Marketing vs. Gardening - is there a difference?

Here's a picture of our latest garden bed... ready for a fresh crop of vegies. But what's this got to do with marketing.

You see, when I put in the first set of garden beds (you can see them behind the new one) I learned a few lessons.

What I Learned...

I learned about how to keep the frame level. Especially about cutting the sleepers to match the sloping ground so there are no gaps for soil to leak out of. And how to use nail plates on the inside to keep the sleepers tight and create a good-looking finish.

I learned about how long it takes to actually finish the job. In fact this one new bed took about 8 hours in total. This takes into account measuring out the bed, taking up the grass, digging up the earth (hard work with a mattock), measuring, cutting and assembling the frame, shifting the soil from the pile into the bed (more hard work) etc etc.

In many ways this is similar to creating marketing activities for your business.

What You Can Do...

You need to understand the tasks involved so you can allow enough time to get it done properly.

Plus, there is always a learning curve. And always the opportunity to improve what you have done before. Never expect to get something 100% right the first time.

Too many businesses start marketing activities without full knowledge of what is required to complete the job. Then, when it all becomes more difficult and time consuming than they expected the activity gets dropped. Result: wasted time, effort, and money.

If you are serious about your sales improvement initiatives you will:

• Plan ahead so you aren't in a reactive mind-set - being reactive usually limits your thinking.
• Assess what you have done before - see what you can learn from that.
• Plan your tactics so they are in the correct sequence - for example understand your market before jumping at the latest promotional idea.
• Pay attention to the details - examples: make sure you follow up all leads that are generated; accurately track budget expenditure; update your website or other material to reflect current marketing activities, offers and promotional messages.
• Be sure you have the skills to do the job - for example if you're not good at working with words and writing, outsource that part of the process to someone who is. And if you're not good with technology, use someone who can do it for you.

Marketing vs. Gardening... actually there are quite a few similarities.

Marketing is about being real, not about being glossy

I’ve been working as a marketing practitioner for 20 years. Over that time I’ve heard heaps of people say (or imply) that marketing is fake. That it is about tricking people into buying or doing something they don’t really want or need. That marketing is insincere.

Have you ever thought that?

The scary thing is I meet plenty of business owners – from small operators to partners in large firms – that are still thinking that way. Even though the only way they can grow their business is to undertake some form of marketing, promotion, or selling.

They look down their nose at ‘marketing’ seeing it as something they would rather not do.

And this recent article from website usability guru Gerry McGovern includes this statement…

“This is a really difficult message for marketers and communicators to hear, but we need to hear it and really, really listen. Those of us who think the essence of our jobs is to make our websites exciting don't have much of a future in the web industry.”

Gerry is implying that marketing people focus on the fluffy stuff. The glossy side. Looking to change things just for the sake of it.

OK… I admit some marketers do do that. They are shallow. They look for the excitement in doing something new. Not necessarily something that is needed.

And old-style marketers often focus on telling prospects what they should do – the pushy advertising model – rather than attracting clients by helping them make a decision.

However, if you want to be successful in your business – no matter what your industry or how many customers you have – you must look at marketing as an integral cog in your business machine (wow, it just struck me how 19th century that common cog-in-the-wheel analogy sounds).

Your marketing program should be driven by a sound strategic approach based on achieving your business objectives. It should consist of a series of related events that are:

* Timed for maximum impact on your prospects.
* Add value for your clients-to-be.
* Easily managed within the constraints of your resources (time and money).

Your marketing must address issues important for your prospects - from their perspective.

Get over your feelings of marketing – and use it as the business development tool it really is. Make it work for you.

How *Not* To Send a Christmas Message

You can see below a Christmas letter I received last week from a mortgage broker. We had used the mortgage broker when we refinanced a few years ago, but we hardly ever hear from her.

The Christmas message arrived in an envelope bearing the logo of the mortgage broking company (which I won’t mention here). It is a major company.

When I opened the envelope I was shocked (from a marketing perspective) to find that the sender had not mentioned her name at all. She didn’t even sign off with her name or company. No name, no company, no logo. Who is it from? I had to assume it was from the broker we used.

See what I mean…
(click image to enlarge)















I can understand the intention of the message was to provide a chatty year-in-review, New Year resolution-type of update.

