Archive for January, 2008

You get on an elevator at the 1st floor and you’re headed to the 7th. You have about 30 seconds (depending on the speed of the elevator) with the person standing next to you.
They ask you ‘what do you do’. You pause, think about the best way to explain it and say ‘I sell xyz’ or ‘I’m in xyz industry’ or worse, ‘I work for Xyz Company’. You stop at the 7th floor and s/he gets out knowing no more about what you do than they did getting in the elevator.

Now, what if you could guarantee that when your riding buddy walked out of the elevator they would know exactly what you did and why you do it better than anyone else?
This is absolutely possible. And there are only 3 things that you have to define to make it happen

1. Marketing Purpose Statement: what do you do for your clients? What can you provide?
2. Talking Logo: a short statements that communicates your business’ position and forces the listener to want to know more
3. Core Message: your (for lack of a better word) tagline.
(Each of these topics is further discussed it its own blog. Click on a topic to go to the blog)

Once you have developed all 3, you should easily be able, in 30 seconds, to tell someone exactly what you do. And, as a final touch, you slip them your card as they leave the elevator. Who knows, they, or someone they know, may be in desperate need of your Xyz.

Now, this is not our normal blog but I feel it needs to be written. So often we hear people complaining about the poor service, or the lack of organization in companies. I’ve experienced it too. But, in the last month, I have experienced one of the overall best customer service and organization in a company.

Recently we ordered all new furniture for our office. We spent 4 hours at the furniture store picking out each piece, mapping where it would go and altogether driving the sales associate crazy (although he was genuinely nice and helpful the entire time). When we left (albeit a few thousand dollars later…) we had picked out some beautiful pieces. The gentleman that we worked with told us that it would take 4-6 weeks for them to get all the pieces in and then another week before set up and delivery. But, that he would call us to keep us informed.

Much to my surprise (as I have dealt with many a company that fails on it’s promises) we received a phone call 3 days later to let us know that the order was in and that the estimated ship date was February 1st, meaning delivery was to be on February 8th. I was extremely appreciative of the heads up, seeing as it made planning very easy. I assumed (as many would)…that we wouldn’t hear from him again, and the furniture moving guys would call when they were on their way, not giving us much of a heads up.

I was shockedwhen I received another phone call a week later that said “we got a few pieces in early and can actually have everything delivered on January 30th, but only if it’s convenient for you” - convenient! they actually cared?! WOW! So, i told him yes, assuming that they would be there between 9-5pm (just like the cable guy), when he surprised me again by asking “what 2 hour time period would you like for them to be there?” (you mean I get a choice And it’s only a 2 hour window!) Needless to say, I was blown away. We scheduled a time and I again, assumed that they would show up at that time and that would be it. Nope, they are on their game! He called me yesterday to confirm time of delivery and make sure that everything was ready. These guys are good.

So, here I am, taking a break from finishing cleaning out our current things, when I recieved yet another phone call letting us know that they would be here in 4 hours to do delivery and set up. Again, these guys are good.

The moral of the story is – good or bad service, you are going to be talked about. So if you know you are going to be talked about, wouldn’t you want to provide good service?

Just a little thank you to In your Office Furnishings of Laguna Hills, CA. You guys are great.

We are an egocentric country. We always want the newest thing. The best products. And products that are going to improve our status, our career level or our monetary gain. Now this behavior is not limited to one area of our life, it is in everything that we do, from our homes to our office.

 ? The question is: How can we relate this to sales and marketing? ?

Well, think about the last time you talked to a co-worker or a friend about their business and they were genuinely interested in saving the company time or money when they did things? Now, helping the company may be a result of their behavior, but is that why they really do it? Think about yourself. When you do something, like purchase software for your company, do you buy it because it is going to help your company or help you? More often than not, it is because whatever you purchase will make your job easier, improve yourself or advance your career.

In B 2 B sales, the best thing that you can do to improve your chances is to know what the person you are talking to is looking for. Well, what are they looking for?

