Sunday, December 20, 2009
Insufficient Funds: The cure for the common cause
By Mike Lake
A serious affliction is infecting a large number of people who aren’t even aware of the affliction, much less that they’ve been carrying it for a very long time. It’s invisible to them, and even though they are vaguely aware of the symptoms, they actually believe that these symptoms are a sign of health. They therefore nurture and justify their affliction with their entire identity.
Sounds serious, doesn’t it? Well, the affliction I am writing about is what I’ll call the Wealth Scarcity Mentality. It also goes by the other name: Starving Artist Syndrom. It affects 1 out of every 3 small business people (I made that up). Exactly how many people it affects, I have no idea, but as you read this think about yourself.
There’s one group of people–a profession–that I see as consistently plagued by the wealth scarcity mentality. And to help address this, my wife, Christine is leading a provocative workshop at 7PM on November 5 at The Nurtured Spirit in Warwick to speak to these professionals on this very topic. Specifically, the group to which I am referring is
Read the rest » It’s one of the most unintuitive things to do in marketing, and one that’s seldom done well. Most business try to be something to everyone. Acme Electronics: “TVs, computers, appliances, lighting, and a whole lot more”. Most small businesses think that the wider their message, the more customers will buy from them. But look at Acme Electronics. What’s their message? It could be, “We sell lots of stuff related to electricity.” Not very powerful is it? What could they possible use as a compelling headline to an ad or for the banner of their web site? A company like this would probably rely on the old, “20% off this weekend only.” Now they’re a commodity that no one remembers except for a minute or two while they read the ad. But nothing sticks to the mind of their audience, and nothing differentiates them from every other store with a discount message. Take a look at your web site, or better yet, have someone outside your business look at your web site. Ask them what stands out as your specialty. If they say something like “You sell cars.” or “You sell hot tubs.”, you’re too broad. Ask them to review your latest ad. You can sell a wide variety of things or offer a wide variety of services. We’re talking about a focus on your message. Consider Zappos.com. They started out
Read the rest » In fact, that is just one example of how email marketing can integrate so well with other forms of social media. After all, getting your content out to your email list is great, but getting that content out to the rest of the world is better, right? It brings people back to your site and hopefully builds your list and, therefore, the number of potential prospects for your product or service. We’ve written a primer on getting started in blogging for your business, so feel free to read that post to get you started. The point here is that
Read the rest » So, you’ve got someone on the other end of the phone who’s answered the qualifying question we discussed in part one in a manner that identifies a possible need for your product or service. At this point you might tell them a bit more about your product, but your emphasis should be on learning more about the problem they wish to solve and their level of interest in finding a solution like yours. Restrain yourself from going into the big pitch. This article is much more focused on telemarketing as a means to set an appointment or take a next step of some sort. If you are selling a product directly over the phone, once you’ve found someone who admits wanting to solve the problem your product solves, it’s time to close and ask for payment. Simply put, it means asking a question, the answer to which provides you with a sign that they may buy. Typical questions of this sort include asking how many units the prospect wishes to own, what color, when she wants it delivered, etc. Talk less. Ask questions and close more. Back to calling for an appointment: Let’s say, for example, you are an investment adviser. Your qualifying question (again, from part one) is…
Read the rest » First, why use email marketing? Because it is a very cost-effective way of communicating with your prospects and clients. The more often you communicate to these important people, and do so with life-benefiting information, the more likely they will see you as a trusted expert and your product as one they should consider. Notice I didn’t just say, “the more often you email them a sales pitch about your product…”, because people don’t want to be solicited. We want to be given value. That is the key to effective email marketing. As your fist step, you need a list of people to email. Hopefully, you’ve been keeping a database of names and email addresses of customers and the people who inquire about your product or service. Your list is key. If you have no such list, begin now by compiling one. Start by…
Read the rest »
Monday, October 05, 2009
Broaden your bank account by narrowing your marketing message
By Mike Lake
Thursday, February 12, 2009
A standard issue email marketing package - part 2
By Mike Lake
In part 1 of this series, we discussed the benefits of implementing an email campaign: It’s a very cost-effective means of communicating with your market and of positioning yourself as a thought leader in your industry. All without pushing unwanted sales pitches on your audience. We suggested a few resources for getting underway and provided some guidance for your content. We left off with the thought that the topics of the email examples we recommended sounded very similar to Blog titles.
Saturday, February 07, 2009
Doing telemarketing right - part 2
By Mike Lake
In part one, we discussed qualifying the person you’re calling in order to determine if you have a prospect for your product or service. In my opinion, a mistake many salespeople make is trying to convince their prospect that they have the problem their product or service will fix, rather than spending the time finding people aware of their problem who genuinely want to fix it.
Wednesday, February 04, 2009
A standard issue email marketing package - part 1
By Mike Lake
I’ve been talking to several small businesses lately about how to cost-effectively promote their product or service. I find myself recommending the same course of action to them, one that very few do with any regularity or strategy. What I recommend to them is email marketing, and I explain how to do it effectively and cheap. Let me share with you some of the advice I’ve been recommending in order to help you get started effectively using email marketing.