June 27, 2025 • 20 mins
In this episode, Elena Apalkova is joined by Rachel Bassey to discuss small business challenges and niche marketing. They explore effective marketing strategies for those with limited budgets, emphasizing the power of collaborative and value-driven marketing. The conversation delves into how to stand out amid market noise and the importance of utilizing LinkedIn and warm touch points to enhance marketing efforts. The episode concludes with insights on connecting with Rachel Bassey for further guidance and support.
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Episode Transcript
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(00:02):
Hello.
Hello.
Welcome to mindset to results.
And today, our guest is, Rachel Bessie, and wewill speak about very interesting topic.
How small businesses can scale usingcollaborative marketing.
Hi, Rachel.
Hi, Alina.
(00:24):
Lovely, lovely to be here.
Thank you so much for having me, and I'mstoked, and I can't wait to jump right in.
Of course.
You're most welcome.
Thank you also for your time and being sopassionate about what you do and sharing with
the world.
Tell us a little bit about yourself.
Why you do what you do?
(00:44):
Okay.
Great question.
So couple of years ago, I, at the time, workedfor a business analytics software called
Databox.
And at the time, we were a small needs team,and we only had we could only do so much with a
team of three people.
So we basically decided to scale and then, youknow, leverage all the talents and resources
(01:12):
that we had, and our best bet was to partnerwith our customers and prospects at the time
being agencies.
And so we our major focus was just organicmarketing.
So everything from, like, SEO contentmarketing, everything like that.
We did not properly, like, we did not have aproper sales team at the time where everyone,
(01:33):
you know, going outbound and stuff, it was justinbound.
And so I and then I I started.
That was how I started, like, you know, I I'm aconnector.
I really love to talk to people.
I love to meet people.
And so I spent a lot of my time on LinkedInconnecting with our ideal customers and then
doing a bit of, like, you know, after gettingthem to share their expertise, knowledge, and
(01:56):
they would collate that and then publish asblog articles.
And then from three articles a week, we scaledto five articles.
And then because these people, were our idealcustomers.
Eventually, they themselves signed up to useour product.
And then I I was with them for almost threeyears, and then I left for another company that
(02:20):
kinda allowed me puts good use, everything Ilearned at Databox to help small companies.
I was with them for a bit, and then I decidedto start my own company.
I really believe that you don't need a hugemarketing team or huge marketing budget to
grow.
You just need to have the right tactics andstrategy in place to be able to scale.
(02:42):
And that is really my mission, to help smallbusinesses looking to scale who say, oh my god.
I spent so much on marketing.
I'm not quite sure why I'm not getting results.
And then help them see how they can leveragethe small team that they have and the small
resources that they have to get optimumresults.
Yeah.
So great.
So what from your experience are the biggestproblems, which are small companies experience?
(03:09):
Oh, okay.
I'll try to just narrow it down to, you know,my, you know, expertise.
So one is a lot of them are usually not veryclear on who they serve and what they do.
They want to do everything and want to supporteverybody.
So a recent client of mine, we were going to,you know, do all that I do for other companies,
(03:34):
and then I'm like, oh, so tell me about thebusinesses that you serve, so your ID clients.
And then there are about 10 groups, and I'mlike, you can't serve all 10 people.
We have to narrow down to certain groupsbecause then you'd able to tackle their needs
better.
You can't you can't support everybody becauseyou're just going to be jack of all trades,
(03:55):
master of none.
You know?
And what makes you better than your competitor?
Is it a better pricing or you have morefeatures or something?
If you're doing everything, then the peopledon't know you for one thing.
Right?
And so I think a lot of small businesses are alot of times, it's they're trying to help
everybody.
They're not clear on their ideal customers andthen or their product positioning.
(04:20):
Another thing is, of course, budgets.
So with the current economy and everything,lots of businesses or business owners are,
like, you know, scared to invest.
You know?
It's more like about holding what you haverather than investing more.
So it's usually a theme of, know, capitalbudget, know, they want to grow but then the
(04:40):
finances to do that isn't particularly there.
