in the same office, ask if you can shadow her or him which some may allow. I spend as much time as I can with fellow top producers, their success and enthusiasm is contagious.DO not hang out with failed agents who bitch and complain. Do not walk away from them - run as fast as you canHave a great manager, someone who actually cares about your success and who will spend time with youI can go on and on. I was lucky, I was just 21, I got shoved into a hot subdivision, the commission per deal was terrible but we sold 5 or more a week so it paid off and I learned. I also observed that the money was in resale so I started to work hard to find buyers of new homes who had a resale to list. I knew nothing when I came in, there were no books, no tapes, nothing and I sold 100 houses my first year because I did what I set out here. I learned and at 50 years now I now know about 50% of what I need to know about real estate. I was recently at NAR Expo two months ago in Boston and took 11 seminars plus I got to hang out with top Realtors and I came back pumped and have put new things into my business.Very last thing, since 1968 I have been having a love affair with real estate. I have served some wonderful people, I have served some very difficult assholes as well (which gives one great stories to tell) and I have had incredible mentors along this journey. I could never make the money I do somewhere else, have reasonable hours, vacations and super friends because of this business. Either fall in love with you do or it will eat you up and spit you out.Your destiny and journey lies within you, No one is going to pull you through your first year. It is yours to seize.Best wishes for success, report back in one year and Merry Christmas, a real estate career can be a great gift for you and your family

Hi Riki,There is no best CRM there are only CRMs which work for your business in the way you want them to and provide the outcomes you need.So the question has to be “How do I decide which CRM system is best for my needs"Firstly a word of warning.......Having had many conversations with potential customers and their CRM requirements (and other tools) I have learnt a really useful thing. The person who says that “ABC CRM is the one” is not really helping you; this statement is probably made for one of two reasons:“I have a relationship with XYZ and could therefore benefit financially if you buy this product” or“I found this CRM meets my organisation’s needs, but I don’t really know if your organisation works in the same way, has identical processes or wants similar outcomes”Clearly this is of no use to you whatsoever.... So what should you do?What’s required here is an objective view of your business requirements based upon your needs, processes and desired outcomes.You need to make some decisions based upon how you do business and the circumstances specific to your organisation and industry sector, based around the following….What do you want CRM to do, how will you use it, how will it integrate with other business critical tools you already use (for example billing, invoicing, accounts, credit/debtor management, stock management, bulk emailing tools etc.), how many users, remote or hosted, which commercial KPIs do you want to measure, what reports do you want to generate, how do you currently produce reports, create proposals, raise invoices, manage stock, what marketing are you doing - Inbound or Outbound, social media, do you have written sales, marketing, client management workflow(s) and strategy plan(s), at what point are leads passed from Marketing to Sales, have you mapped out of your complete customer journey, all of which can be configured into your CRM solution, can you automate certain business processes to save time and increase accuracy and efficiency, does much of your information reside in excel spreadsheets and or in people’s heads / devices (phone, laptop etc.) - how do we get this into the system ......Prioritise this list (and any other factors) into 3 - absolute essentials, nice to have, yep that would be cool.Now you will be able to select a list of CRM tools which deliver what you need, the way you do it, as there is nothing worse than having to change your business processes to fit the tool. Get demos from at least 3 providers, and ask difficult questions.Final point - Budget: You need to obtain the total price for delivery, not just the per seat price.... additional factors here are any customisation, data upload (inc. any standard documents), building/setting up interfaces between CRM and your existing tools, training, maintenance, getting all the modules you need to provide you with a complete solution.....Good luck with this!Hope this helps - feedback / comments welcome. Please let me know if you need further assistance.

