America—now one of the strongest countries in the world, took a winding path of growth, downfall, and innovation before becoming one of the world’s powerhouses. Although strong, we can all admit that not everything in American history has the shine of perfection upon it. The same pattern of growth and decline that was experienced by Americans throughout the years,  can be expected to take hold of any sector of your business, including the channel.

The purpose of recording history is so that we may learn from it. Here are eight key factors your channel can learn from American History:

1. Keep Track

It’s important to keep track of what has been successful or detrimental to your overall plan. While efforts may seem like a good idea at the moment, it’s important to sift through your history and justify your decisions based on analytics, not feelings.

For example, if your partners have expressed that they want to host an event to help market your brand, but numerous past events have been recorded with low return on investment (ROI), you may consider using a different medium to reach your audience.

Just remember, as you execute any plan, record the results for future use. Keeping a record protects you from repeating the same mistakes in the future.

2. Join or Die

As the political cartoon by Benjamin Franklin said “Join or Die”, your internal departments and partner sales reps should do the same. If you lack alignment between your partners, internal sales reps, product team, and marketing, your company will surely fail. From the first touch your prospects need to know exactly what product they are being marketed or sold. If your partners are marketing a race car but you actually sell bikes, the sales process can get convoluted, confusing, and leads can be lost because of frustration with the messaging. It’s better to be up front about what your product actually can achieve rather than muddy the marketing waters with misalignment and mixed messaging.

3. Claim Your Land

Whether you’re talking about civilization or sales, it’s a race to claim land. When partner reps are able to register and track their own deals, they will gain a feeling of ownership. Reps become more invested in a customer’s outcome when they are able to see what happens, no matter where they are in the funnel.

4. Freedom

Partners need the freedom to sell with a strategy they are comfortable with. Limiting your partner’s sales process and strategy can hurt their chances of closing a deal. When partners are more comfortable, they will sell more confidently.

Set partners up for success by giving them the right tools, resources, and education to allow them to be successful. Then, set them free to represent your brand.

• If you are uncomfortable with the thought of setting partners free to represent your brand, you’ll need to reevaluate your partnership. You should join a partnership because you believe that the additional brand representative or brand connection will help your brand, not hurt it.

5. Keep Striving For Greatness

If things are not going as planned in your channel partner program, change them. Greatness wasn’t achieved overnight and to perfect a plan it take a lot of due diligence, testing, and most importantly, flexibility of strategy based on test results. The same old thing does work for everyone in every industry so don’t be afraid to take risks and differentiate your partner program.

6. Opportunity is Out There

The best thing about having a phenomenal partner program is that it attract high volume of valuable partners. By having a variety of partners, you are opening your company up to all kinds of opportunity. Your partners are able to easily reach companies and target audience that would be too difficult or too costly to obtain on your own. With the help of a few common connections, you can achieve any dream.

7. Documentation

In any strong, long-lasting society, there are pieces of documentation that define laws. These laws are there for a reason, to keep everyone safe and protect the rights of all affected parties. Documentation needs to be established in the beginning of a partnership to make sure you and your partners are abiding by the expectations. Having defined guidelines allows partners to know what they need to accomplish, how to cross sell a product, what brand guidelines to follow, as well as what is okay vs. not okay to promote. To make everyone’s experience easier and more enjoyable, it is a benefit to both you and your partners to set up the documentation up front and avoid making too many drastic changes to program.

8. Adapt

With every decade that passes, societies have learned to adapt. When changes occur, new innovations and tools are created to fill a need. Allow your partners to communicate with you when processes aren’t working so you and your partner can work together to establish a new process, new system, or tool to make the customer journey smoother. The most useful products are created because of a pain point that has not been addressed. Be flexible—by addressing a pain point with a product solution, you might just be the next Thomas Edison.

If your dream is to grow your partner program, go for it! The American dream isn’t just for Americans—it’s for anyone who’s bold enough to go after it. When it comes to your partner program, there are a lot of things that can be learned when you communicate with your partners and grow together as a society. If you want your partner program to become a bigger, better piece of your lead generation tool or sales funnel, it’s time to listen to what partners need and apply those needs to your partner program. If you’re looking for more ideas on how to elevate your partner program, download the ebook 19 Ways to Elevate Your Partner Program.

The post 8 Things Your Channel Can Learn From American History appeared first on Partner Relationship Management Software (PRM).