However I am appalled at the thought that the sender thinks this is good client relations.

The problems:

* The message (and the envelope) never mentions who it is from.

* The opening line is confusing… do we match any?? (what are we matching?)

* Trying to sell me to attend investor seminars… inappropriate to do here. Better to send me another message specifically about that.

* Mentioning personal and family achievements is out of place, as the sender never takes time to ‘ever’ make contact at other times of year. Am I interested in what she has done with her frequent flyer points? (answer: not really)

* Signing off with “From our family to yours” is insincere… I’ve never met her family, and she doesn’t know ours. Importantly, we never hear from her at other times.

You might think I’m being a grump at Christmas time. But I’m not.

If you are going to send any message that purports to be personal, you must be sure to make personal contact. Don’t send a generic ‘personal’ note to people that you hardly ever contact.

Developing client relationships needs to be an ongoing strategy for you. Not just something you hurriedly do at Christmas time.

Lessons From The Deck Chair #2: People Don't Follow Directions - and what you can do about it.

[ Read Lessons From The Deck Chair #1 here ]

On an individual basis I bet you think you’re pretty good at following instructions.

After all, it doesn’t sound hard to simply follow a sign or basic directions, does it?

But alas… people often don’t pay attention to what they have been told, even when it is in their own interests to do so.

Why?

Maybe it’s because they get distracted with what they want to do. Maybe they’re doing something new to them, their mind is fully occupied, and they can’t take in more information.

End result… they lose focus and don’t concentrate on ‘following the directions’.

Let me give you a few examples I’ve observed on the cruise ship.

1) A young guy (old enough to know better) was sitting next to me in the computer lounge using the internet. When he finished he explained, ‘Wow, they just charged me $60 for 45 minutes’. He turned to me and asked me if that sounded right, and to check with how long I’d been there to give him some bearing on how long he had been online. He should have read the instructions and pricing plans which are clearly displayed on the screen when you log on. I guess he was using the casual rate which is much higher than buying a package of time.

2) Every time the ship enters port an announcement is made not to take foodstuffs from the ship onto shore. It’s against quarantine regulations. This announcement is made every time before you disembark. And there are signs near the gangway as well. But some people still get stopped at the security check and have to go through the hassle of having their bags checked and foodstuffs removed.

3) Playing Bingo is fun and easy – as I mentioned in the last issue. (In fact Peter from our dinner table group reckons you only need two neurons to play it.) However there are regular situations where players get confused, or don’t follow the directions for each game. As a result there are false calls of “bingo”. This is usually good – as it creates some fun as the player making the false call undergoes a little well-intentioned embarrassment, and play continues... so you still have a chance to win!

4) In many ports a shuttle bus service is provided to take passengers from the ship to the nearby town (sometimes it can be 2 to 5 kilometres away). Prior to reaching the port announcements are made on how to obtain shuttle bus tickets from the Tour Desk. However, many people still disembark without tickets and create confusion and a delay in the queue on the dock to reach the shuttle bus. If everyone obtained their tickets in advance the whole process would be so much easier and less stressful when disembarking.

Anyway, that’s enough about the real-life examples.

What does this mean for you and your business development activities?

Never assume your client (or prospect) will follow your directions the first time.

• On your website give multiple opportunities to take action.


• In sales discussions, always repeat key points.


• In your marketing, repeat key messages across your various promotional activities.


• Send a written summary to prospects after important sales meetings.


• Follow up with clients by phone, email, or letter to check they have acted on your instructions.


• Use a series of automated follow up emails to remind and prompt clients to use the information provided, or download the report you have offered.

Show a picture to make it easier for people to take action.

• On websites use a ‘click here’ style of graphic or image. Use a larger image for the most important action. (Note: research shows this works better than having all buttons on the web page the same size.)


• Use a sales process chart to explain to your prospects how you will work with them, and emphasise what they will need to do.


• Use a step-by-step guide to using your products or services – show clients what they should do next.


• Emphasise what not to do, or emphasise your point of difference, by using a simple graphic – remember the Ghostbusters logo, a ghost with the familiar red line through it (Ghostbusters = no ghosts).

Give examples of what to do.

• Relate stories about other client to create a vivid picture of what needs to be done (and why).
• Provide options for what clients can do, and give examples of when or why they would choose each option.