Edit: I wrote this answer for “must have Android apps” but these are same apps which have changed the way I used to live my life. Each and every App has helped me in one or the other way. I hope you will also find them helpful and a bit life changing. So here is the list: 10. Psiphon For those who use WiFi with proxy settings. So Psiphon bypasses and tunnel the websites or app through a different IP Address. 9. Mirror It's a simple app to record your mobile screen. Based on the concept of CamStudio in PC where you can record your screen, Mirror offers recording of your Mobile screen. 8. NTES- National Train Enquiry System If you are from India and you want to know the running status, cancelled train (partial or fully), Live Station and other features, this App is a must have. 7. VOLT Simple but effective for those who want to learn new vocabulary. That's too obvious, then why not others? Coz here you get the “memory key” which helps you relate the words and easier to remember them. 6. Parchi It a note making app. But here’s a catch. You can view, review, edit and add right from your lockscreen without need to open the app. Isn't that amazing! I personally find this app very useful. 5. edX If you are student or a learner who wants learn something new everyday, and cannot afford to go in the prestigious institutions like MIT, Harvard University, Cambridge, IITM, etc ten it is a must have app. Enroll yourself in any course and Bazinga!! You are ready to learn from the most amazing professors. Similar to edX, we have Coursera. 4. Walnut Manage your expenses on your finger tips. Its easier then that. It shows you your monthly expenditure, ATM locations, bill remainders and many more features. Its a must have app. 3. CamScanner Everyone doesn’t own a scanner but most of us have camera. So click the pic, upload to CamScanner and voila you are done. You have the scanned copy of your documents, notes, Marksheet and upload them on your DigiLocker. 2. inshorts Till now you all must be knowing this app. The tagline is also simple “News in 60 words” and trust me it is worth having. In this “I don't have time” world, you need news to be fast and accurate so here it is. 1. DigiLocker If you have this app then you don’t need to carry your personal documents like driving license, Adhar card, voter ID card, or even your Marksheets. Keep them safe in actual locker and leave the rest to your DigiLocker. And the best part is that it is acceptable as the original ones at every governmental or non governmental institution because it is developed under Digital India initiative. That's it for the day. Thank you and Enjoy !!! Update 1: Today I came across two new apps which I found useful. Hope it would help you all. 1.Forest : Stay focused Features • A self-motivated and interesting way to help you beat phone addiction • Stay focused and get more things done • Share your forest and compete with friends • Track your history in a simple and pleasant way • Earn reward and unlock more tree species • Customize your whitelist : Leaving Forest and using apps in whitelist won’t kill your tree. 2. Swachh Bharat Toilet Locator Swachh Bharat Toilet Locator is specifically useful for Indians who're committed for Swachh Bharat. Update 2: So I am back with yet another interesting app for you all. And trust me it is worth hanving. You are bored just go through it and kaboooom !!! You are into a black hole. Enjoy the ride. 3. Curiosity It is the latest app I installed but got addicted to it. It’s exactly works like its name, generates a curiosity which inturn increases your knowledge. It covers a large field of scope from Humanity to science to faith and many more. This app deserves more snapshots but why to increase the length of my answer. Comment below if you think the list should be updated? Thank you.

I’ve utilized 11 different marketing strategies for each of my businesses, and I know that each of them will still be relevant from 2018 and onwards. This answer is quite long, so I’ve also included a TL;DR, that way you can pick what you want to read more about.Most of these marketing strategies will create viable growth for any organization, and are worth trying for at least a month.However, before I list them, I feel the need to make one thing abundantly clear:No matter what anyone tells you, there is no one-size-fits-all marketing strategy. You will have to experiment (it’s called A/B Testing) for as long as you want to remain relevant and profitable.So the secret isn’t SEO (search engine optimization). It’s not traditional “business card” networking. It’s not even Facebook Ads. The secret is whatever works for your business, and it’s 100% unique.TL;DR:Advertising on FacebookMaking a Google My Business ListingUsing Google AdwordsPutting Greater Emphasis on Content MarketingCouponsCreating eMail Marketing FunnelsWebinarsFree Offers / ConsultationsGuest Blogging and Writing ColumnsCreating PartnershipsKeynote Speeches1. Advertising on FacebookTwo million small to medium sized businesses like yours are currently advertising on Facebook. It’s cheap and effective so it only makes sense.As far as targeting goes, Facebook Ads are ridiculously good. They allow you to target a