Just Like Hang Gliding

Hang Gliders are not focused on a directional agenda. Successful hang gliding is dependent upon being willing to let the wind decide which direction you go next.

This does not mean that people who hang glide don't need to learn what to do to be even more successful at achieving an enjoyable experience. Rather successful hang gliding is about handling the little details of the moment and not about long term destinations.

The experience is the destination.

Successfully marketing a product or service is like hang gliding. The focus needs to be on knowing how to "catch the wind" and how to "glide with the wind."

The wind is the market and these days the market is holding a discussion about each business and each product in ways never seen previously.

Dr. Jeff Cornwall used the metaphor of dancing and wrote a very good article entitled "Follow the Lead of the Market"

The final item on the checklist

What should you always do, before you tell the client that the job is done? What should you always do before you send a letter or article? What should you always do before you sign a contract?

Jon Swanson wrote an article about a local auto mechanic who apparently consistently fails to do the final item on the checklist. The article is entitled: "There Is Always Something."

The Arrangement of Design

Do you groom your hair?

Do you wear professional attire in a professional manner?

When it comes to personal grooming, most business people understand the importance of presentation.

But there is a difference between design and dazzle.

The right balance impresses because it does not seek to be overly flashy.

The guidelines also apply to many other features of business. For example, the facade of a storefron should be clean, professionally designed but not gaudy.

The brochures which a sales department uses should set a tone which subtly impresses. This is also true of a well designed website.

Seth Godin wrote "Beauty as a signaling strategy."

Was it something that they said?

What you say doesn't mean nearly as much as what your consumer's say!

More and more consumers are turning to the internet to either express their frustrations or to magnify their favorites when it comes to products and businesses.

Where they express their feelings can impact your business success.

Believe it or not - providing a platform upon which your clients can vent or praise publicly can be beneficial to your business, especially if you are quick to resolve any problems to the client's satisfaction.

Because they will find a venue in which to vent! But if it is not on your site, it may be weeks or months before you find it and by then your reputation is damaged. If clients complain on your site then you know right away and can respond in order to make your reputation for customer service sparkle.

Karon Thackston wrote "The Incredible Persuasive Power of Online Consumer Reviews."

Growth is still an option

Several new businesses began and started growing during the great depression which became major cultural icons during the 1950s.

Just because the economy is down, does not mean that every business is suffering.

What does it take to be one of the businesses which will enjoy growth during 2009?

Seth Godin wrote: "Top Twelve Ways to Grow Your Business in a Down Market."

Conflicted

FDR said "The only thing we have to fear ... is fear itself."

Unfortunately some people sabotage their own potential for success by being afraid to make the attempt.

There are no guarantees.

Even Fortune 500 companies go bankrupt.

The difference between those who are successful and those who are not, is that the successful know that getting knocked down is just part of life and that you just got to keep on getting back up.

John Jantsch wrote: "What Becomes The Long Way Home."

(Fewer than normal entrepreneurial articles were written in December, the frequency of this column is being reduced to three times a week, MWF, for awhile.)

When something is better than Nothing

If you had a target and you had to choose between being blindfolded and wearing glasses which blurred your vision, which would you choose.

Sometimes its better to go with what you have, than try to function without any information at all.

Ardath Albee wrote "Just Do IT! Use the marketing data you have now."

(Fewer than normal entrepreneurial articles were written in December, the frequency of this column is being reduced to three times a week, MWF, for awhile.)

Keep Investing in Innovation

Revenues Down?

Trying to keep financially afloat?

You may be tempted to cut investing in innovation. However this can be a major mistake. Especially if your audience includes younger consumers or entrepreneurs.

Over the last two decades, Americans have been "trained" to expect advancements in technology and improvements in commerce and distribution. If you get behind your competition on the innovation advancement curve, it may damage your reputation and it may be difficult to catch back up.

Take a look at the difficulty that Yahoo has had in trying to catch back up with Google. Yahoo was the industry leader in 1997, but now it is forced to deal with a public impression which may or may not be deserved.