It would be wonderful if our prospects and clients carefully followed our instructions first time around.

But don’t expect it to happen that way. Anticipate the need to repeat your message. And use different mediums wherever possible such as images, spoken, and written words.

If you want to maximise your success pay attention to how you can help your prospects become clients, and how you can help current clients use more of your services or products.

Never assume they will act on the first message.

Lessons From The Deck Chair #1: Get Uncomfortable to Grow

Lessons From The Deck Chair #1:
Being Comfortable Is Not Always Productive

When you think of being on a cruise ship, what comes to mind? Maybe having drinks at the bar; onshore excursions; being pampered; or lazy days in a deck chair!

But it's not all that easy. Being on a cruise ship can be confronting. Everyday there are challenges to overcome.

Unless you stay in your stateroom for the entire journey you have to come face-to-face with new experiences, new challenges.

(I know... I know... some of you will be thinking "that's the point of travelling isn't it, to have new experiences"... but stay with me here)

One thing I have reflected on during the cruise is the fact that without stepping up, and stepping out of your comfort zone, you will never get the progress and success you are seeking. You will never learn and never grow.

Sound a bit heavy for deck chair thinking? Let me explain...

If you're not familiar with dinner 'sittings' on cruises, there are often two sittings - an early and a late sitting.

At each sitting it is commonplace for you to be seated with a group of other passengers. Fellow travellers who are completely unknown to you. You may be on a table of eight, with quite a few people you have never seen before - not even onboard.

And... it is expected you will converse with these strangers while dinner is served!

= = =
Think about it... how often would you walk into your favourite restaurant, sit down with a table of strangers, and start talking to them about their day, about their family, and ask "where else have you travelled"?
= = =

But on a cruise you can, and will, do this.

And once you take the leap into engaging with strangers you will be rewarded with learning about them, what they have done, and what you might be able to do too. You will make friends with some, and discover others you don't really mesh with. That's life.

However, you can never go back and undo the learning - you can't remove the experience.

Also, on the ship there is a variety of food available. Food from countries that you would not usually eat - things that seem strange and foreign. But once you try a few dishes you develop a taste for adventure, for trying more new dishes as they are offered.

You start to lose your fear of the unknown. Your boundaries expand. And you learn from that experience.

Life on board also gives you the chance to try activities you would not normally participate in, like playing bingo, which is great fun... even if you are under 75 years of age. It is such a simple, fun game made all the better by an experienced and entertaining caller who announces the numbers with humour and a great sense of comic timing, like "number 8, two fat ladies, number 8".

(I must confess. I developed an early liking for bingo. My parents used to take us to the local bingo games during summer holidays on the NSW central coast.)

The lesson here is that if, in your business or selling activities, you don't try new ways of doing things you will find it very difficult to achieve greater success.

I can tell you now, not everything you try will work out well. Just like trying an unknown dish at the restaurant - you may not like the results every time.

But you learn and move on. Making progress towards your goals.

Staying in your comfort zone may be easy, but it's not always productive.

Selling Luxury Goods in a Recession

See what America's respected business journal Inc. says when asked: What's the best way to promote our luxury goods? (I reckon it also applies if you offer a service.)

Get the answer here...

The answer is no surprise really:
* Offer/upsell to existing customers.
* Joint venture - partner with a related business to create an event.
* Be present in the right place to be found (location).
* Use social media networks to build awareness and engage prospects.

6 Simple Tips for Effective Promotional Flyers

See these real-life examples

1. Consistent Use of Colours (not too dull; not too many colours).

Don’t try using a rainbow of colours. Usually you should focus on colours that are part of your company’s colour scheme or logo. Figure out what will work best and stick to it. Consistency is the key – but ensure you have a colour that can be used to highlight the important points. Contrast is always helpful in attracting attention.

2. Interesting Main Graphic/image to Grab Attention.

Think about the newspaper. You look at the pictures first, then the headline. Then read the story (maybe). Make sure you use a relevant and interesting graphic, cartoon, picture, drawing or image. Don’t be too clever in your choice of graphic – make sure everyone will understand what the image is and how it is relevant.