By: C’pher Gresham, Chief Strategy and Operations Officer, and John B Johnson, Seattle Community Organizer

Talent is equally distributed, but opportunity is not. At SEED SPOT, we believe in breaking down barriers to help entrepreneurs from all backgrounds in all communities achieve their dreams of creating a better world. This is why SEED SPOT is partnering with the Seattle community to empower entrepreneurs in greater Seattle ecosystem with our 2-Day Launch Camp program!

Bringing the entrepreneurship community together takes a team of organizers and partners. Our two Community Organizers are John B Johnson and Lisa Jensen. Collectively, they have an abundant mindset that believes in fostering a safe space for entrepreneurs to launch and grow their ventures. John is the Identity Architect at a small studio, an independent creative studio helping clients better serve their communities, and the organizer behind 1 Million Cups in Seattle. Lisa is the Vice President, Executive Search at Strategic Resources, a full-service, international executive search firm specializing in senior-level executive search and Board of Director placements. 

In addition to great individual organizers supporting entrepreneurs, there is a whole fleet of partner organizations and community connectors including a small studio, Seattle Strong Coffee, Voyagers Table, and WeWork Labs. There are also an ever-growing list of organizations that are helping spread the word about the Launch Camp including, Gather Seattle, Young Professionals of Seattle, 1 Million Cups Seattle, The, Evergrey, Rise Seattle Podcast, and Future For Us. 

We caught up with John B Johnson on why he is passionate about bringing SEED SPOT’s 2-Day Launch Camp to Seattle and how he is empowering the Seattle impact-driven entrepreneurial ecosystem.  

C’pher Gresham (CG): What inspires you most about the Seattle ecosystem?

John B Johnson (JBJ): Seattle has a rich history of successful entrepreneurship. When I moved here, I could not help but realize how abundant the resources were here. However, very quickly I realized that those resources were not very accessible to newcomers and early stage entrepreneurs. I like to think about the Seattle ecosystem as a dense forest with a beautiful tree canopy covering it. The big corporations, I don’t think I have to list them, have created this beautiful canopy over the forest floor. Newcomers and early stage entrepreneurs are the seeds on the forest floor. They need light, resources, and protection as they begin to grow their ideas. I believe this is unique to Seattle and I’m excited to solve this problem. 

CG: Why did you partner with SEED SPOT to host a 2-Day Launch Camp? 

JBJ: As a SEED SPOT alum, I saw the need for a collaborative, inclusive, and impact-driven community in Seattle. A few years ago I moved from Phoenix to Seattle to further grow professionally and loved meeting the entrepreneurs locally. In my conversations, I realized that many were looking for a way to connect with one another, so I worked with Kauffman Foundation’s initiative 1 Million Cups to provide a venue for networking and support for entrepreneurs. As I became further embedded in the community, I kept hearing for individuals that they wanted a safe place to start and grow their ideas that have a social benefit. It just made sense to work with SEED SPOT and bring the Launch Camp here! 

CG: What do you know entrepreneurs will gain out of the Launch Camp Experience?

JBJ: Entrepreneurship is a team sport. You need a community to support you and help propel you forward. The 2-Day Launch Camp will help you find a community in Seattle and also gain the fundamental knowledge on how to find your earliest adopters (customers) and how to grow your set yourself up for long-term entrepreneurial success. 

CG: How do you see SEED SPOT supporting the community long-term? 

JBJ: I see SEED SPOT being an integral player within the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Seattle. There is a robust community, but SEED SPOT offers a distinct program that helps build the pipeline of diverse, impact entrepreneurs for later stage programs locally and nationally. I hope to collaborate with the ecosystem and organize SEED SPOT’s Monthly Meetup and 8-Week Impact Accelerator. 

SEED SPOT is excited for the 2-Day Launch Camp in Seattle and loves the community of supporters rallying around idea and early-stage entrepreneurs. If you know of an entrepreneur or solo-preneur that is looking to grow their venture and their community, send them our way.  

Register for Seattle 2-Day Launch Camp

Related articles from SEED SPOT:

>>”11 SEED SPOT Summer Interns Support Interns, Manage Data Visualization and More!”

>>”SEED SPOT’s Alumni Reflect on Global Entrepreneur Summit (#GES2019) in the Netherlands”

>>”How SEED SPOT’s Donor Relations & Development Manager Finds Synergy Between Nonprofits and Donors“

The post Building A Pipeline of Diverse, Impact-Driven Entrepreneurs in Seattle appeared first on SEED SPOT.