specific audience based on location, interests, age, sex, online behavior, and many other factors that no other platform can quite get down.The best part about creating Facebook Ads is how easy it is! You simply need to have an eye catching image or video and accompanying header. If you’re not sure what constitutes “eye catching” in your niche, you can use the Facebook Ads Manager and test multiple ads for one product — eventually going with the one that generates the most amount of money for you.Doing this will not automatically guarantee returns, but thankfully, there are plenty of 3rd party tools to use, AdEspresso by Hootsuite is the first one that comes to mind!Use it to run your campaigns and speed up your journey to positive ROI.NOTE:If your business is largely visual, don’t just use Facebook. Use its sister-company, Instagram as well. Instagram Ads allows you to benefit from having the same data base and targeting options as Facebook, while simultaneously allowing you to connect with an audience that is better primed for visual sales.Is this your ideal solution? Check outFacebook Advertising Made Simple: A Step-by-Step Guide by Neil PatelHow to Run App Install Ads On Facebook by Aki Merced2. Making a Google My Business Listing (and Ranking)A Google My Business (GMB) listing is the smartest thing that you can do for your business.Think about it; Google is the biggest search engine in the world, and if anyone searches for a particular product/service, you’ve pretty much got first dibs!Most search results on Google first include a paid ad, and if someone is looking for a service, the next results are typically GMB listings. Ranking your business in the top 3 search results will bring in ROI like you’ve never seen before.What exactly is Google My Business?If it’s your first time hearing about GMB, it can probably sound a little intimidating. GMB simply combines variously Google platforms and puts them in one place, i.e your business’ Google+profile, your Google Reviews, Google Maps, and gives you access to data like Google Analytics and Google Insights.Since typing this answer, Google is probably working on plenty more offerings…One thing is for sure, from the minute you list your business on GMB and get it ranking, you’ll immediately get the credibility and visibility (of course) that you’ve been looking for.If your small business is local, this is a must-do!If you’re ready to get started, read this:How to optimize your Google My Business listing: expert tips by Graham Charlton7 SEO Mistakes That Leak Money From Local Businesses by Jacob McMillen3. Using Google AdwordsJust like I said in the above strategy, no other platform gives you the type of exposure as Google. At least not in modern history.If online marketing is a baby, then Google Adwords is its godfather.Since Google Adwords has been around for so long, it’s really competitive and pretty expensive if I may say so myself — however, it works extremely well.Here’s the thing; while Adwords is expensive, it’s also really effective if you’ve already utilized on-page SEO, so start there first. SEO makes Adwords a whole lot cheaper!How does SEO make Google Adwords cheaper?For every single ad on the search engine, Google gives them a quality score based on its CTR (click-through-rate), the landing page that the ad sends traffic to, and ad relevance. The quality score also factors in the bid rate that you will need in order for your ad to be displayed. The higher the quality score, the lower the bid cost.Adwords aren’t a zero-sum game, though. You can pair your Google Adwords strategy with another strategy on this list and create a killer campaign!If that’s exciting for you, check these links out for further reading:The Complete Google AdWords Tutorial by Jerry BanfieldThe Iceberg Effect: How Your AdWords Strategy Is Slowly Drowning by Johnathan Dane4. Putting Greater Emphasis on Content Marketing18% of marketers say that content marketing has the greatest commercial impact on their business of any channel in 2016.What exactly is Content Marketing?It’s actually a process of creating and then distributing content that is high value, relevant and consistent with your brand in order to attract a clearly defined audience. You can think of answering Quora questions as a form of content marketing. Sort of.The whole point of content marketing is to focus on long-term results, instead of short-term ROI. While the initial content marketing payoff is very low compared to using Facebook Ads, for instance, in the long-term you create a reputation for your business and that in turn generates sustainable growth in visitors, leads and customers.It’s not easy, though. You still have have have the right mix of:High-quality contentPick relevant topicsOptimize your content with SEOBe consistentMind you, a lot of people automatically think of BLOGS when thinking about content, however, this is 2017 — content ranges from videos, podcasts, online courses, slides and many other ways that people prefer to consume information.To know which content works with your business, you’ll have to do some A/B Testing. There will be a format that eventually sticks.You can read some more here:Getting Started With Content