3. Use a Clear Headline Stating the Benefit.

Lead with your strongest points. Your headline will grab attention – make the most of it. Think of the most important and attractive words to use such as Free, Save, Bonus, Guaranteed, Easy, Lose, Win, Limited, Exclusive, Easy… and more.

4. Include an Offer.

Give people something to respond to… NOW! Don’t assume they will call you. Give them something they can’t refuse. For many services a free report is a good offeras people want to be educated about what they are buying. Or a free trial. Or a value-added offer (buy 1 get one free). Try to avoid using a straight discount – it cheapens your service or product.

5. Include a Direct Call-to-Action.

Tell people how they should respond. Be very clear. Give them multiple options. People love going to your website to check you out before they contact you. Make sure your website is listed as well as phone, fax or email response options. Make it quick and easy to respond.

6. Contact Details or Location Clearly Visible.

Don’t make recipients hunt for your details – they don’t have the time. Many people won’t be able to read small print, so keep the font size at least 12 point or larger. Make it bold. Make it obvious.

Good luck with your next flyer!

By the way, most of these tips also apply to creating effective advertisements and brochures.

More sales and marketing tips here

The Trading Post Newspaper Bites The Dust

For years the Trading Post newspaper was 'the' place to look when buying or selling any number of goods. It was famous - a market leader, published weekly. Now it is dead. The last issue will be published on Oct 29.

Killed by the internet and the growth of online shopping.

In the space of a few years this iconic print publication has seen its usage decimated.

But it's online version has skyrocketed in popularity. The Trading Post lives on, online.

The publication's readership dropped by one third to 469,000 in the last year.

But tradingpost.com.au, which launched in 1996, averages 1.8 million unique visitors a month. The publication's mobile site, launched last year, attracts around 140,000 visitors each month.

In the past two years, The Trading Post's number of print ads fell by 70% but the number of ads placed on tradingpost.com.au grew by 30%.

The lesson for your business... stay vigilant of trends. Your clients want an easy life. They will take whatever option they think will make it easiest for them.

Of course quality matters. But people want innovation, ease of use... and quality.

Building Brand Within the Organisation - Not Discounting, is secret to success.

See this comment on marketing and discounting from Diana Williams the founder of the successful Fernwood Womens Health Clubs...

AG: Have you increased your marketing though, this time?

DW: No not really, not our advertising. What we have done is spent time really evaluating our brand and on building our brand within the people in our organisation, that is our franchisees and their staff. This is a very important aspect of business. When you are in tough economic times you have to manage the brand well. People can be tempted to discount or do things outside what we are trying to achieve.

AG: So you have been very clear on holding your line on discounting?

DW: Yes we have. We are very strong about not discounting - always have been. There are other ways that you can offer value without giving away half of your business. The reason our membership prices are the way they are, is because that’s how much it costs to deliver the kind of service and if we start discounting then the level of service drops. If the level of service drops then it is a downward spiral. We have been able to sustain that so it hasn’t been an issue.

Read the whole interview at Smart Company.

Are You Fooling Yourself

It's hard work being consistent.

And sometimes it can be boring.

When we start something new - whether it be a new exercise regime or reading the first chapter of a best-selling novel - we get caught up in the excitement. We might even experience an adrenalin rush. It feels good.

But it doesn't stay that way. At least in most cases anyway.

What happens?

We get used to it.

Doing the same thing. Over. And over again.

This reminds me of a quote attributed to the ancient Greek philosopher Aesop - 'Familiarity breeds contempt'.

In other words we get used to it and start to forget why it is important for us. We overlook the purpose of what we are doing. We lose sight of our initial objective because we get bored or lazy.

It is the same with doing your marketing. It is easy to get excited by the latest fad, marketing technique, or piece of advice. But the excitement doesn't last. You get lazy.

You find yourself committed to too many things. Most of which are only half done. Then you let things slip by.

= = =

* Skipping the personal networking events.
* Overlooking the regular newsletter article, or blog post.
* Not sending 'thank you' messages.
* Updating the website only 'when I have time'.

= = =

Sidebar: Many successful business owners pretty much know what
they should be doing. Their challenge is often having the
discipline or structure to implement what they know. This is
where a coaching or marketin mentor program can be invaluable.

For any business, one of the secrets to marketing success is to be consistent.

Of course you need to be doing the right things in the first place. And then ensure you are consistent in your implementation.

