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3 Keys to Turning Prospects Into Clients

April 29, 2008 Leave a Comment

At the end of the day, it’s all about whether people are buying. So here are three key elements prospects are looking for before taking the final step:

1. The Know-Like-and-Trust Factor–When looking for professional services, the Know-Like-and-Trust Factor (KLT) rules the roost. This is why referrals, networking and public speaking can be such powerful tools for building your business. But anything that establishes some type of values-based connection between you and the potential client can help. I’m currently creating a Marketing Map for the owner of a new retail store in New Jersey, who found me through the Green Business Network.

Of course, not everyone you “meet” (either in person or virtually) is immediately looking to buy your services. That’s why use should use email newsletters and other strategies for staying in touch, so you continue to build that KLT.

2. The Best Solution for Their Needs. It’s easy to get caught up in listing the features and benefits of your services, but a prospect isn’t looking for a service–they’re looking for the best solution to a particular problem they’re grappling with. Most of the time asking a few questions will reveal that the problem is actually only the symptom of an underlying issue or desire. And if you can help them with that, you have probably won a client for life.

Also, research shows that men focus on their top priorities, while women tend to have a much longer list of criteria for the “best” solution–and it’s only the best if it meets virtually all of them. So be sure to ask what else is important to her or you may miss something big. [Read more...]

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Are Your Words a Turn-Off?

April 24, 2008 Leave a Comment

They certainly are if you’re speaking your language instead of your prospects’. You live and breathe what you do every day, so you don’t even realize you’re using jargon and other professional gobbledygook that flies right over their head. But that lack of awareness may be costing you sales.

We’re not just about talking technical jargon. Every industry has its own phrases and terms that have special significance. Here are two examples I’ve seen recently:

Build your personal foundation. I knew from my coaching days what it meant. But most people looking to hire this coach will have no clue. She’d be better off saying something like, “Eliminate the negative and build healthy habits and beliefs that will help you achieve your goals.”

Modalities. A spiritual healer’s old web site had used this word countless times. Most of probably could probably guess that she means “techniques,” but we’d be unsure. And the clinical-sounding term jolts you from the flow of the otherwise warm, inspirational message.

It may just seem like semantics, but it’s not. Here’s why: [Read more...]

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Resource that Rocks: LogMeIn

April 21, 2008 2 Comments

Since my laptop is not my primary computer, a regular part of my last-minute preparations for every trip used to be desperately trying to make sure my jump drive had every possible document I could possibly need to look at while I’m gone. But inevitably, I would still get an email during the trip asking about a document I didn’t have.

LogMeIn has eliminated all of that hassle and more. I can use any computer anywhere to log into my desktop PC and get documents, run programs, just about anything I could do if I was sitting in front of it. You only have to download software for your desktop– the computers you log in from only need an internet connection.

But even when I’m not traveling, I’ve found it to be invaluable. Here’s how:

Working on my laptop downstairs. Using the XP remote access was always a pain. I didn’t do it often–so it would somehow reset itself and I’d have to figure out how to set it up and find all those login codes again. And for some reason, there were issues trying to use Outlook. But now I just get the internet connection, login, and work as if I’m upstairs in my office. [Read more...]

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5 Tips for Creating a Press Release That Gets Attention

April 18, 2008 Leave a Comment

With recession clouds looming overhead, many entrepreneurs will be celebrating National Small Business Week next week by looking for ways to trim their marketing costs. Stepping up your PR program is a great strategy, as long as you aren’t sending out snore-inducing press releases that have no hopes of getting covered. So here are five tips to creating a press release that’s worthy of being called news:

· Piggyback on stories that are already in the news.References to the economy, election, blockbuster movies, recent surveys, and latest celebrity antics can make your topic timely and up the interest factor.

· Tie your news to an upcoming holiday or event. Again, timeliness helps. The Boston Marathon and Earth Day both happen next week. You also have National Jellybean Day, Take Our Sons and Daughters to Work Day, and William Shakespeare’s birthday. Can your news relate to any of those? [Read more...]