Joey Wilson wrote an article entitled "Don't Let the Economy Kill Marketing Innovation."

Lots of Sales with disgruntled customers!

Believe it or not, too many sales can result in loss of customers and reputation.

Have you ever been in a too crowded bus? Have you ever been to a reception with insufficient refreshments? Have you ever had to wait way too long to get served at a Restaurant?

Well, Guess What? An Extremely Enthusiastic Clientele is a much better long-term corporate resource than a one day blowout sale.

Mark Ritson wrote: "Don't Confuse the Value of Customers and Sales."

How to keep your business afloat

What are some proactive things which can be done to keep your business running during the current economic downturn and prepare for the next economic surge?

Frank Reed wrote an article on Moran's Biznology site about surviving the current economic dip.

The Power of Suggestion

The writing of Proposals is an important in advancing the development of your business.

But as in many other business procedures, there is a right way and a wrong way to do it.

Crystal Williams wrote: "5 Tips for Writing Great Proposals"

Train Wreck Ahead

Sooner or Later, a disaster will occur in your business. (Unless you decide to quit, in which case why are you reading this column anyway?)

How can you prepare your company to survive if you are temporarily unavailable?

Bonnie Price wrote: "Keep Your Business Humming Amid a Personal Crisis."

Presidential Powerpoint? (or Boardrooms For Bonzo?)

In my lifetime, only one president has truly been good at Salesmanship and Presentation. Although Clinton was good at schmoozing and building a powerbase, he never succeeded in convincing independents in America that he had a vision.

The one president that really convinced many Americans that he had a vision for the future was Ronald Reagan. He was so successful at Salesmanship that the term "Reagan Democrats" was coined to describe those voters who were persuaded by his presentation.

Whether you agree or disagree with Reagan's politics - his example of presentation and salesmanship should be studied as an example for improving your own presentations.

Steve W. Martin wrote "How Ronald Reagan Would Change Your Corporate Presentation."

P.S. If you do admire Reagan's politics, check out Abe and Ron.

Can You Be Trusted?

There has almost always been a segment of the business community that was convinced that Nice Guys finish last.

These are the Donald Trumps and the Financial Advisors that do redistribution just in time to pass on 1099s to those who are supposed to be their clients.

Well if you want to swim with the sharks, go right ahead. But sharks are neither trustworthy nor trusted, at least not by the wise.

Someone recently asked Marshall Goldsmith what advantage there is in business to being "good." He wrote an article entitled: "Why Shoot Straight in a Crooked World?"

Plant Seeds now for Spring bounty

With the economy sagging into a recession, many business owners are uncertain as to how to prepare for the future.

Next Year's success will be due to this year's preparation.

Heather Nolte wrote "Economy Got You Down? 9 Things to Do NOW."

Substance is the Key to List Development

For decades, salespeople and marketing exhibits have given out Logo Promo Merchandise (aka: Advertising Specialties). The successful Promo merchandise were those things that were the most useful for the longest period of time. ( A wallet calendar tended to be less successful than a daily planner - because it was less useful.)

In the world of the internet, Substance (as in useful content) is much more successful than advertising and brochure copy. The uniqueness of the information which you provide combined with the degree of value which it provides to your potential audience is key to the success of your ezine address development.

Ivana Taylor provides four brief but valuable ideas for helping you get started in her article: "Help Customers Get Educated by Giving Presentations Away."

Is the Cheque in the Mail?

While email marketing seems to the beginning entrepreneur, a fantastic avenue for marketing the new venture or product, it is actually a minefield for the uninitiated.

First, you can run afoul of the Anti-Spam Laws.

Second, you can irritate your potential prospects by failing to "follow the rules."

However, if you know how to use email properly as a marketing tool, it can actually be just as great as you imagine it to be. Doing it right frequently requires a guide to show you what to avoid and how to improve your ROI. However, there are some "rules" that are easier to communicate than others.

Jason Drohn provides "10 Quick Tips for Creating Great Email Marketing Lists."