And of course you have like the small team, soit's like if you have a few people on the team,
there's only so much you can do.
So it's like, okay.
You then have to do the prioritizationquadrant.
Is this important?
Is this urgent?
You know, all that kind of thing.
Like or can we should we focus on doing what weknow works, or should we jump on the other side
(05:07):
because the grass is greener?
So I I find that a lot of small businesses alsopivot too quickly.
It's not exactly a bad thing per se, butsometimes you have to play the long game if
you're especially when you're doing organic.
So it's like, oh, x y z company is doing that,so we should do that.
(05:27):
This company just changed to AI company or AIsoftware.
Now everybody wants to be an AI tool or AIsoftware.
You know?
So it's like, you know, really sticking to whatworks.
Boring, I have learned is good.
You know, you learn, you you change based onfeedback, not because someone else says, oh,
this other company is doing this, so you shoulddo that as well.
(05:50):
So, I mean, there are lots of things, but Ijust try to kinda streamline it to what I have
seen from my experience.
Yeah.
So, Drew, you have to give it time.
Yes.
First, you have to know exactly what is thevalue and who is your ideal client and then to
focus on that niche and give it time because ityou you have as you said, that you you have to
(06:12):
make the offer and then see feedback and thenchange the offer and see what works exactly.
And when you know exactly your ideal client,this is how all your marketing messages will be
for that exactly group.
So when people Exactly.
They feel, oh, it's about me.
This is exactly what I'm looking for.
It's the Exactly.
Resonate with them.
(06:32):
Yeah.
So, yeah, so from your experience, what youwould like to share?
Like, which tips you would like to share forsmall companies, which you said just have a
little budget and maybe scared to investbecause, of course, if you don't know exactly
how to invest, you can just spend so much moneyand have no result.
So I even would like to share maybe some, tips,like, what they can do to scale and tell us a
(07:02):
little bit about collaborative marketing.
Okay.
Great.
Okay.
So right now, we know that with AI, we can'tcontinue to do things as we've always done.
If you need to Google anything right now, ifyou just you need to see you're interested in a
topic or you have an idea and you just put inthe query on Google, what you on the top, you'd
(07:27):
get AI overview.
What that says is a lot is changing about howwe do marketing.
So first things first is companies need toinvest a lot in what I would describe as
digital PR.
So you need to ask yourself, where are my idealclients hanging out?
And you need to lead with value on thosechannels, on those platforms.
(07:51):
So be it Reddit, be it Slack community, be itFacebook group, be it LinkedIn, lead with
value.
And because these are the things that you know?
So for example, if on chattypity now, if yousay, oh, I want I'm interested in I know.
I have a blog article to write, I don't know,next week.
(08:12):
Could you help me with this?
And you ask for research sources.
What you would get, you typically get links tocertain articles.
Now how do you do a lot of that?
How do you make sure that your name appears inplaces that matter most or your website appears
in places that matter most?
(08:33):
Those are the kind of questions small businessowners should be asking themselves.
So that's one.
Then two as well is what I specialize in, whichis collaborative marketing.
So see it this way.
Let's say you are a small business owner, andyou are the founder of a software that helps,
(08:56):
like, laundromats, for example.
So right now, you're like, okay.
I don't have 50,000 to invest in paid ads, butwhat how do I start with what I have and the
limited resources I have?
I don't have a marketing team of 10 people.
So if I were you, what I would do is come upwith focus on, like, risk creating original
(09:19):
research.
In industries like this, you don't really havedata.
You don't really have benchmark reports.
You don't have things like this.
So you could be the pioneer.
Right?
So it could be, like, something like how muchlaundromats spend every the average cost of how
much laundromats are spend on sales annually,just something like that, or states of washing
(09:46):
something something twenty twenty five.
What you would then do is create an idealclient profile.
So that is you need to be who are yourcustomers?
Where like, what where are they located?
What do they do?
Things like that.
Then you reach out to these people tocontribute and collaborate on content.