Marketing by Content Marketing InstituteWhy You Need a Growth Model For Your Blog (And How to Create One) by Devesh Khanal5. CouponsBear with me here, I know this one is a bit of an unconventional suggestion, but if you sell a product or offer a service, you can use sites like Groupon as means of promotion for your business.Before anyone checks out of an online store these days, they always search for coupons, and when they’re scrolling through, they’re bound to see your offer as well.Your products will receive mass exposure, and you’ll also get targeted local advertising, increased brand awareness and a slew of new converts — even if they’re only there for the coupon, they’re still spending money.WARNING:If your deal goes viral and becomes extremely popular, you might find yourself a little overwhelmed and unable to handle the new customers, so just make sure that you the math properly.Remember, you want to attract customers with a coupon, but the proposition on your site should keep them there.Sound confusing? Here’s some additional readingDoing The Math On A Groupon Deal by Jay GoltzThe Real Cost of Groupon and What it Means to Your Marketing Planning by Mana Ionescu6. Creating eMail Marketing FunnelsIn 2018 why will this still be relevant? Good question. Simply because of this one reason: Many of the people that visit your site are not going to immediately be convinced by your value proposition. They will need some finessing.Getting their contact information allows you to send them additional marketing materials until they’re completely convinced that spending their hard earned money on your business is worth their time. And also, email is still the most high converting marketing channel — ever!How do you take advantage of this?Simple. You start with something called a “lead magnet”. It would be an offering that compels your website’s visitors to give you their email address — in exchange for something that they would view as valuable, i.e a free service trial, a free digital download, early access to a webinar, a coupon, anything.The point is to get someone to subscribe to your email list and once they do that, you will be able to display your credibility by giving them valuable content.Other benefits of email marketing include:Low costGlobal signNowEasy to automateEasy to segmentImmediate communicationEasy to setup and runEasy to track and optimizeTo be quite honest, if you are a complete newbie to marketing, you’ll notice that a lot of marketing channels are super hard to start. Email marketing is one of the strategies that are relatively simple to start.Read these two pieces to learn some more:21 Powerful Ways to Quickly Grow Your Email List by Jacob McMillenHow to Build Your Email List: The (Better Than) Ultimate Guide by Aaron Orendorff7. WebinarsIf you’re serious about your business, then you’ve probably woken up or stayed up till 2 AM at some point — to catch a webinar. If not, then you’ve got a long way to go (just kidding)!What exactly is a webinar?It’s a seminar that takes place on the web — hence the name, “webinar”. And it can honestly range from being a presentation, to a demonstration to a discussion. It doesn’t always have to be one thing.A webinar actually goes hand in hand with email marketing, because if you pick your topic correctly, you can drive a slew of subscribers into your email list and build some credibility for your business.The great thing about webinars is that they can be pre-recorded and made into standalone products (or even a series of products), which makes them a great platform for training — live and recorded.Before you maybe conflate the two, it bears mentioning that webinars and video tutorials are two completely different things. A webinar tends to have a start time and has live Q&As between yourself and your audience, so it’s far more interactive than a typical video or livestream.You will need webinar software to run a webinar that utilizes the following functions:2-Way Audio – the presenter speaks while the viewers are muted, but the presenter can “turn on” individual viewers so everyone can hear their questionScreenshare – the presenter can share their screen or switch to video for whiteboard teaching or live demonstrationPolls – the presenter can invite viewers to take a poll or provide feedback in other waysCaveat: Webinars do not work for all niches. You’ll really need to think carefully about whether your customers will benefit from a webinar and if not, there are plenty of other strategies that you can always go with.Do webinars fit with your niche? Great!Here’s some additional reading:Webinar Marketing: 15 Steps to Revenue Generating Webinars by Georgiana LaudiHow to grow your business with webinar marketing by Ross Beard8. Free Offers / ConsultationsPut yourself in your customers’ shoes for a second; I’m sure that when it comes to any kind of professional services, you want to have access to expertise, right?That’s why it’s important to position yourself as an expert or an authority figure in whatever your small business’ niche is. By promoting a free consultation, you can generate new leads.Here’s the thing, you shouldn’t even worry yourself about whether you’re disclosing too much free