Surviving in the Virtual Village

Movies have provided entertainment based on the humor of watching an urban suit try to adjust to a rural community or a real cattle drive. There have been other movies that focused on small town visitors to the big city.

The serious theme behind these comedies is that survival in one environment does not necessarily provide you with the skills which are necessary to survive in a foreign environment.

The social web is like a foreign culture to those executives whose primary focus in marketing is offline. The rules which produce marketing success offline, do not produce the same results within the social web's Virtual Village.

Within the social web, relationships are vital to marketing success! The anonymity of the metropolitan environment allows for impersonal marketing offline. But online, you can irritate your potential audience and alienate your past clients by failing to focus on relationship development.

Ardath Albee wrote "Build Relationships ONE Step at a Time."

Expanding Your Territory

"Can I see what work you have done in my industry?"

"Well, we have been in business for X number of years and we annually service Y number of customers!"

Have you ever had to deal with the obstacle of expanding into a new market?

There are a lot of business people who feel that there industry is unique and who have a Lemming attitude when it comes to following the crowd.

Nevertheless, the need to build a reputation hinders some businesses from expanding their marketing horizons.

Jill Konrath wrote: "How to Develop Credibility - When You're Not Credible."

P.S. Jill's headlines are frequently featured in the right sidebar of rainmakerwebsites.com.

After the QB says "Hike"

If you are not a fan of American football, you may not be familiar with the metaphor that I am using - but football fans should have no problem following this discussion.

Our team's General Manager sends scouts to watch the opposition. They may even watch videos of the opposition's Offensive team in action.

Our team's defensive Coach has created a bunch of killer plays. For a week or two, the defensive team practices play after play geared to take advantage of all the information which has been gathered about the opposition's QB and his style.

Then comes game day and our Defense is ready for the opposition's first play.

The opposition's QB says "Hike."

But the play that the opposition runs is one that has never been seen before - and our team's defense is completely unprepared.

Many companies are caught completely off guard when the market does something unexpected. Can you dance with the market?

Jeff Cornwall wrote "The Risk of Assuming the Market wants 'A', when it Really wants 'B'."

Significance, Provision and Digging

These three words are the key to marketing success when the supply of customers begins to dwindle.

Significance - Time is more valuable than money in a down-economy. Reduce the amount of time you spend on the insignificant.

Provision - Whichever competitor in your market is most useful to the market will be top dog, if all else is equal.

Digging - The purpose of questions is to learn, not to sell. You don't know nearly enough about your prospects and clients.

Tim Wackel wrote "Stop Blaming the Economy."

We want to invite you back again

Receiving an unsolicited invitation for a repeat performance is one of the sweetest experiences a person can have.

The actor is called back over and over again for encores. The suitor who receives love letters begging for his return. The business whose past clients are cramming their calendar full with repeat businesses. These are visions to which most people would aspire.

But how to make it happen?

Chris Brogan wrote an article about giving speeches. But what he wrote can be used in many different venues. The article is entitled Two Important Speaking Tips but these two points are almost universal.

Borrow a page from the wise Politician

Politicians who stay in office for a long career learn the same lesson. Their constituency's voting patterns are not based on the strident special interest group demonstrators.

Sometimes to survive a primary, a politician will focus on pleasing special interest groups, but when it comes to the general election - the wise politician realizes that the independent vote is often the deciding factor. He also realizes that the size of a market segment is not based on the volume of the vociferous few.

As a business, to discover how to please your customer base, you need to discover how large the silent majority is and what the gripes of the silent majority are.

Seth Godin wrote "Listening to the Loud People."

Abandon Ship

The client who never follows through.

The client who always thinks he knows best.

The client who can never focus.

The client who blames others for his own procrastination.

Sometimes there comes a point at which its best to say "Abandon Ship! This account is sinking fast."

John Jantsch wrote "Do You Hold Your Customers Accountable?"

Your Brand is not your Logo - How To Destroy it.

Too many small business owner's confuse brand and brand identity. However you can't really blame them when a lot of article writers who should know better use the term brand when what they mean is brand identity.