(10:08):
Now these people are not just they don't theydon't they just don't have the they do not just
have the subject matter expertise, but they arealso your ideal clients.
That is they could benefit a lot from usingyour software or your product.
So what you do is, one, not only do you end upcollaborating to create this report, is these
(10:32):
people be move from being cold contacts tobeing warm leads Mhmm.
Such that So this report can then be repurposedinto platform blog articles, dozens of posts on
social media.
These people would automatically do PR for you.
It's just like, you know, for example, I'm onyour podcast.
(10:54):
When this podcast is then, out alive, I wouldshare.
So people I have over 17,000 followers onLinkedIn.
So automatically, my network will get to seeyour pod, and then maybe someone will be like,
oh, I'd like to also be on Elena's podcast.
Right?
So these people automatically do free PR foryou as well.
(11:17):
And do not forget they're your ideal customers.
So they get your brand to be on the feet ofpeople that really matter.
You can then also if you have a podcast or awebinar, because you have established some sort
of contact and connection, you can invite themto be on your podcast or your webinar.
(11:38):
It's the same thing.
If I had a podcast, for example, relevant toyou, Elena, I could as well pitch it to you and
say, hey.
I've got a podcast.
I really enjoyed talking to you.
Do you mind coming on my podcast as well?
And so the more opportunities you give thesepeople to the more you nurture them to the
(11:58):
point that they become actually cost actualcustomers.
Because one, they have the subject matterexpertise, and two, they are your ideal
customers.
So you are not only just scaling in terms ofyour content assets, but also in warm leads and
people that matter.
These people can as well go ahead to becomeambassadors for your product or your software
(12:23):
or what you offer.
Another thing is small businesses.
Over time, you're always trying to validate anidea, a product, improve your your service
offering, or get feedback, customer feedback onwhat you're doing.
Is this service relevant?
Should we launch this product?
Should we do this?
Should we do that?
(12:44):
The more opportunities you provide, for you toactually or touch points you have with your
customers and your prospects, the more feedbackyou you get that would then enable you to do
better, to put better products, features outthere.
So I would say definitely invest in digital PR,invest in collaborative marketing because this
(13:07):
would do a whole lot for you in terms ofawareness, creating awareness for your brand,
for your product.
Also, place placing your names in places thatyour name in places that matter as well as
generating sales for your business.
You know, it's great.
You're connecting with the people that couldactually benefit from your product and
(13:28):
services.
Yeah.
So so great.
Yes.
Great suggestion.
Yes.
To bring the value and attract people with thevalue.
It's like from cold to warm, and then alreadyyou can have so many options.
Exactly.
Right.
Because, also, people don't want to be pitchslapped except on except it's super niche and
(13:54):
narrowed it down.
So in your case, I reached out to you.
Right?
So in one, I am relevant.
Two, it's you're perfect in terms of niche andthings like that.
But one way is you have to figure out how tolead with value.
I think a lot of people I'm not I'm not puttingdown cold marketing or cold tactics.
(14:17):
It works for the companies and the people thatit works for.
But business owners need to start asking, howcan I lead with value?
How can I actually connect with my customers ormy prospects in a way that they deem it
valuable versus, oh, buy buy buy buy buy?
Right?
And so right now, also data shows that beforepeople actually make the decision, sit by, they
(14:43):
already have it in mind.
So say, for example, in in your case, what youyou have a software or something, and I'm your
ideal customer.
Maybe something about like, let let's use thelaundromat.
We connect over content, but in one month, sayI really need a software to help me help my
(15:04):
laundromat business, you know, with sales andeverything, reporting, dashboard, all of that
stuff, Your company would come first to mind.
Why?
Because we've already established contacts, soyou are not cold anymore to me.
You are warm.
And it's just going to take me five seconds toactually message you to say, hey.
(15:24):
I'd like a free trial.
You know?
So these are the you know, how to nurture, howto create warm touch points.
That's what I think every business owner shouldinvest or should be investing in.
Yes.
Thank you so much for sharing.
Yes.