Happy Pride!

Pride Month is celebrated each year in June, honoring the historic 1969 Stonewall Uprising in Manhattan. Fifty years ago today, trailblazers at the Stonewall Inn took a stand against brutality, discrimination, and oppression. These riots were pivotal to the gay rights movement, catapulting the fight for equality to the political front lines — a fight we still know all too well today.

While the United States has taken some steps towards equality, the LGBTQ+ community is still marginalized. 1 in every 5 LGBT+ adult is homeless. We’ve already seen at least 11 transgender people in the US violently killed in 2019. In 2018, more than 70 percent of LGBTQ+ youth reported feelings of worthlessness and hopelessness. The list of terrifying statistics goes on.

CallRail is proud to champion the voices of the LGBTQ+ community, and the strides we’ll take together. ‘Respect everyone’ is one of our core company values, and it’s something we take seriously.

We strive to create an inclusive, safe space for all walks of life. It’s more important now than ever for LGBTQ+ community members and allies alike to unite, look back on the struggles we’ve fought through, and celebrate how far we’ve come. Sharing our stories, finding common ground in our humanity through tough conversations, and celebrating our individuality in the face of inequality takes courage. But no one should live in fear or shame of who they are — our differences are what unite us.

This is something we took to heart as CallRail made its debut in the Atlanta Pride Parade in October of last year. It was a day full of acceptance, love, lots of dancing, and even more hugs.

Leading up to the parade, #PrideRail hosted a panel to share perspectives and educate. We held a clothing donation drive for Lost-N-Found Youth, benefiting homeless LGBTQ+ youth. And we created a fun video for our float truck featuring Fluide makeup, specially designed for all skin tones and gender expressions. We even had a drag show!

For the parade, we leaned into our product offering by wearing shirts and handing out goodies with a CallRail tracking number on them. When attendees call this number, they’re greeted by messages of encouragement and acceptance from CallRail team members.

A loving message can go a lot further than you think, and our hearts will be forever warmed by the appreciative messages we received in return. Our first Pride parade was one for the books!

Today, you can virtually join WorldPride, the biggest Pride march ever! The Human Rights Campaign‘s rallying cry this year is: ” ‘People. Power. Pride.’ — because it’s people like you who celebrate your pride in your individuality that give our fight for equality its power.”

Finally, in celebration of 50 years since that historic day at the Stonewall Inn, here are a few words from Team CallRail about what Pride means to us:

“The thing I love about celebrating pride the most is paying homage to the transwomen at stonewall in 1969 who were protecting their own human and civil rights. Without this history of radical struggle, LGBT rights as we know them would not exist. Liberation for LGBT people is attainable thanks to the audaciousness of consistent community action. Pride is more than glitter and rainbows, it is thriving in intersectional resistance and revolutionary action.”

– Natasha Bailey, Customer Support Specialist

“Pride means an unwavering sense of confidence and truth to self with and without adversity. It’s taken me a while to fully understand what being proud means. Adversity and challenges because of your truth are all too common. But, with pride comes a sense of strength and endurance that is impossible for any outside entity to shake. That unwavering and unrelenting existence creates an internal peace. Pride cannot be moved, because it is who I am.”

– Trishawn Brown, Outbound Sales Development Representative

“There are people out there who are trying to convince you that you aren’t worthy of love — that you’re inherently bad for just being who you are. Pride is making the decision to love yourself anyways. It’s realizing that those people aren’t right just because they’re angry and loud about their convictions. It’s saying ‘forget you’ with a smile.”

– Wes Riley, Customer Support Specialist

“Pride to me means being your true self. Taking the opportunity to grow into yourself and allow people to grow with you and to experience what authenticity looks like. Pride to me means respecting those around you even if they don’t. Pride is understanding that you’ve got a future generation that is in need of your guidance and you are responsible for helping them as you were helped.”

– Linus Djokoto, Customer Support Specialist

“Pride to me means being able to love without bounds, and ideally having the acceptance of your family. I love myself, and even when people cannot, I know that I have love with my chosen family. Like RuPaul says ‘How is anyone gonna love you if you don’t love yourself?’”