Your company brand is your public corporate reputation. If the general public thinks that your corporation is reliable, trustworthy and customer friendly - that is part of your brand.

But another part of your brand is what the general public thinks that your company does. Some companies have ruined themselves by trying to do too many things under one brand identity.

That is why some companies, for example, Nestle, have separate brands for separate products. Sometimes consumers are surprised to learn that two products are from the same company. This is actually good for marketing as the segmentation of identity allows for more flexibility.

However, some business owners ruin their company's reputation. Ed Roach wrote a "tongue-in-cheek" article entitled: "Dork Your Brand!"

No Presumption of Innocence, Defendant!

You are accused of being a con-artist and a cheat.

The prosecution does not have to establish its case because in this court - there is no presumption of innocence.

This is the Buyer's court and you are the seller. In this court, the seller is presumed guilty.

There are some articles that I almost always skip over and don't recommend. One of thes is the Book Review. But every rule has its exception. If an article could stand on its own even without the Book which is being reviewed then it might just make it to this venue.

Ardath Albee wrote about a book that describes the last century of salesmanship. This book traces many of the traditional methods of salesmanship back to the deceptive practices of a company which was convicted of anti-trust practices before World War I.

Yet their methods of selling became part of the foundation of the culture of American salesmanship. The result is that most Americans find it very difficult to trust any salesperson who they meet for the very first time.

Ardath Albee lists eight of the reasons that twentieth century sales tactics don't work and gives a preview of the tactics which are suggested by the book which she reviews.

Ardath's article is entitled "Salespeople guilty until proven innocent." If you are a business owner or a salesperson, you really should read this article.

Quality or Money

Money has a tendency to cancel out Quality. Although there are definite exceptions to this rule, it is a general tendency.

If a customer buys on the basis of price, the customer will tend to reject Quality to get a good buy.

If an employee leaves one company because of a slightly larger salary at another company, it usually means that either the first company did not provide a quality work environment or the employee does not value nor give quality.

The stereotypical general reaction which occurs when a young beautiful woman marries an older wealthy man is based on the cynical assumption by society that the marriage is not based on quality.

If your company has to rely on cash incentives to retain your best customers, you are probably failing to provide either quality customer service or a quality product or failing in both areas.

Steve Yastrow wrote "A Bribe is not a Relationship."

Didn't even have to ask

Have you ever watched a medical show in which the surgeon holds out his hand and the assistant places the correct instrument in the surgeon's hand without the surgeon specifying which instrument was needed?

Have you ever been a regular patron of a restaurant, where the wait staff knew exactly what your order would be even before you placed it?

If you really want to be successful in client relationships, you should work on providing your clients what they want - when they want it.

Ivana Taylor explains how to achieve this level of service in an article entitled Use Better Delivery To Enhance Your Image Problem

Your 30 seconds with Warren Buffet

Your prospect is late for an appointment.

His attention is focused on where he is going.

Its a 30 second walk to his car.

You have exactly half a minute to convince him to talk with you again

What Do You Say?

Jonathan Farrington wrote "How’s Your Elevator Pitch? Mine’s Pretty Good."

You're just guessing

In the yesterday morning's post, I talked about business stupidity. In this post lets talk about delusionary decision-making.

Oddly enough, many business owners don't realize just how much guessing and "making it up" they are engaged in.

They create marketing positions without surveying the market. They create Value Propositions without any source statistics and they try to sell benefits without knowing what the customer wants.

In other words, many business owners live in Cloud Cuckoo Land.

Ivana Taylor was rescued from this land of delusions and wrote an article entitled: "Is What You Say What Your Customers Get?"

Suffer the little owners

Sometimes business owners succeed by accident.

Or maybe that is just by irritated reaction. You see, while outside of the business world I can be tolerant of the follies of others, within the business world I expect a certain degree of professionalism.

Some business owners seem to lack a lot of brainpower. If they have been in business for several years, they must know something - but regarding some of them - "You couldn't prove it by me."