information in the consultation, because if your customers feel that your service is worth the money — they’ll stick around.Okay, it’s true that there are going to be a lot of freeloaders looking for something that they can quickly grab, exploit and go, but to be honest, those customers were never going to buy. Why stress yourself over them?If you can provide a high-quality consultation for free in 30 minutes, a real customer will think, “imagine what they can do in an hour…” and sign up.Advertising a free consultation can be done both online and via pamphlets, newspapers, signs or through word-of-mouth, and hey who’s to say that you can’t put a free consultation front and center on your website or on your social media?Which businesses does this strategy work for? ALL of them. Seriously.Here are some reading essentials:Should You Offer Free Consultations? by Courtney Johnston6 Ways To Make Free Consults Work For You by Laura Simms9. Guest Blogging and Writing ColumnsAny fairly decent writer can share their opinion through weekly or monthly write-ups and watch as this endeavor does wonders for their brand.While you won’t get paid for your efforts, what you will receive however is an opportunity to make consistent contact with an audience and potentially build a relationship with its readers. Then, that audience will immediately think of you when they encounter a certain situation, or other experts in your field.Start out with local newspapers and non-profit magazines, because they’re typically always looking for high-quality contributors who won’t seek a fee, then move on to the more exclusive publications like Forbes, Inc, Fast Company etc once you’ve got your skin in the game.Again, you’re not going to make any money from guest blogging or writing columns, but you will make bank in other ways (i.e. speaking engagements) by being able to say that “you’ve been published in such and such”.The aim of successful guest blogging is to make your brand/business/name valuable to your target audience in a not-so subtle way. Guest blogging and writing columns is an opportunity for you to build trust with your customers, even though someone else already did the hard work of building this audience.How do you get started?Write how-to guidesComment on current eventsPublish interviews with other interesting peopleCreate list-articles (listicles)Report on trends or eventsHere are some additional ideas to get the cogs turning in your brainHow to Secure Guest Posts on Big Publications (WSJ, Forbes & HuffPo) by Sujan PatelHow I Wrote for Fast Company, Copyblogger,& Entrepreneur by Aaron Orendorff10. Partner With Other BusinessesTeamwork is always more effective than singular effort, and combining resources with another business can help you do things you could never accomplish on your own.It’s typically best to target companies in your local area, even if your clientele isn’t local. Your goal is to work out a complementary arrangement that provides mutual benefit for both businesses.Some joint venture examples include:A PPC agency could partner with a CRO agency to refer clients to each other.A coffee shop could offer free coffee vouchers to a plumbing company’s customers.A marketing company could partner with an accounting firm to recommend each other’s services during new client onboarding.A beauty therapist could offer free manicures for a hair stylist’s clients.There is really no limit to what’s possible. Simply identify crossover in your audience and a non-competitor’s audience and then find a way to tap into that crossover in a mutually beneficial way.Sound interesting? Good! Check these additional links outWhy Small Businesses Should Partner Up With Other Brands by Web Smith5 Tips To Partnering Alongside A Business For The First Time by Deborah Sweeney11. Speak At EventsIn terms of branding and establishing yourself as an authority, few things are more impactful than being a speaker at popular events in your niche.While invitations to speak at larger events are often extended as a result of accomplishments or visible influence, you can also work your way into these opportunities by becoming a talented speaker and delivering great talks at smaller events.Or you can simply use it as another marketing channel, by speaking at some of these types of events:Local clubs – think Rotary, Lion’s, Chamber of Commerce.Business networking groups.Specific interest clubs (photography, hiking, sewing, etc.)Browse local events on Eventbrite and We are what we do | Meetup.Schools.Churches.Check events in your local newspaper and magazines.Big companies and their employees.Be prepared, and treat every event like a big deal.And finally, the last couple of additional reading linksHow To Start Speaking At Events by Chris BroganWhy I Get Invited to Speak at Events (And How You Can Too) by Rohit BhargavaAt the end of the day, what’s good for the goose isn’t always good for the gander — you’ll need to do a proper business audit (based on your customer demographics) to determine whether any of these suggestions will be a fit for your business, but my guess is yes.Your answers from your evaluation should lead you to at least 4 of the strategies mentioned in this answer.Good luck!

