Steve Rucinski over at Small Business Trends Radio wrote a nice review of our podcast. It’s rewarding to be recognized by your peers. The SMBTrendwire site regularly reviews business-oriented podcasts and is a great resource if you are looking to fill up your iPod with new discoveries.

Listen Now:

 Episode 15 {How to Recruit the Very Best People} [31:21m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

In business, we all compete for the very best people. We visit with two experts today to gain insight into real-world techniques for recruiting the very best staff.

My first guest is George Lessmeister. George has fourteen years of documented success within the specialty recruiting industry. A former Sr. Regional Vice President with an international financial staffing firm, he was instrumental in the growth and development of a nine-branch region in the Central United States. Today George is President and co-founder of LGC Associates, a staffing firm specializing in the recruitment and placement of business administration professionals and food service and hospitality professionals.

George really knows his stuff! One important lesson I learned from this interview is that using the services of a good recruiting firm is of no cost to you until and unless you hire a candidate supplied by them. What a great way to reduce risk.

My second guest, Lorraine Ball, is the Founder of Roundpeg, a national, full service marketing firm helping small business owners find a starting point for growth and change. Lorraine’s articles on marketing, planning and business development have been featured in Contracting Business, The New York Forum, The Indianapolis Business Journal and The ACH&R News.

In addition to much great social networking advice, Lorraine suggested an online contact management tool you can find here: Jibber Jobber

Listen Now:

 Episode 14 {Duct Tape Marketing} [13:43m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

If you are an avid reader of the hugely-popular Duct Tape Marketing blog, you’ll want to rush right out and buy John Jantsch’s latest book entitled Duct Tape Marketing - The World’s Most Practical Small Business Marketing Guide.

I had a chance to chat with John about his book, his theories on marketing and some of the common marketing “pitfalls” business owners fall into. What I really like about John’s approach is that he demystifies marketing. He has this way of making it all sound fairly simple and, most importantly, attainable.

If you’re interested in purchasing his new book, I would suggest checking out his bonus offers page. If you haven’t read the Duct Tape Marketing blog, here are two of my favorite recent posts of John’s:

Does your firm suffer from feature creep? (How true it is!!)

Basecamp for Lead Generation (Very clever!)

The main goal of an internet presence is and has always been to be found and understood. It’s generally the introduction to a (hopefully) long and fruitful business relationship. Much like a fisherman, webmasters and internet marketers fiddle with an array of different “cyber-bait,” lures, fishing nets, bass boats, etc.

Let’s look at the current mix of internet “properties” that make up the Promethius Consulting web presence. Keep in mind that these change all the time as we constantly tinker to keep current with internet marketing best-practices.

Promethius Consulting, LLC Website - This is of course our foundation. The site has existed in one form or another since 2000.

Promethius eMail Newsletter Archive - Although this is a sub-set of our main website, I list it here because it brings us so much traffic. Our archive spans all the way back to August of 2001. All that targeted content just sits there and works for the search engines year after year.

Small Business Radio Blog - This blog has been a key addition to our internet marketing efforts. High-profile blogs linking back to us in recent past include Duct Tape Marketing, Buzzoodle,Web Ink Now,The Engaging Brand and Marketing Profs: Daily Fix.

Small Business Radio Podcast - Our show has helped us make some great business contacts. Recent guests include Lorraine Ball and Executive Business Coach Jim Gleason.

ClickCaster Podcast Presence - This is a second version of our podcast. It’s just another way for folks to find us and start a relationship.  I’m always surprised by how many listeners we get through ClickCaster.
Promethius MySpace Page - Although there is much NOT to like about MySpace, it certainly does boast scads of users. Our presence is mostly used to deliver our podcast and to garner sign-ups for our email newsletters.

Our Multiply Presence - This is a little mini-blog designed to drive traffic back to our main blog page. It’s a quick way of creating backlinks in an organized and easy manor.

I could go on with descriptions of our various other little web properties and experiments. The above list will hopefully give you a little glimpse of the types of techniques that build increased traffic and awareness.

I’d love to see your comments about what is working for you!!

If I’ve learned anything from my eight years (and counting) in the web design business, it’s that nobody enjoys updating their website content. Seriously, it’s like pulling teeth for most of us.

Before those major web update plans regress to the back-back-back-burner another year, ask yourself this very serious question: “What opportunities will I miss out on if I don’t get this done?”

Do you have a new product offering that isn’t even mentioned on your website? Is your staff page horribly out-of-date? Have you changed major focus three times since your last website redesign?

I highly suggest completing the following three exercises within the next thirty days. Your results will certainly motivate you if you need a little kick in the pants.

1. Examine your website as if you have just received a completed project from your web design firm. Take good notes. Are certain pages out of date? Is certain information lacking? Would you accept this as a completed web project today, or would you demand that certain changes be made?
2. Study the websites of your two closest competitors. Again, take good notes. Based on what you see, are there glaring holes in your own web presence?
3. Ask five trusted customers to critique your website. What do they like? What would they change? Offer them a nice little gift for participating. Their feedback will pay untold dividends.

After completing these exercises, take a step back and think about what you’ve learned. Don’t worry, if you’re like most people, you haven’t read your own website in years. You’re not alone!

• Communicate to an Audience of One | Marketing Profs Daily Fix Blog
  Lewis Green makes a great argument for the lost art of writing for an audience of one. The same approach works very well for podcasting. The best broadcast pros will tell you to imagine there is one specific person listening to your show. Talk to just
  (tags: writing blogging style)
• advertising: How long do you keep in touch with prospects?
  Troy White breaks down this common question into a simple math equation. How many of us don’t even have a standard rule for keeping in touch with prospects?
  (tags: sales prospecting)
• Seth’s Blog: Will you be missed?
  Seth once again asks a great bottom-line question. What an interesting way to quickly evaluate where you are now and where you want to be in the future.
  (tags: customer-service brand purple cow)