Two of the stupidest attitudes that one encounters among business owners are: 1.) the owner that thinks that he is the expert on every matter, he has ever read or heard anything about and gets upset if a specialist does not do things the way he expects and 2) the one who thinks that a specialist can produce something that will please the owner without the owner taking the time to communicate his desires to the specialist.

PPPLLLLEEEAAASSSSEEE!!!!!!!!

However,

in the real world free-lancers have to try to pull the project along no matter how low the client's IQ may be.

Kristen Fischer wrote an article about dealing with a business owner who won't discuss his wants and then rejects your work. Although Kristin focuses primarily on the writer and graphic industry this article is useful for anyone who is a "creative" freelancer.

Stay in Touch, No Really - STAY in touch

There are no short cuts to doing things right!

The internet has made so many things possible and less expensive, but many of the things that can be done less expensively should have been done even when it cost postage!

But I don't have the time, you say? You can't afford not to!!!!!

One of the things that every successful business needs is the attitude that every customer is our only client - and that means keeping the relationship alive.

Don't be like the boyfriend who never calls or sends a gift but only shows up when he wants a date!

Be like the Romeo who sweeps the girl off her feet because he never lets her forget that he cares.

Bernadette Doyle wrote "Are You Making This Marketing Mistake?"

Trying to wholesale beef to Baskin-Robbins

The title of this post is intended as a "tip of the hat" to Seth Godin. But this post is not really about the book Meatball Sundae, as much as it is about identifying the right market for your service or product.

A retail unit that sells ice cream products, but does not sell any bread and meat sandwiches is not the right market for a salesperson who is selling wholesale beef.

So, how do you determine where to focus your marketing attention?

Ardath Albee wrote: "Who's Your Target Market?"

Why does Trust based selling work?

Many people who have not mastered trust based selling do not believe that it works. Sometimes someone who "tries" it without truly being trustworthy becomes convinced that the fault does not lie with himself but rather with the method.

One of the biggest hurdles of trust based selling is that it can only be mastered by someone who is truly genuine. The truth is that many entrepreneur's have an "It's only business" attitude. If that is your attitude then you can never master Trust based selling because when you try it you are a phony.

The reason that trust based salespeople are masters of their craft is because they truly do care about their clients and when their client suffers, they bleed.

Charles Green wrote an article explaining why the idea that trust based selling doesn't work is based on a misconception.

No Testimonials? No problem.

Almost every business owner knows how important testimonials are to the success of a business, but there are times when you may not have any testimonials to offer. What do you do then?

Dean Rieck wrote a very good article on how to promote your company even when you do not have testimonials. Tou should read this article, even if you have plenty of testimonials. It will help you, also.

Preventative Business Health Check

As humans get older, it becomes more important to have preventative health checks. Keeping track of certain physical criteria can help prevent illnesses.

Businesses can also be headed for trouble and yet the warning signs are not always heeded.

Jonathan Farrington wrote: "Ten signs your small business may heading for trouble."

A guide to creating and publishing Press Releases

Today's recommendation is a real winner.

Vera Raposo wrote: "Publicity & Media For Your Small Business."

Economic Slowdowns favor certain Businesses

During a booming economy people are more likely to take risks than they are during a slow economy. Those companies which are perceived as being less risky and more trustworthy have a better chance of prospering during a slow economy than do edgy and avant garde companies.

The Brooks Group wrote an article containing three sets of three items each that focus on how to improve sales during an economic slowdown

Calculating the ROI of being Loyal to your Client

A lot of companies create customer loyalty programs to try to encourage their customers to keep buying from them. However, many of these companies make no attempt to be loyal to their customers. This has a hindering effect on their efforts to encourage loyalty in their customers.

However, if it were possible to calculate how much each customer is worth in revenue to the company over the lifetime of the customer, companies might be more inclined to being loyal to their customers.

Crystal Williams wrote an article entitled "How Much Is Your Customer Worth?"

How big is your Booster Club?

Do your Fans brag about you?

Do you even have any Fans?

Would you like for your business to have a lot of people who champion your Brand?

Ed Roach wrote "How To Make Brand Champions."