That is why - when planning your marketing - you must make choices you can consistently deliver.

An example. For many service-based businesses presenting an informative seminar can be a fantastic way to build credibility and attract clients. As you would expect, presenting seminars on a consistent basis will have even greater impact.

But if you know you don't have the skills, or the enthusiasm, to deliver informative seminars don't make the mistake of including that tactic in your marketing schedule.

Don't fool yourself.

Because if you can't commit to being consistent it is rarely a good idea to do it at all.

Please don't misunderstand me here. I'm not suggesting you should simply ignore every marketing tactic you don't like. (In some cases that wouldn't leave much on the to-do list!)

If presenting seminars was important for growing your business I would recommend you learn effective presentation skills as your first option.

In summary, identify and explore the value of relevant marketing options. Then consistently implement your chosen strategy.

Related link:
Get help to implement effective marketing with Stuarts Marketing Mentor Program

Are You Any Different?

Do you claim any of these:

- We offer the best customer service.
- We really care for our customers.
- Established for 25 years.
- We guarantee the lowest prices.

I hope you don't.

You see, too many small businesses try making big claims about the same stuff everyone else is saying.

So what?

To make an impact on your potential clients you need to connect with their problems. Then show you have clear options to help them.

Making big generalised claims may sound impressive. But nobody really believes it.

How can you identify the problems or pain your prospects are feeling?

Try thinking through these scenarios and how your prospects may be feeling.

(Note: These steps are a small part of a detailed process covered in the Marketing Mentor Program.)

1. Your prospect has come to a crossroad. They have reached a defining moment when they need to make a decision. What would that moment be for your clients - for your business?

2. Your prospect is feeling, or wants to feel, some emotion. What will your prospect feel as a result of using your products or services? Communicate in their language from their perspective - not yours.

3. Your prospect is ready to choose a service or provider. They are wondering if they can trust you. Will you really deliver what they want or expect? Identify the risks they may perceive and
explain how you will avoid that happening to them.

Then consider how you work with clients. What is your focus? You need to easily explain how clients will benefit from what you offer. Why will they feel good about it?

Importantly, you must create a 'flavour' for your business.
A way of working that sets you apart from your competitors.

Now you are ready to create a meaningful 'point of difference'.

You will be able to communicate your difference (sometimes called your USP) in a unique and compelling manner across all your marketing materials.

To create an effective marketing action plan, and get regular support to stay focused on results, join my Marketing Mentor Program.

The Power of Focused Marketing

Yesterday I was presenting a 'round table' session for a small group from my business club.

We were talking a lot about online marketing options, and how all businesses can use their website to generate more sales, enquiries, bookings, or event registrations.

We spoke about how that even applies for businesses that may not appear at first glance to be 'online' businesses, such as accountants and coaches.

Side bar: I often find that business owners are overwhelmed by the choice of marketing tacics. And I don't blame them. As a marketing professional my head also spins with the amount of options available.

At the roundtable session I made the point that you - as the business owner - have to understand what your prospects need to have, know, or learn, to turn them from a looky-loo prospect to a paying customer.

It is that definition of 'what your prospects need' that should be driving your choice of which marketing tactics to use.

- Do they need educational information?
- Do they need to see proof of your credibility?
- Do they simply need the details spelled out for them?
- Do they already know what they want?

Too often it's easy to simply continue doing what you've done before. And that goes for your marketing activities too.

Just keep doing what you've done in the past. Or what your competitors do. Or what is 'done' in your industry.

But the world moves on.

In particular the marketing world continues to evolve.

Now there are more options to consider with all the social media services and tools available. And it's not just a fad. Many of these tools will be around far into the future.

What are your potential clients using, viewing or reading?

Twitter
Facebook
Flickr
LinkedIn
SEO
Blogs
and there's plenty more (these are just the well-known ones)

The question is... What should you focus on?

If you're not careful you can get washed away in the flood of new ideas, tools, gadgets, gimmicks, and hype.

But will it work for you?

Each business will need a different answer.

- Your answer will be partly driven by your business processes.
- Partly driven by what your prospects need.
- Partly driven by your marketing knowledge.
- Partly driven by your personal or business resources.
- And partly driven by your degree of interest in what is being done.