It is really very good way how to connect withpeople and to provide value and create start
(15:45):
building relations because there is so muchnoise now.
Yes.
Everybody just want to sell and even onLinkedIn.
For me, I so often receive messages when peoplejust send me connection request and just the
letter what they want to me to sell, and theydon't even know if I want it.
(16:07):
Like, it is totally, like, not related even towhat I do.
So I often write them just at least go read myprofile.
So, you know, like, even Yeah.
Yes.
They don't even take time to read your profileand just see if this is what they offer
relevant at all.
Yes.
So it's really very, very now noisy market andto to distinguish ourselves.
(16:35):
We have to come Yes.
From different way, not just sailing, but
I agree.
Through establishing connections, providingvalue, letting people know what you do.
So this is
what telling.
Mhmm.
Yeah.
I mean, LinkedIn is an interesting platform.
It I I have, like, a love and hate relationshipwith it and I agree with you where everyone is
(16:58):
trying to sell.
I think what helped me is just also justchanging my perspective that everyone needs to
make money.
People need to eat.
So before, I used to get really annoyed.
Now I don't.
I'm just like, okay.
This person somehow needs to make money.
People need to hustle.
(17:19):
And so what I do is even if it's not useful tome in that moment, if the person, you know,
somehow tried in terms of personalization, Imight just say, hey.
I'm I'm not I don't need your product orservice right now, but I'm open to a
conversation.
Unfortunately, this is interesting because Ithink it was two weeks ago or three weeks ago,
(17:43):
this lead generation, they it's a company, andthey do lead management, all that stuff.
They reached out to me.
Hey.
You know, they kind of pulled stuff from my,you know, recommendation on LinkedIn.
Someone recommended me for something.
And so they sent me an email.
I was like, oh, okay.
You tried.
I mean, you tried to personalize.
(18:04):
And then I said, okay.
Let's let's get on this call.
I don't need this service right now, but I'mopen to a conversation.
I'm always open to a conversation if I havesome more time.
Unfortunately, still the worst call to date.
It literally felt like, you know, when you goto school and they tell you you need to talk
(18:26):
like this.
It's almost like all these people that havebeen brainwashed.
You have to talk like this.
You have to ask specific questions.
It felt like I was talking to a robot who hadbeen kind somewhat groomed to respond in a
certain way.
And so it was horrible.
And I'm like, horrible, horrible, horrible.
And and then, it also fortunately, it was alsoone of those calls that it felt like the person
(18:50):
had this goal to close on the first call.
Oh.
So he was like, oh, do you want to get thisproduct for $4,000?
And I'm like, for I don't even know you.
What I'm not going to give you 4,000.
He was like, okay.
Maybe we can come up with a pro like, apayments plan.
And I'm like, I need some time.
And then he was like, okay.
I mean, how about just we give you a bit ofaccess for $120.
(19:16):
Do you know from 4,000 to $120, all he neededme to do was commit on the first call, and that
was such a so I I mean, in at the end of theday, LinkedIn is a strange place right now.
It's like you have to post, but the algorithmis weird in itself.
So you have to sell even though you don't wantto come off as spammy.
(19:36):
It's it's it's a place where you kind of needto keep things balanced.
So for example, in your case, what you do withthis podcast is such an excellent way to
connect with your ideal clients, the paneldiscussion, everything like that.
It's a smooth, warm, soft touch way points orapproach to connecting with your ideal clients.
(19:57):
And I think lots of businesses, business ownerscould take learn a thing or two from your
approach, for example, or collaborativemarketing, which I just talked about, is we
need to really focus more now on creating morewarm touch points.
The call everyone is just like, you know, evenif I need this, I'm not gonna talk to you.
I don't wanna talk to you.
(20:19):
Mhmm.
Yes.
So great, Rachel.
Yes.
Thank you so much.
It was very, very valuable discussion, and I'msure that people who are watching us, they can
learn a lot from you.
And, of course, we encourage everyone toconnect with Rachel and see how she can help
you with your marketing.
Alright.