Nurturing Relationships

I am a big believer in business relationships. Unfortunately, those who believe the way I do about business relationships are few.

I believe that business relationships should be two way. Some businesses have Customer Loyalty programs but they are not loyal to their customers.

I believe that business relationships should not be based on being transactional but rather on character. Transactional business relationships are like affairs and flings, they tend to focus on selfishness and a year later are awkward.

I believe that today's small potatoes may be tomorrow's King of the Hill. Businesses that treat their small clients differently than their big clients are sacrificing long term brand loyalty for quarterly profits.

I believe that sharks should be avoided. Any business person who betrays an ally is very likely to betray me.

I believe that takers are not worth the investment of time and energy. A taker is one who demonstrates over and over that he "is only in it for himself."

I believe that givers are always worth more than I can ever invest. A giver is not simply someone who gives to me nor is a giver someone who does something for personal glory or satisfaction. A giver can be impoverished and still be a giver. A giver is a giver in their heart and character, one who possess a generous spirit.

Another thing about business relationships is that, unfortunately, there are also "rules."

Mark F wrote an article about the rules of vendor-client relationships.

Make It Happen

On Tuesday afternoon, my recommendation was about Idea Generating.

Now that you have an idea, how do you effectively make your vision successful?

Ritu Pant wrote an article entitled "Are You Ready To Turn Your Ideas Into Reality?"

How To Transform Case Studies into Sales Tools

While case studies focus on convincing prospects that your company has experience and expertise. However, prospects identify with your company's past clientele.

When a past client tells their own story from their own point of view - it is much more compelling to your prospect than any story which is told from your point of view.

Ardath Albee wrote an article which explains the process for converting your case studies into stories which sell your services.

Avoid Ruining Your Brand During A Bad Economy

During bad economic times, some business are too short sighted. In order to make short term profits they resort to tactics which continue to have negative consequences on their company after the economy recovers.

Steve McKee wrote an article in BusinessWeek entitled "Five Don'ts for Marketing in Tough Times."

Starting A Business Consultancy

Are you thinking of becoming an Independent Business Consultant?

Let me guess. You have been an employee of a Fortune 500 company for over 10 years and you know everything there is to know about succeeding in Business. Right?

Believe it or not - Many people who know Wall Street inside and out, who have opened markets all over the world, who have been on the inside of several M & A deals - stumble when they try to go independent.

Anne Holland, the CEO of MarketingShepa, wrote an article entitled, "Launching A Consulting Career."

Why Are You Trying To Be an "Ugly Duckling?"

Another title for this post could have been: "No One can hear you WHERE everyone is yelling."

Too many marketing efforts fail because a Small Business Owner or an Independent Agent thinks that they have to market in the same way and in the same venues in which everyone else is marketing.

Nothing Could Be Farther From The Truth.

Several Years ago, on a different blog, I wrote an article entitled "The BratWurst Rule of Marketing." (Google returns over 37 Thousand page results for a query using the three words Bratwurst Rule Marketing as the search query. The first entry, in August 2008, is my article from 2005.)

The best thing that a Small Business person can do is find a marketing venue that is profitable and that is not being fully exploited and market there. For example, Real Estate Agents are really dropping the ball when it comes to Web Feed marketing and Internet Alliance marketing.

But trying to talk the average Small Business person into embracing the fact that he is a SWAN and not a Duck - is like trying to convince a flat earther that Copernicus was wrong and Galileo was right.

Mike Moran wrote an article entitled "Why Web Marketing Favors Small Business."

Earning the Right To Ask

Two of the best resources for making more sales are "Warm Referrals" and "Prospect References."

A "Warm referral" is a referral in which the person who is giving you the referral has already informed the prospect that you will be contacting them or better yet personally introduces you as a recommended provider to the prospect.

"Prospect References" are highly credible contacts who have agreed to let you use their name and contact information for referring a prospect to them as a recommender of your services.

Lee Salz wrote: "Your Sales Need A Little R & R."

Branding - Is there a real ROI or is it just a Gimmick?