You need to fill any gaps in your knowledge, make decisions about what to do, and consistently implement those ideas.

TIPS:
Don't bite off too much to do at once.
Don't use tactics that are irrelevant for your prospects.

In this case, more is not always better.

You want to use the best combination of tactics to create the business results you are aiming for. Don't just do things for the sake of doing it.

Read. Watch. Listen. Learn.

Focus on what your prospects need to know to move from being a silent observer to becoming a regular happy client.

That focus will give you the power to make smarter marketing decisions, and the power to attract more clients more easily.

Note - If you need help to set and maintain your marketing priorities you may find my Marketing Mentor Program useful.

More Proof of the Power of Models

Yesterday I wrote about how to use a Service Delivery Model to win more business. In summary, your model is a visual representation of how you provide your services.

It gives you the opportunity to emphasise your competitive advantage - and to demonstrate your expertise - when talking with potential clients.

In his 103 Report newsletter Jeffrey Baumgartner discusses the benefits of using a 'Innovation Process Cycle' - check out the groovy cartoons.

His cartoons are a great example of how to simplify a complex process so you can discuss it clearly with other people.

Using a visual model - even in a cartoon-style format - can be a fantastic tool to help you explain your services to potential clients... and win more business.

Need help creating your Service Delivery Model?

Get the Service Delivery Model Toolkit here

How to Win More Business Using a Service Delivery Model

What is a ‘Service Delivery Model’? And why is it important?

For any business delivering a service or a complex or customised product, potential clients often have two major concerns:

1. How will you do what you do?
(In other words, how will you deliver your service?)

2. Will your process work for me?
(In other words, how can I be confident what you do will give me the result I want?)

To get your prospect to become a paying client you must satisfactorily answer those questions. You must minimise or remove those concerns.

The best way to do that is to explain your Service Delivery Model.

During your explanation of your Service Delivery Model you can discuss details of ‘how’ you deliver your service, or the steps you go through when doing work for your client.

Also, during that discussion you can drop in specific client success stories that get your message across and help your prospect see how they will benefit from working with you.

= = =
Keep in mind that 75% of verbal communication is quickly forgotten or misunderstood.
= = =

If you want to get a meaningful, and lasting, message across to your prospect you must do more than just talk about what you do.

To maximise the impact of your message, and highlight key areas, use a visual representation of how you deliver your service or how you create a customised outcome for your client.

This visual representation is your ‘Service Delivery Model’.

Your model could be in the form of a:
- Flow chart
- Mind map
- Detailed process chart
- Cartoon-style diagram
- Simple time line

The key to the success of using your Service Delivery Model is to make it easy to understand for your prospect – not too much detail – and to have a standard way of explaining it each time you tell prospects about it.

(Note: Having a ‘standard way of explaining it’is very important.)

Why does using a Service Delivery Model work?

Firstly:
It shows your prospect you are an ‘expert’, because you can detail and clearly explain what is required to deliver a successful outcome.

Secondly:
The conversation you structure around the explanation of your Service Delivery Model gives you the opportunity to provide more details about your service, and enables your prospect to get to know you and trust you.

Thirdly:
By structuring your explanation properly you will also identify and remove any concerns the prospect may have about using your services.

• Be seen as an expert.
• Build trust.
• Remove concerns and objections.

A Service Delivery Model is an essential component for your marketing success.

Download your Service Delivery Model Toolkit here

Be Ruthless About Your Sources of Revenue

In December it was reported that Apple will be pulling out of exhibiting at the famous Macworld Expo, held in January each year.

As you can guess from the name, the Macworld Expo always relied on Apple as the big crowd-puller. They exhibited every year and provided the keynote presentation, usually from Apple founder and CEO, Steve Jobs.

But not any more.

A press release from Apple said, “Apple is reaching more people in more ways than ever before, so like many companies, trade shows have become a very minor part of how Apple reaches its customers.”

In other words, for Apple trade shows aren't worth the effort and the money. Times have changed.

Wow… strong words from Apple.

But smart words.

Words you can learn from.

Are you spending your time, and your marketing effort, in the right places?

Are you working on your top priority prospects?

Or are you spreading yourself too thin? Doing a bit of this… and a bit of that.