(20:40):
Thank you so much, Alina, for having me.
This was wonderful.
Thanks a lot.
Yes.
Thank you so much too, Rachel.
You were amazing, and I wish you all the best.
And see you again somewhere in the future.
Alright.
Ciao.
Hello.
Hello.
Welcome to mindset to results.
And today, our guest is, Rachel Bessie, and wewill speak about very interesting topic.
How small businesses can scale usingcollaborative marketing.
Hi, Rachel.
Hi, Alina.
(00:24):
Lovely, lovely to be here.
Thank you so much for having me, and I'mstoked, and I can't wait to jump right in.
Of course.
You're most welcome.
Thank you also for your time and being sopassionate about what you do and sharing with
the world.
Tell us a little bit about yourself.
Why you do what you do?
(00:44):
Okay.
Great question.
So couple of years ago, I, at the time, workedfor a business analytics software called
Databox.
And at the time, we were a small needs team,and we only had we could only do so much with a
team of three people.
So we basically decided to scale and then, youknow, leverage all the talents and resources
(01:12):
that we had, and our best bet was to partnerwith our customers and prospects at the time
being agencies.
And so we our major focus was just organicmarketing.
So everything from, like, SEO contentmarketing, everything like that.
We did not properly, like, we did not have aproper sales team at the time where everyone,
(01:33):
you know, going outbound and stuff, it was justinbound.
And so I and then I I started.
That was how I started, like, you know, I I'm aconnector.
I really love to talk to people.
I love to meet people.
And so I spent a lot of my time on LinkedInconnecting with our ideal customers and then
doing a bit of, like, you know, after gettingthem to share their expertise, knowledge, and
(01:56):
they would collate that and then publish asblog articles.
And then from three articles a week, we scaledto five articles.
And then because these people, were our idealcustomers.
Eventually, they themselves signed up to useour product.
And then I I was with them for almost threeyears, and then I left for another company that
(02:20):
kinda allowed me puts good use, everything Ilearned at Databox to help small companies.
I was with them for a bit, and then I decidedto start my own company.
I really believe that you don't need a hugemarketing team or huge marketing budget to
grow.
You just need to have the right tactics andstrategy in place to be able to scale.
(02:42):
And that is really my mission, to help smallbusinesses looking to scale who say, oh my god.
I spent so much on marketing.
I'm not quite sure why I'm not getting results.
And then help them see how they can leveragethe small team that they have and the small
resources that they have to get optimumresults.
Yeah.
So great.
So what from your experience are the biggestproblems, which are small companies experience?
(03:09):
Oh, okay.
I'll try to just narrow it down to, you know,my, you know, expertise.
So one is a lot of them are usually not veryclear on who they serve and what they do.
They want to do everything and want to supporteverybody.
So a recent client of mine, we were going to,you know, do all that I do for other companies,
(03:34):
and then I'm like, oh, so tell me about thebusinesses that you serve, so your ID clients.
And then there are about 10 groups, and I'mlike, you can't serve all 10 people.
We have to narrow down to certain groupsbecause then you'd able to tackle their needs
better.
You can't you can't support everybody becauseyou're just going to be jack of all trades,
(03:55):
master of none.
You know?
And what makes you better than your competitor?
Is it a better pricing or you have morefeatures or something?
If you're doing everything, then the peopledon't know you for one thing.
Right?
And so I think a lot of small businesses are alot of times, it's they're trying to help
everybody.
They're not clear on their ideal customers andthen or their product positioning.
(04:20):
Another thing is, of course, budgets.
So with the current economy and everything,lots of businesses or business owners are,
like, you know, scared to invest.
You know?
It's more like about holding what you haverather than investing more.
So it's usually a theme of, know, capitalbudget, know, they want to grow but then the
(04:40):
finances to do that isn't particularly there.
And of course you have like the small team, soit's like if you have a few people on the team,
there's only so much you can do.
So it's like, okay.
You then have to do the prioritizationquadrant.
Is this important?
Is this urgent?
You know, all that kind of thing.