– Samantha O’Rourke, Account Specialist

“Pride is the biggest mirror; it reflects and magnifies what and who we are. At its core, Pride is the celebration of the “individual.” Allowing us all to see and truly accept each other. Which, in turn, we understand ourselves a little more.”

– Harrell Wells, Customer Support Team Lead

The post Celebrating #PrideMonth at CallRail appeared first on CallRail.

According to 2017 data collected by the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA), dealerships across the United States are spending over 55 percent of their advertising budget on internet ads. (This figure works out to an average monthly ad spend of $26,750 per month.)

And this research tracks with another study of over 300 dealerships, which reveals that more than half of all dealers are overspending on at least one marketing channel. This study also found that half of those surveyed are underspending on social media marketing, and that one in three are overspending on search-engine marketing.

When taken together, these studies indicate that dealerships all across the country are struggling to select the best marketing channels for their messaging — this is exactly where analysis of automotive marketing ROI becomes critical for dealers.

Why does automotive marketing ROI matter?

There are three main reasons why analysis of your automotive marketing ROI is crucial to your overall business strategy:

1. Compare your performance to competitors: There are a variety of software tools out there that reveal what your competitors are spending on marketing, as well as their ROI. Understanding your own ROI gives you a standard through which you can compare your performance to your competitors’.
2. Gain a deeper understanding of your marketing spend: Regardless of whether you think a marketing campaign or strategy is a good idea, your boss cares about the amount of revenue created from your marketing spending. Knowing your automotive marketing ROI means you can better justify your budget.
3. Learn how to better leverage touchpoints: If your marketing touchpoints and organic content are not leading to conversions, then it’s time to re-evaluate your strategy. A deep analysis of your ROI will ensure you’re only investing in high-value marketing channels and touchpoints that consistently drive conversions.

Ultimately, understanding your ROI keeps both you and your team accountable. It can also aid with setting goals and selecting the right KPIs to track, which in turn helps you get better at tracking, analyzing, and improving your marketing.

Calculating automotive marketing ROI

The standard formula for calculating marketing ROI is:

(Sales growth – Marketing Cost) / Marketing Cost = Marketing ROI

Determining your revenue and plugging in numbers to this equation is the easy part; knowing exactly what figures to include is where the challenge begins

This is why it’s critical to track every single dollar you spend on advertising and marketing campaigns. You also should include the cost of any software, apps, freelancers, administrative tools, and even work-hours. Whether you’re paid hourly, biweekly, or monthly, you need to include this cost into the formula along with expenses for any other staff working on the project.

In addition to tracking all of your marketing expenses, it’s also crucial to analyze your customer data — while revenue is a key variable for any automotive marketing ROI calculation, it’s important to understand the story behind the numbers. Tracking touchpoints where customers interact with your dealership and matching this data to your ROI lets you see where the highest returns are happening, while also illuminating areas where improvement is needed.

How to analyze your automotive marketing ROI & enhance attribution

ROI analysis allows you to attach values to your various marketing channels, depending on the revenue these channels are generating for your dealership. For example, centering your analysis purely on clickthroughs or pageviews might make you think that your promotional emails are having the greatest impact.

However, an in-depth calculation of your your ROI will provide you with a more accurate view of a marketing channel’s real value and influence. So while promotional emails may drive customers to your inventory pages, a retargeted paid ad may actually lead to more purchases.

On the other hand, you may find that a marketing channel is successful at getting your customers from the ‘interest’ to the ‘decision’ stage of the customer journey, but it is eating up most of your budget. In cases like this, careful ROI analysis may reveal  a more cost-effective way to accomplish your goals, while also optimizing your ad spend and sharpening your keyword research for better SEO results.

But either way, the lesson learned is the same: The most effective way to achieve accurate attribution for your marketing channels is through the calculation and analysis of your ROI.

ROI: The key to understanding what works

NADA’s findings reveal that many dealerships are still struggling to effectively calculate and understand their marketing ROI. 

The challenge lies in establishing the right kinds of processes that allow you to accurately track your marketing expenses, and then using that information to create and execute an effective dealership marketing strategy. Part of this process involves tracking as much customer data as possible — this will provide you with the qualitative data you need to make an informed judgment call on the effectiveness of your marketing.

By following these steps, you will not only achieve a more accurate calculation of your automotive marketing ROI, you’ll also be able to decisively prove how much value your marketing strategy is generating for your business.

The post How to calculate automotive marketing ROI for your dealership appeared first on CallRail.