A real life example…
Recently I was working with a client and we got to a point where they had clearly identified their target audience (their key source of new business). In their situation they needed to be promoting to, and working joint ventures with, people in the travel industry.

However – even though they had some idea of doing this four years ago – they had not yet focused on this area. Their marketing continued to be ‘this and that’ with some sponsorships, some advertising, some signage etc etc.

Nothing was clearly defined in a meaningful way for their key audience group – the travel industry.

To their credit they quickly came to understand the power of focus. They developed a suite of targeted marketing activities and sharpened their message.

Time, money, and marketing effort become very productive when you have clear outcomes in mind.

> Ditch those low potential markets.

> Be ruthless about where your best opportunities are.

Have the courage to focus on, and put effort into, those sources of revenue that hold the keys to your business success.

How to Give a Guarantee That Attracts New Clients... and Doesn't Put You at Risk.

I was working with my client David (not his real name) - the principal of a sports psychology business - to review their marketing program. I asked David "Do you offer a guarantee?"

David thought for a moment and then replied, "No... We can't really give a guarantee."

Do you think the same thing about your business?

When I asked why they didn't offer a guarantee, David explained that in their business it was up to their clients to achieve results.

For example, David and his team couldn't go out and play on tour for their clients.All David's competitors felt the same. No one offered a guarantee.

You see, David's clients are high performance athletes and sports stars, as well as up-and-coming junior players. David and his team felt they couldn't guarantee what they did. They felt they were at the mercy of each clients performance.

But wait... I suggested to David that they were focused on the wrong outcomes - that is, that their clients would win more games, or win more prize money.

Sure, winning is important. I agree that David and his staff can't play the game for their clients. Of course they can't.

Then we discussed that many of David's clients also had objectives about personal satisfaction, and improving performance when under pressure. It wasn't always simply about 'winning'.

Then I probed further. I asked David 'if' his clients followed the advice given, and 'if' they put in the required effort, would he be happy to guarantee that his clients would be more likely to achieve their goals.

Think about your business... If your clients give you honest and
accurate information, follow your advice, and put in enough effort, (and other
factors remain the same) can you guarantee they will increase their chances of
achieving better results?

After a short pause, David said... "Yes, I suppose I can guarantee that".

They key point here is that David can guarantee his 'process' works to help clients achieve results. Of course he can't guarantee clients will always reach their goals. In his case, that is up to every client to work on.

Example of wording for David's guarantee:

If you follow our guidance, put in the work required, and be honest with us about your commitment, we guarantee you will have better prospects of reaching your goals. We'll do everything we can to help you realise your potential.

Important Note:

The guarantee includes specific information about what the client has to do for the guarantee to be applicable. You don't want to make a general guarantee that requires no contribution or effort from your client, if that is in fact a critical partof a successful outcome.

The main point of a guarantee is that you demonstrate faith and confidence in the process, services, or products you are offering.The objective is to remove, or minimise, the perceived risk in buying from you.

Especially if you offer services where clients won't really know if what you do works for them until they have received it. Prospects get worried about making the commitment. They think it is risky.

You need to encourage prospects to become clients by giving a guarantee.Studies have shown that only a very small, tiny percentage of buyers ever call on the guarantee. From my own experience offering guarantees for my sales training programs - after hundreds of delegates I've never had one call on the guarantee.

(Of course you need a quality service, process, or product.)

What can you guarantee for your clients?

How to Connect With Your Audience

Over the last few days I've had a number of discussions with clients along the theme of recognizing who your clients are... and using the right tone of voice (language, terminology, jargon) to suit them.

That is, to make sure you get the right connection to be effective. You want them to listen, and then to act.

Remember, your objective in any marketing communication is to achieve some action.

In this helpful article titled The Write Tone of Voice copy writing expert John Pattison of UK based The Writing Agency makes similar comments. It really is worth taking a few minutes to read the article.

In summary:

1. Understand the level of language used by your target audience.
2. Try writing like you would talk to them.
3. Being an expert doesn't mean you have to sound boring.
4. Make people smile - but you don't have to be a full-blown comedian.
5. Don't take it too far. Stay within the bounds of what your audience will accept from your type of business.

Does Cold Calling Really Work? The answer is...

After working in sales and marketing for many years the most despised area of promotion seems to be 'cold calling'. This is when a prospect is contacted via the phone, and is solicited for new business.