Like or can we should we focus on doing what weknow works, or should we jump on the other side
(05:07):
because the grass is greener?
So I I find that a lot of small businesses alsopivot too quickly.
It's not exactly a bad thing per se, butsometimes you have to play the long game if
you're especially when you're doing organic.
So it's like, oh, x y z company is doing that,so we should do that.
(05:27):
This company just changed to AI company or AIsoftware.
Now everybody wants to be an AI tool or AIsoftware.
You know?
So it's like, you know, really sticking to whatworks.
Boring, I have learned is good.
You know, you learn, you you change based onfeedback, not because someone else says, oh,
this other company is doing this, so you shoulddo that as well.
(05:50):
So, I mean, there are lots of things, but Ijust try to kinda streamline it to what I have
seen from my experience.
Yeah.
So, Drew, you have to give it time.
Yes.
First, you have to know exactly what is thevalue and who is your ideal client and then to
focus on that niche and give it time because ityou you have as you said, that you you have to
(06:12):
make the offer and then see feedback and thenchange the offer and see what works exactly.
And when you know exactly your ideal client,this is how all your marketing messages will be
for that exactly group.
So when people Exactly.
They feel, oh, it's about me.
This is exactly what I'm looking for.
It's the Exactly.
Resonate with them.
(06:32):
Yeah.
So, yeah, so from your experience, what youwould like to share?
Like, which tips you would like to share forsmall companies, which you said just have a
little budget and maybe scared to investbecause, of course, if you don't know exactly
how to invest, you can just spend so much moneyand have no result.
So I even would like to share maybe some, tips,like, what they can do to scale and tell us a
(07:02):
little bit about collaborative marketing.
Okay.
Great.
Okay.
So right now, we know that with AI, we can'tcontinue to do things as we've always done.
If you need to Google anything right now, ifyou just you need to see you're interested in a
topic or you have an idea and you just put inthe query on Google, what you on the top, you'd
(07:27):
get AI overview.
What that says is a lot is changing about howwe do marketing.
So first things first is companies need toinvest a lot in what I would describe as
digital PR.
So you need to ask yourself, where are my idealclients hanging out?
And you need to lead with value on thosechannels, on those platforms.
(07:51):
So be it Reddit, be it Slack community, be itFacebook group, be it LinkedIn, lead with
value.
And because these are the things that you know?
So for example, if on chattypity now, if yousay, oh, I want I'm interested in I know.
I have a blog article to write, I don't know,next week.
(08:12):
Could you help me with this?
And you ask for research sources.
What you would get, you typically get links tocertain articles.
Now how do you do a lot of that?
How do you make sure that your name appears inplaces that matter most or your website appears
in places that matter most?
(08:33):
Those are the kind of questions small businessowners should be asking themselves.
So that's one.
Then two as well is what I specialize in, whichis collaborative marketing.
So see it this way.
Let's say you are a small business owner, andyou are the founder of a software that helps,
(08:56):
like, laundromats, for example.
So right now, you're like, okay.
I don't have 50,000 to invest in paid ads, butwhat how do I start with what I have and the
limited resources I have?
I don't have a marketing team of 10 people.
So if I were you, what I would do is come upwith focus on, like, risk creating original
(09:19):
research.
In industries like this, you don't really havedata.
You don't really have benchmark reports.
You don't have things like this.
So you could be the pioneer.
Right?
So it could be, like, something like how muchlaundromats spend every the average cost of how
much laundromats are spend on sales annually,just something like that, or states of washing
(09:46):
something something twenty twenty five.
What you would then do is create an idealclient profile.
So that is you need to be who are yourcustomers?
Where like, what where are they located?
What do they do?
Things like that.
Then you reach out to these people tocontribute and collaborate on content.
(10:08):
Now these people are not just they don't theydon't they just don't have the they do not just
have the subject matter expertise, but they arealso your ideal clients.
That is they could benefit a lot from usingyour software or your product.
So what you do is, one, not only do you end upcollaborating to create this report, is these
(10:32):
people be move from being cold contacts tobeing warm leads Mhmm.
