Jim Seybert - Strategic Planning Retreats - Strategy Audits - Executive Coaching

I’d like to improve conversion rates on my web site. 

SEO is actually pretty good - in some key word combos I show above the fold on Google.

Traffic is decent - between 10 and 30 unique visitors on an average day. Some days less. And I’m OK with that because what I do is fairly narrow. 

The dilemma is the lack of conversions. At least once a day someone hits my page using a search that is DEAD ON for my speciality and it is very rare that they will pursue it any further. They hit the page they’ve searched for, perhaps look at one or two other pages and go away.

So, I’m looking for ideas. We all think our own babies are the cutest and brightest in the nursery, and I think my pages are nice. But nice isn’t worth a bucket of spit if the prospect isn’t compelled to act.

Here’s an offer:

I have two copies of Jay Abraham’s new book The Sticking Point Solution and I will send one each to the first two people who provide me some helpful feedback in the comment section. I reviewed the book last month and highly recommend it.

I’ll send an autographed copy of my latest book Leadership Re:Vision to the next five people who comment. If more than seven people respond, I’ll think of something. If you give me constructive input, I’ll go to my personal library and find books to reward your efforts.

My goal is to have one or two people a month in serious consideration of my services as a retreat facilitator or strategy auditor.

Thanks for your help.

Inside Facebook is reporting a milestone reached by the social network in May 2009 - that’s when the number of unique US users on Facebook exceeded unique US users on MySpace. The margin was small, but to paraphrase Aristotle, “a win is a win.”

The Internet measuring site comSCORE pegged Facebook’s unique US users at 70.28 million in May 2009 with MySpace at 70.26 million for the same period. What’s probably more telling is the rate of growth - Facebook gained 97% between May 2008 and May 2009. The number of MySpace unique sites declined by 5% during the year.

And you certainly shouldn’t be surprised to learn that Twitter grew nearly 2700% from May to May - from just over 600,000 users to a whopping 17.5 million in 12 months. (Nearly everyone I know who is now using Twitter was not using Twitter at this time last year - including me).

One of my first Strategy Retreats (in February 2002) included a short segment where I helped an executive team think through how they might use email to supplement their marketing efforts. The agenda for an upcoming retreat includes a half day focusing solely on taking Facebook and Twitter “to the next level.”

The futurist in me is dying to know what we’ll be talking about this time next year?

Some of my most rewarding assignments come from successful organizations who ask me to help them prioritize their activities so they can focus energy on important things.

The first phase is usually a Strategy Audit where I get an outsider’s perspective on all the stuff they’re doing.

My job is to help the leaders see things differently, with a new set of eyes - to separate the missional efforts from the stuff that drains the place of energy and resource.

Take 5 minutes and listen to this amazing piano solo from the February 2009 TED symposium. At first it sounds like a bunch of mindless pounding - but as you pay close attention you can hear an amazing melody under the cacophony.

The pianist combined Chaos and Harmony into a pleasant piece. In many ways, your organization is like this piano piece - wheat and chaff woven together. My most rewarding assignments are those where I am asked to make sense of the Chaos.

My Facebook screen asked What’s on your mind?

My LinkedIn profile asked What are you working on?

The answer is Where do I go from here?

My personal strategy audit indicates I have done a good job establishing my credentials as someone others can rely on to ask probing questions that help companies move past their roadblocks and do things differently. My track record as a strategic futurist is good. Not everyone knows me, but those who do recognize the benefit they can derive from employing the unique strengths with which I have been blessed.

This is the result of a strict adherence to the brand promise - I Help Companies Think Differently.

Through planning retreats, strategy audits and executive coaching, I’ve been able to guide dozens of clients along a change journey that has resulted in solid benefits for their organizations. Clients come and go, but I can’t think of one that’s been disappointed or who won’t bring me back for another assignment when the need arises.

I give good consulting.

Now What ??

So here’s the dilemma: I have identified five factors that will have significant impact on all organizations as they move forward into the future. The five are not trends, but rather foundational changes in the way human beings think and behave. I use the factors to help clients think about how they’ll need to change to meet the needs of their customers and I need to listen to my own advice.

One of the key factors is the desire by consumers to modify products and services to fit their lifestyle. I call it the “iTunes Lifestyle” after the renowned service that allows you to pick ONLY the music you want to hear and not an entire album. This factor is becoming a fundamental requirement for ALL organizations. People want to modify, to fit their lifestyles, whatever it is you’re providing - music, clothing, cars, religious services, healthcare, education, vacation travel.  Nothing is exempt from this factor, including my consulting practice.

So - that’s where I am right now. I have recognized the need to think differently about my practice and the way I deliver services - while at the same maintaining the valuebale franchise my brand has established in the minds of my audicne.

More later as I try to figure this out.

I am experimenting with an online tool that allows users to produce animated shorts and post them to a number of sites, including YouTube.

The online tool is xtranormal.com. They are in beta presently and there’s no charge to play around. When they launch, beta users will get preferred pricing for a short period of time. That’s a good marketing idea.

I’m pleased with what I’ve been able to do up to this point. it would be nice if the final version had a way to add titles and credits. As I will be using it to promote my consulting practice, I want to have phone number and email shown on screen.

My strategy, as it stands right now, is to develop a series of animated and live videos that tell the Jim Seybert Story in a way that printed text can not. Doing this will give web visitors a choice of reading the material or listening to it. There’s value in providing more than one entry point.

I’ve been considering tactics that would compel visitors to spend more time exploring my web presence.

My pages are text heavy, and I struggle with the need to keep copy to a minimum while adequately describing the unique benefits of engaging my services.

One idea I’ve been exploring is the use of short video clips, with me talking about Strategy Audits, Strategic Planning Retreats and Executive Coaching, but a quick check on YouTube shows me that EVERYONE (except me) has a video describing what they do.

Most have really poor production values and the people just shouldn’t be on camera. There are a handful that resemble Hollywood shorts. I don’t want to be the former and can’t afford to be the latter. So, I am experimenting with xtranormal.com a funky little web-based animation application.

The idea is to present my story in a different AND effective way. I know this is different. I think it’s going to be effective.

From the Orlando Sentinal, a listing of the top parks in North America and how they fared in 2008.

Of the top parks, three scored increases in attendance, two were flat and the among those with lower visitors, the largest decline was less than three percent.

I am very pleased to see that Universal Studios Florida, a client for whom I’ve done a strategy audit and strategic planning on special events, was among those with an increase in 2008. Way to GO !!!!