This is focus. And focus is almost always the difference between a business that grows profitably and one that never seems to gain any momentum. You can continue to hope that “next time that email is going to work better,” or you can develop a clear focus and a realistic strategy.Who is Your Target Customer?The first decision in any marketing strategy is to define your target customer. “Who do you serve?” always needs to be answered clearly before you can execute any tactic effectively. This means you have to say “no” to other potential customers who might buy from you but who are clearly bad fits for your narrow focus. This takes time to develop the discipline, but you can’t do effective marketing without it.Focusing on a well-defined target may make you uncomfortable at first, but stay the course and follow through. An accountant friend of mine changed his business from “doing taxes for anyone in Phoenix” to “a CPA who does taxes and investments only for physicians” – his best customers who have special needs. He made this change over a period of two years and tripled his business, narrowed his service offerings and strengthened his pitch.If you are spending time and money on marketing but your efforts are not driving enough sales, the problem is almost always that you haven’t narrowed your target market definition enough to be effective. The narrower you define your market so you can focus on those that you can best serve and those that can best service you, the more effective your entire business will be.What is Your Category?Your category is simply the short description of what business you are in. What few words would someone say to describe your business? Starbucks is “high-quality coffee” Chipotle is “fresh Mexican burritos.” My friend’s tax business is simply “tax accounting for physicians in Phoenix.”Most business owners can’t resist over-complicating their company descriptions. This leaves people unsure of what you actually do, which weakens your marketing effectiveness. Here’s a simple rule: If someone can’t clearly remember your category description a month after you meet them, they were never clear about what you do in the first place.Clearly defining your category helps amplify your marketing and sales efforts. Think of what it would take to be the best – the leader – in your category. You’re not the leader? Then narrow your category definition (or your target market focus) until you are the leader. A focused laser can melt steel at a distance, but the same light undirected has no effect. Be laser-like in your focus.What is Your Unique Benefit?Your unique benefit should highlight the one (or two) main things your product or service actually delivers (benefits) that your target customer really wants, not a long list of all the things your product does (features).At Infusionsoft, we know our customers don’t just want our software: They want to grow sales and save time. We don’t describe everything our software does or the hundreds of benefits, we keep our focus on those three key benefits in everything we do. And the simpler we describe it, the better our marketing works.Who is Your Competition?When someone is looking to buy a solution to a problem, they will quickly make sense of the alternatives to compare against – your competition. However, most entrepreneurs haven’t specifically defined who their real competition is and don’t focus their messages to create clear differentiation for their buyers. This frustrates the buying decision process and makes your marketing efforts weaker.You need to be clear in your own mind about what your biggest competition is. If you are a tax accountant, is your competition really the other tax accountants in town? Other CPAs or financial planners? DIY tax software? Doing taxes manually? National tax accounting chains? Each competitor type would create different comparisons, so you need to narrow it down to one or two main competitor types.Why Are You Different and Better for Your Target Customer?Once you have defined your competition, make a list of all the things you do differently and better. Then rank each of them by how important these factors are to your target customer. Pick the top one or two and put them on your homepage and include them in your elevator pitch.Don’t overcomplicate this. People just want to know one or two things to move their decision along. Is it cheaper? Do you have faster delivery? Best personalized service? Are you the only accountant who exclusively serves physicians in Phoenix?What Does Your Marketing Strategy Statement Look Like?When you put the five key decisions of marketing strategy in a sentence form, it looks like this fill-in-the-blank statement:Your company name is the leading category for target customers that provides unique benefit. Unlike competitors, your company does unique differentiator.Our growth rate doubled when we focused and committed to this clear and simple marketing strategy.Try it for yourself: Fill in the blanks to create the marketing strategy statement for your own business. Get some perspective from employees, friends and best customers. List all the possibilities and then make some decisions. Say it out loud a few times. You should feel clarity and power coming through. It will also show you a few things you could stop doing in your business that would create more focus.Can you see why it makes no sense to Tweet, to send a broadcast email or build a new website if you are not clear about your marketing strategy that has laser-like focus? Doing these tactics without a road map – your marketing strategy – will not deliver the right customers and will give you fewer sales than if you had invested the time to implement a focused marketing strategy.Here’s the real secret that successful companies practice with extreme discipline: Creating a clear marketing strategy is not what companies do after they get big, it’s what small companies do to grow and get bigger in the first place.