Such that So this report can then be repurposedinto platform blog articles, dozens of posts on
social media.
These people would automatically do PR for you.
It's just like, you know, for example, I'm onyour podcast.
(10:54):
When this podcast is then, out alive, I wouldshare.
So people I have over 17,000 followers onLinkedIn.
So automatically, my network will get to seeyour pod, and then maybe someone will be like,
oh, I'd like to also be on Elena's podcast.
Right?
So these people automatically do free PR foryou as well.
(11:17):
And do not forget they're your ideal customers.
So they get your brand to be on the feet ofpeople that really matter.
You can then also if you have a podcast or awebinar, because you have established some sort
of contact and connection, you can invite themto be on your podcast or your webinar.
(11:38):
It's the same thing.
If I had a podcast, for example, relevant toyou, Elena, I could as well pitch it to you and
say, hey.
I've got a podcast.
I really enjoyed talking to you.
Do you mind coming on my podcast as well?
And so the more opportunities you give thesepeople to the more you nurture them to the
(11:58):
point that they become actually cost actualcustomers.
Because one, they have the subject matterexpertise, and two, they are your ideal
customers.
So you are not only just scaling in terms ofyour content assets, but also in warm leads and
people that matter.
These people can as well go ahead to becomeambassadors for your product or your software
(12:23):
or what you offer.
Another thing is small businesses.
Over time, you're always trying to validate anidea, a product, improve your your service
offering, or get feedback, customer feedback onwhat you're doing.
Is this service relevant?
Should we launch this product?
Should we do this?
Should we do that?
(12:44):
The more opportunities you provide, for you toactually or touch points you have with your
customers and your prospects, the more feedbackyou you get that would then enable you to do
better, to put better products, features outthere.
So I would say definitely invest in digital PR,invest in collaborative marketing because this
(13:07):
would do a whole lot for you in terms ofawareness, creating awareness for your brand,
for your product.
Also, place placing your names in places thatyour name in places that matter as well as
generating sales for your business.
You know, it's great.
You're connecting with the people that couldactually benefit from your product and
(13:28):
services.
Yeah.
So so great.
Yes.
Great suggestion.
Yes.
To bring the value and attract people with thevalue.
It's like from cold to warm, and then alreadyyou can have so many options.
Exactly.
Right.
Because, also, people don't want to be pitchslapped except on except it's super niche and
(13:54):
narrowed it down.
So in your case, I reached out to you.
Right?
So in one, I am relevant.
Two, it's you're perfect in terms of niche andthings like that.
But one way is you have to figure out how tolead with value.
I think a lot of people I'm not I'm not puttingdown cold marketing or cold tactics.
(14:17):
It works for the companies and the people thatit works for.
But business owners need to start asking, howcan I lead with value?
How can I actually connect with my customers ormy prospects in a way that they deem it
valuable versus, oh, buy buy buy buy buy?
Right?
And so right now, also data shows that beforepeople actually make the decision, sit by, they
(14:43):
already have it in mind.
So say, for example, in in your case, what youyou have a software or something, and I'm your
ideal customer.
Maybe something about like, let let's use thelaundromat.
We connect over content, but in one month, sayI really need a software to help me help my
(15:04):
laundromat business, you know, with sales andeverything, reporting, dashboard, all of that
stuff, Your company would come first to mind.
Why?
Because we've already established contacts, soyou are not cold anymore to me.
You are warm.
And it's just going to take me five seconds toactually message you to say, hey.
(15:24):
I'd like a free trial.
You know?
So these are the you know, how to nurture, howto create warm touch points.
That's what I think every business owner shouldinvest or should be investing in.
Yes.
Thank you so much for sharing.
Yes.
It is really very good way how to connect withpeople and to provide value and create start
(15:45):
building relations because there is so muchnoise now.
Yes.
Everybody just want to sell and even onLinkedIn.
For me, I so often receive messages when peoplejust send me connection request and just the
letter what they want to me to sell, and theydon't even know if I want it.