See... even the way I used the word 'solicited' makes it sound dodgy. A bit cheap and nasty.

I could have said: This is the process of personal contact used to identify if a prospect is likely to have a need for your services.

You see, it depends on your point of view.

* Does cold calling work?
* Should you be using it for your business?
* Should you be dumping the phone and instead opt for the new online social networks?

In short, you can read articles like this one from the UK that gives some pro's and con's of cold calling, and discusses the use of online networks as an alternative.

You can also attend quality telesales training courses like the one provided by Jenny Cartwright at Sales and Telesales Solutions.

And you can see results of comparative 'tests' like this one reported at Modern Selling, comparing the number of cold phone calls made, versus making contact via online networks.

All roads lead to the same answer.

It's true that the use of telemarketing is slowly declining. That is occurring for many reasons.

Importantly, using the telephone to contact potential clients is a tactic that will not be disappearing any time soon.

- It is relatively cheap (especially for smaller businesses who don't have the massive advertising budgets to get 'on the radar')

- It is immediate. You know what the result is.

- It is personal. You can make an impact (positive or negative!).

- And if used professionally it can be one of the best ways to create sales opportunities.

Most people dislike 'cold calling' because it is done badly so often.

However, you can do a better job and get better results.

1. Train your staff who will make the calls. It requires skill, tact, and professionalism.
   
2. Develop a script (statements and questions) that doesn't trigger any 'sales person' alarms for your prospect.
3. Develop supporting documents (marketing materials)... I call them sales tools.
4. Create a question-based strategy that quickly gets to the core of if there is an opportunity for a further discussion.
5. Be selective in who you call - have a relevant list to work from. If possible do some homework to identify what the company does, what their current issues are, and who you should speak to.
   
6. Implement a marketing strategy that will warm up prospects, potentially creating interest in your services - essentially getting your prospects to qualify themselves, without you having to call them.

Finally, remember that for B-to-B selling the focus of cold calling is most often about identifying opportunities. It is not about trying to 'clinch the sale' on the first phone call.

Do Big Words Make You Important... or Lost?

I was reading this post by Gerry McGovern that says:

There seems to be a desire among organizations to not quite tell it as it is. These organizations create classifications and content on their websites that either use soft, fuzzy words like “low fares,” or official-sounding words like “pandemic influenza.” There is often a logic to doing this. It is a logic of experts and bureaucrats, and of old school marketing and advertising executives.

I commented on Gerry's blog that it reminds me of the old days when using big fluffy words was done to make you sound important. Gerry says the same sort of thing.

Now the web is here. Everyone wants to get to the heart of their interest. Straight away. No delay. They don't want to have to learn new words, or go to Dictionary.com just to figure out what someone is saying.

Do you make it easy for your readers, listeners, or prospects to easily understand what you are saying?

Too often I see confusion created by:

• Using industry jargon or acronyms.
• Using too many words, when fewer words will get the message across.
• Using too many ideas, which just gets confusing.
• Using bad examples to explain a key point.
• Rushing to write material before the main ideas are fully understood and developed. This results in too many words, saying too little.

This is bad enough when talking or writing directly to an individual.

On your web site it can be disastrous. Your clients will get lost. You will lose out.

If people can't get the picture straight away, or if they cannot understand what you are getting at. They will leave. Click away. They don't want to figure it out. They just want answers to their questions. And clear steps they can take to get what they want, in language they can understand.

TIP: make sure you are using the best words to maximise understanding... and action.

Lost in the Marketing Black Hole

I was working with a client this week. They have been busy. Busy. Too busy to make any progress on the new marketing initiatives we had agreed on at our last meeting. They were getting lost in the black hole of marketing. Where nothing happens, and you cant see out.

They needed to take action. To get focused on what they could do. Because their busy-ness was not going to diminish.

[See the 2-minute Marketing Plan Workshop in Sydney and Brisbane for how you can get out of the black hole of marketing.]

So we made a decision to get their office coordinator on the phone making some introductory calls (also known as cold calls). Part of this strategy requires my clients to work on preparing a few new marketing/promotional documents.

That is what they can focus on. Specific activities that are simple and have immediate impact.

You can do the same. Get focused on marketing activity that produces results.