According to a poll done by a US Business Journal, they want to:
1. Be up to date
2. Be recognized authorities
3. Be first in things
4. Influence others
5. Improve themselves
6. Save Company time/money
7. Avoid worry
8. Satisfy curiosity
9. Advance their careers
10. Earn Praise from other’s

Notice the one that is highlighted in green…that is the ONLY one that has anything to do with the company. Everything else is a want to improve themselves or their standing. This means that when you are marketing to a customer, you need to market to how things will benefit for them, not how it will benefit the company.

So, think about your marketing. Do you market for what they really care about?

Most people, if asked this question, will tell you the industry or the company that they work for. This gives the asker little to no information about what you really do. It also has zero marketing value.

So, time to create your talking logo. You want to have an answer to this question that leaves the asker wondering “how do you do that”.  When you communicate what you do, you want to communicate it in a way that benefits the asker; they want to know what’s in it for them.

There are 2 distinct parts:
Part 1: Addresses your target market
Part 2: Zeros in on a problem or frustration that the target market has.

Say you own a financial firm, and a common problem in the financial world is how to retire richly. You have 2 options for a talking logo:
“I’m a financial manager” or
“I show young, married couples how to retire richly on what they are currently making”.

Which one do you think is going to get the asker to want to know more? (if you didn’t immediately know it was the second, stop reading and contact me immediately for one on one training!)
Now that you know what it takes to create a great talking logo – create one! And use it! Next time someone asks you what you do for a living you should be proud to tell them.

No one ever goes fishing without bait. Why? Because they would never catch any fish. It’s the same for Marketing and Sales. No one wants to meet your sales people. Really, they don’t. So, why would you use your Marketing offer as “Free consultation with one of our sales guys!” as your bait?

You must have an offer. Let me rephrase that. You must have a good offer. Give them something that is of value to them. This means, very simply, give them something they will like or will help them in their business, not something that sells them on you.

For example:

• Free Report
• Free Forms
• Free Evaluation
• Free Seminar
• Free Tips
• Free Video/Audio
• Free Gift Certificate
• Free Lunch
• Free Case Studies

Do you have a good offer?

If you’ve ever taken your car to get service done and seen one of these signs, you are reading their ‘marketing’. And, it is one of the strongest marketing tools a service department can have.
Why? Because they are providing a service FREE to you that has a high value. But is actually more beneficial for them. What they are really doing is getting your okay to look through your car. And find more things that are wrong and more things for you to purchase. Brilliant, huh?

Now, the point of this is not to reprimand the car service companies but to help you to create something similar.

Create something you can offer that IS OF VALUE to your customer but also gives you the opportunity to provide additional service. It is absolutely imperative the offer has valuable to them, or it won’t work.
So go out there, create a “21 point inspection” type offer and see what happens.

Confusing tagline? Confusing topic.
 

Really, think long and hard about it. Why do you do what you do? There is a reason that you chose to start your business (other than money of course…). What was it? Has it been lost in the piles of papers on your desk, buried beneath the billing you should have gotten sent out 2 weeks ago?

For many business owners, we lose sight of why we’re doing what we do. Not because we lose faith it our ideals, but because we become so overwhelmed with trying to be successful that we forget why we did it in the first place.

So, take a step back. Think. Really THINK!
When you first started your business, what was the answer to the question, why? It could have been as simple as ‘because no one else is offering this service’ or ‘I love to do it, and think others would want to share’.

Your marketing purpose statement (MPS) should be just that: a statement of the purpose of your business. This is not meant for your clients. This is not a message that is going to be found on your letterhead, your emails or your business cards. This is a statement that is going to be an internal motto for you and your team members.

For example, the logo on our business cards and letterhead and pretty much anywhere you see Tornado Marketing is “Strategies for Sales Velocity”. That’s our creative tagline. It sums up our business for our clients. But when we think about the why? for ourselves, it’s because we want to provide small to medium size businesses with more sales leads trough better copy and marketing campaigns. So, our marketing purpose statement is “We’re marketing consultants that will turn around a company’s sales and marketing strategies though high quality copywriting and marketing campaigns”.

Final thought: Decide on a marketing purpose statement. And then tell everyone that is internal to your business. Your accountant, your employees, your assistants, your family members (yes, they are important because they keep you grounded and reminded of why you work so hard), everyone who is involved in the inside of your company.