(16:07):
Like, it is totally, like, not related even towhat I do.
So I often write them just at least go read myprofile.
So, you know, like, even Yeah.
Yes.
They don't even take time to read your profileand just see if this is what they offer
relevant at all.
Yes.
So it's really very, very now noisy market andto to distinguish ourselves.
(16:35):
We have to come Yes.
From different way, not just sailing, but
I agree.
Through establishing connections, providingvalue, letting people know what you do.
So this is
what telling.
Mhmm.
Yeah.
I mean, LinkedIn is an interesting platform.
It I I have, like, a love and hate relationshipwith it and I agree with you where everyone is
(16:58):
trying to sell.
I think what helped me is just also justchanging my perspective that everyone needs to
make money.
People need to eat.
So before, I used to get really annoyed.
Now I don't.
I'm just like, okay.
This person somehow needs to make money.
People need to hustle.
(17:19):
And so what I do is even if it's not useful tome in that moment, if the person, you know,
somehow tried in terms of personalization, Imight just say, hey.
I'm I'm not I don't need your product orservice right now, but I'm open to a
conversation.
Unfortunately, this is interesting because Ithink it was two weeks ago or three weeks ago,
(17:43):
this lead generation, they it's a company, andthey do lead management, all that stuff.
They reached out to me.
Hey.
You know, they kind of pulled stuff from my,you know, recommendation on LinkedIn.
Someone recommended me for something.
And so they sent me an email.
I was like, oh, okay.
You tried.
I mean, you tried to personalize.
(18:04):
And then I said, okay.
Let's let's get on this call.
I don't need this service right now, but I'mopen to a conversation.
I'm always open to a conversation if I havesome more time.
Unfortunately, still the worst call to date.
It literally felt like, you know, when you goto school and they tell you you need to talk
(18:26):
like this.
It's almost like all these people that havebeen brainwashed.
You have to talk like this.
You have to ask specific questions.
It felt like I was talking to a robot who hadbeen kind somewhat groomed to respond in a
certain way.
And so it was horrible.
And I'm like, horrible, horrible, horrible.
And and then, it also fortunately, it was alsoone of those calls that it felt like the person
(18:50):
had this goal to close on the first call.
Oh.
So he was like, oh, do you want to get thisproduct for $4,000?
And I'm like, for I don't even know you.
What I'm not going to give you 4,000.
He was like, okay.
Maybe we can come up with a pro like, apayments plan.
And I'm like, I need some time.
And then he was like, okay.
I mean, how about just we give you a bit ofaccess for $120.
(19:16):
Do you know from 4,000 to $120, all he neededme to do was commit on the first call, and that
was such a so I I mean, in at the end of theday, LinkedIn is a strange place right now.
It's like you have to post, but the algorithmis weird in itself.
So you have to sell even though you don't wantto come off as spammy.
(19:36):
It's it's it's a place where you kind of needto keep things balanced.
So for example, in your case, what you do withthis podcast is such an excellent way to
connect with your ideal clients, the paneldiscussion, everything like that.
It's a smooth, warm, soft touch way points orapproach to connecting with your ideal clients.
(19:57):
And I think lots of businesses, business ownerscould take learn a thing or two from your
approach, for example, or collaborativemarketing, which I just talked about, is we
need to really focus more now on creating morewarm touch points.
The call everyone is just like, you know, evenif I need this, I'm not gonna talk to you.
I don't wanna talk to you.
(20:19):
Mhmm.
Yes.
So great, Rachel.
Yes.
Thank you so much.
It was very, very valuable discussion, and I'msure that people who are watching us, they can
learn a lot from you.
And, of course, we encourage everyone toconnect with Rachel and see how she can help
you with your marketing.
Alright.
(20:40):
Thank you so much, Alina, for having me.
This was wonderful.
Thanks a lot.
Yes.
Thank you so much too, Rachel.
You were amazing, and I wish you all the best.
And see you again somewhere in the future.
Alright.
Ciao.
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