Many new entrepreneurs and small business owners completely misunderstand the meaning of the word "brand" and therefore misunderstand "branding."

Brand is NOT your Logo, your product name nor your tagline. These things are tactics for creating a brand identity. But a Brand and a Brand Identity are NOT the same thing.

However, you can not have a brand if you do not have a brand identity.

What is a brand? A brand is the mental reaction that the general public has to being exposed to your brand identity.

The words "Chevrolet" and "Mercedes Benz" are brand identities. The reaction which you have when you read those two words is the brand.

So? Are brands really important or are they just a gimmick?

Having a good brand is much more important than having current inventory!!!!!!!!

A good brand can recover from a financial disaster, faster than any competitor with no brand or a bad brand.

Brad VanAuken wrote "The Business Impact of Strong Brands."

Relationships or Cold Selling

If you don't already know it, I hate selling that focuses on overwhelming or manipulating propects.

My clients know that if they ask me a question, the answer will be in their best interests not in mine. I am not the kind of business owner that thinks that everything he sees is a nail, because all that he has is a hammer.

If you are looking for making your website into a web application or if you want to create a point of sale website with ever changing inventory, I don't try to convince you to hire me, I refer you to someone else. Why? Because building business relationships is the route I have resolved to tak in building my business. If I can't be your friend, then I don't want to "sell" you.

Bruce Fryer wrote "Push Sales: Does It Work For You?"

E-Mail that Successfully Sells

Because of Can-Spam laws, e-mail is a difficult medium to use for marketing. Sometimes if you are not careful, your e-mail can actually cause you to lose clients

Ritu of Marketing Hackz wrote: "6 Steps to Effective e-Mail Marketing."

Boiling Marketing Down to Five Ingredients

Do you ever wish that an Author, would just "bottom-line" his thesis?

Seth Godin explains what marketing is - in "Five Easy Pieces."

(And he does not include, Price, Place and Promotion.)

Client Driven Sales

In the 1970s, I learned Sales, the wrong way. Oddly enough, I had been doing Sales the right way for years. But I had not been doing it effectively the right way.

The right way to sell, is to place the client in the driver's seat. The salesperson asks questions, offers suggestions, provides advice, does research, but does not attempt to manipulate or overcome the client. The right way to sell, makes the salesperson a resource for the client.

I no longer do Sales, the way that I was taught. I have no desire to persuade someone against their will. But if I can help my clients, I go out of my way to find solutions which make their business more effective. If I can not help, I refer them to someone else - I don't try to get them to buy something which is not in their best interest.

Karen Swim wrote "Five Things Freelancers Should Know About Sales."

When you need some Publicity

Sometimes availability, advertising, publishing, contacting and marketing just don't seem to be enough - and a business owner decides that what we need is some good old-fashioned publicity.

Today, I am suggesting an article about publicity BUT before I do, let me tell you that I disagree with the first point in the article. Expressing a USP frequently sounds like blowing smoke. (blah, blah, blah, blah, BLAH.) I strongly recommend that you consider a Value Proposition and make that as unique as you can.

Ritu Pant wrote "Five Publicity Strategies ..."

If you Want Commitment, Then You Have To Give Commitment

Many companies have what are called "loyalty programs." But what they tend to be is bribery and commoditization programs. If you really want your clients to be loyal to you, you might want to start by first being loyal to them.

If you want love, you got to give love. If you want good branding, then you better give customer service and satisfaction bountifully. If I am your customer, I don't want your discounts and your rebates - I want to know that I can trust you and that when I have a complaint that I will have my problem resolved as if I were your absolute best friend.

If I have a choice and the service is available from all three, and my choices are Comcast, at&t, and Earthlink. All things being otherwise relatively equal, I am going to go with Earthlink. Why?

Because even though Earthlink does not offer me six months at half price or a hundred dollar rebate, Earthlink has always (at least as far as my memory remembers) made me happy when I had a problem. And if it can be resolved, they resolve the problem with very little hassle.

I can not say the same thing about Comcast and at&t.