“Nothing feels as good as being regular” – Coffee bar in Washington 

“Your pane is our passion” – Window installers in Kansas

I’m sure that you have all heard slogans like these. They make you laugh or smile, you sometimes look twice to make sure you read right, and sometimes you don’t even like them! But, what they accomplish is getting your attention. That is the key in any core message.

A strong core message elicits a feeling from the reader. When you create your message, you want something that fits your business and will allow all who read it to capture a glimpse of who you are and what you do. There are a couple easy ways to create a great core message for your business.

1. Unique Habit: Do you have a unique habit? Is there something that you do that is special for your clients? Offer a free car detail when a client comes in to get their taxes done?
2. Customer Service: Is your customer service the best of the best? Do people often praise you about how nice, helpful or courteous you or your associates are? Be proud of it, boast about it, and use it to your advantage.
3. Against the competition: Does your competition have holes in their offerings? Is there something that you can provide that they can’t? We’re not saying put out a smear campaign against them, just find their hole and be proud of the fact that you can fill it.
4. A way of doing business: Do you have a unique payment method? Are your services packaged in a more efficient way than anyone else in your field? Just the way that you do business may be enough to prove you are the best.
5. A memorable personality: This isn’t for everyone. I repeat: this isn’t for everyone! Please do not ‘create’ a memorable personality because you think it will sell more of your product. However, if you or someone in your business already has a memorable personality (a character you’ve created in your emails, a specific talent for impersonations), then use that to your advantage.

The bottom line is, don’t create something to be a better business. Take something that already makes you a better business and use that to make you more known. We all have a core message, the key is finding it, using it, and being proud of it.

TOMORROW!! January 22nd (2pm EST) Hear Seth Godin, Tim Ferriss, Chris Anderson and John Jantsch
Reveal the One Thing That Will Make or Break
Your Marketing Efforts in 2008

http://authorteleseminars.com/meatballsundae.html

What’s the number one question that business owners like you ask when it comes to marketing and sales?

How to find the right strategies for your business? And, how to leverage the hottest tactics and tools that will boost sales, create brand awareness and spread your message (with as little time, effort and money as possible)? After all, you’ve got to find a way to compete in today’s crowded marketplace, grow your business and increase sales.

But, how do you choose the right strategies? It’s critical that you do. Pick the right ones and you’ve got sales and people talking about you. Pick the wrong ones and you lose time, money and possibly your reputation.

There is a solution. Find out what NY Times Bestselling author, Seth Godin, has to say about whether your marketing plan for 2008 will boom…or bust. On Tuesday, January 22nd at 2pm Eastern Time, you will hear Seth and a panel of marketing experts, including:

Tim Ferriss, author of The 4-Hour Workweek
Chris Anderson, Editor-in-Chief of Wired Magazine and author of The Long Tail
John Jantsch, author of Duct Tape Marketing
Join us for this live call with Seth, Tim, Chris and John on Tuesday, January 22nd at 2pm Eastern Time. On the call, discover what works (and doesn’t work when it comes to successful promoting your business, including:

1. The most important question to ask when choosing a marketing strategy
2. How to increase sales and build brand awareness with less effort
3. Why My Space, You Tube and viral marketing work for some, but not for others
4. How to effectively generate buzz and word-of-mouth referrals

http://authorteleseminars.com/meatballsundae.html

In business, it is so often that we get overwhelmed with the everyday that we forget to actually enjoy what we are doing. Everyone knows what a perfect day would be outside of work (to each their own..). But, what about your perfect at work day? If you don’t know what it is, how do you ever hope to achieve it? I put some thought into it and came up with my perfect day.

7am – Breakfast with my husband while taking to-do today notes
8:30am – At the office checking emails and catching up on my rss feeds.
9am-12:30pm – This is the time when I am the most talkative so I’d like to schedule my phone conversations and meetings around this time.
12:30pm-1pm – Lunch, time to re-boot.
1pm – 5:30pm – This is when my creativity hits its peak – I’d love to have this time to work on the conceptual ideas without phone call or personal distractions. For example, time to write a few blogs, design a new website or re-write the copy that I have been working on.
The fact is that my schedule is rarely, if ever, like this. But, as long as I know what my ideal day would look like, I can keep striving for it.
So what does your ideal business day look like?