Steve Yastrow wrote an article (on Walt Goshert's blog) entitled "Turning Customer Loyalty Upside Down."

Getting your Prospect To Agree

I hate traditional objection handling. You tell a salesperson "no," only to have them start rattling off an obviously memorized response to your negative.

Rather than trying to "close" a sale, what if you could get the prospect to agree to buy?

It is much easier to get sales, if you are giving the prospect what the prospect already wants.

Jonathan Farrington wrote, "Getting to 'Yes, I'll Buy' More Easily."

Successful Appointment Scheduling

There you are, sitting at a restaurant, five minutes after the scheduled time, wondering if your prospect is going to show or not.

Sound Familiar?

Would you like to radically reduce the number of times that this occurs?

Jared Reitzin wrote Setting Appointments With Clients.

Myth: Marketing Assists Sales, Not Vice-Versa

Sales should be Assisting Marketing. The relationship between these two departments should be a two-way street.

Impossible, you say? No, in many companies it is standard procedure.

The problem is that because modern marketing is a much younger innovation than Sales, it has traditionally been seen only in the role for which it was originally invented. As marketing has grown and developed it has become increasingly obvious in the corporate world that both marketing and sales are equally necessary and that you can't have one without the other.

But change is hard in organizations, much harder than it is in small business. In an organization, change is frequently only achieved once the highest echelons have bought into a vision and successfully communicated that vision through all levels of the organization. The problem is that change has to get past the mindset that the current way of doing things is both the appropriate and correct way. As Alvin Toffler showed in "Future Shock" it is very difficult for many people to adapt to new discoveries.

Some business organizations have discovered (and are taking advantage of the fact) that their sales force is able to accumulate valuable research data while prospecting and selling which should be channeled to marketing because it is more cost effective and efficient than gathering the same data through other means.

Bruce Fryer wrote "A Salesperson's Other Job."

Achieving Change

A lot of businesses are based on the difficulty people have with changing. Weight Loss Programs, Stop Smoking products and Organizing Coaches are just some examples of industries built on helping people to change.

But if you are going to be successful as an entrepreneur you are going to need to master the skill of achieving the changes that you have planned.

Dave Pollard wrote Impediments to Change.

Why?

Entrpreneurs frequently talk about what to do or how to do things, but have you ever asked yourself "WHY?" Don't say money, because there are many ways to make money.

I am constantly being solicited by people who want me to get involved in a different business. Usually its a business that they are involved in. Some of these businesses make quite a bit of money.

But you know something? Most of them would not give me any degree of personal satisfaction or sense of true accomplishment.

My mother sold educational products for several years. She was truly "sold" on her product line and upon the benefits which it provided. After she had become very successful and was over a quarter of the state of Indiana, my Dad's work moved them to Florida.

Mom decided to go to work for a financial planning company. She made money, she helped people, but she left after only about five years. It was always my impression that she was more fulfilled by work that helped benefit children in need of an education than she was in helping people plan for retirement.

I wrote all this to ask the Question: What is the purpose of your business?

This is the subject of an article by Idris Mootee

The Spirit of the Game by Seth Godin

If you succeed by playing by the rules honestly, you have nothing to hide or of which to be ashamed. Those who try to win by breaking the rules are afraid to let their deeds be seen by others.

If you resent competition or fear it, ask yourself how fun it is to play solitaire. I once won an award because no one else entered the contest. I did not talk about that award much afterwards.


Seth Godin says in The Spirit of the Game: "If you keep working to beat the system, you'll end up with no one to play with. Work the system, and you'll win now and later."

Size is no indication of Excellence

When the topic of business excellence comes up, Tom Peters is usually one of the authors mentioned. He wrote or co-authored:

• In Search of Excellence
• A Passion For Excellence
• The Heart and Soul of Excellence
• Re-Imagine: Excellence in a Disruptive Age

As well as many other books and is a highly sought after international speaker. So you might expect him to think of the large multi-national companies as being the best companies.

But, you would be wrong. Earlier this month Tom Peters wrote a small piece entitled "Duh!"