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Bogus “Scientific Advances” That Will Cost You

April 17, 2008 Leave a Comment

If there is one industry I hate, it’s pharmaceuticals. I know, its an expensive business–developing drugs that may or may not actually ever see the light of pharmacist’s shelves. And the drugs themselves can sometimes do a lot of good. But I have trouble feeling sympathy for pharma management crying over declining earnings when the industry consistently ranks among the most profitable, thanks to their various shenanigans that keep raising the cost of health care for everyone.

This time its Glaxo in the news, for trying do an end-run around expiring patent protection by modifying the drugs slightly and launching new branded versions. According to today’s WSJ article “Glaxo Becomes a Master at Reinventing Drugs,” Glaxo says these modified drugs, aka product-line extensions, “represent real scientific advances and offer new benefits to patients.” CEO Jean-Pierre Garnier tells the paper “‘If you have a line extension that can significantly aim to improve the quality of treatment for patients, you should do it.’”

So what’s the big quality-of-life advancement for the new drug being discussed? [Read more...]

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The Selling Power of Storytelling

April 15, 2008 Leave a Comment

Storytelling is one of the most powerful ways to communicate, and I’m not talking about fairy tales here.  It pervades (or should) all aspects of our business communications and marketing because it makes our messages memorable and connects your listener/reader on a more emotional level. As they say, facts tell but emotion sells.

Want to know more about using storytelling to boost your sales and grow your business? My fellow masterminder Carla Young is offering a special pre-launch deal on her new product Tap Into the Selling Power of Storytelling. Until midnight (MNT) on April 16th, this 90-minute audio program and e-workbook is just $17. My order’s already in!

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Social Media Profiles Can Refine Your Marketing

April 11, 2008 Leave a Comment

If you’re like me and a little overwhelmed by all the social media marketing oppotunities out there, an article I came across in Marketing News may help you figure out what’s the best use of your time because it talks about the 6 different profiles of social media participants.

Based on a new book called Groundswell, Forrester Research VP Josh Bernoff has found that people break down into the following categories:

  • Creators, who write the blogs, upload video and music, and write and post articles–essentially creating alot of the content in the social media space.
  • Critics, who reacting to content from others by commenting on blogs or in online forums, posting ratings or reviews, or editing wikis. [Read more...]
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Write Like a Blogger

April 7, 2008 Leave a Comment

One reason I think some people just dread writing is that they think it’s supposed to be big words and long, complex sentences using a semi-colon, like many of us were taught in school. But that’s not good writing, that’s academic writing or consultant-ese. (And we were actually taught a lot of dumb things in school–like never start a sentence with “but.” As writing guru William Zinsser says, “If that’s what you learned, unlearn it–there’s no stronger word at the start.”)

Anyway, unless you’re the press secretary for a politician, the point of writing should be to communicate your point clearly. Short, simple, and compelling is what you should strive for, no matter what you’re writing–but especially in marketing writing. Because if people don’t “get” what you’re selling, they’re never going to buy it.  Seth Godin’s blog has some good tips about this today.

If you want the best book ever on the subject of good writing, Zinsser’s On Writing Well is a classic. This book isn’t about copywriting per se, it’s about good writing period. After all, you have to write well to copywrite well…

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Spanking Good Sales with Humor

April 3, 2008 Leave a Comment

If someone asked me to name my business idol it would have to be Sara Blakely of Spanx. One inspiration has become a $250 billion business that has turned the women’s undergarment world on its head and revolutionized a dishwater dull product category with personality and spunk. Once something no one discussed, now celebrities give thanks to their Spanx on the red carpet.

So I had to Tivo The Big Idea with Donny Deutsch the other night when I heard he would be interviewing her. She had a lot of good tips, but the most important one was to show a little vulnerability and humor during the sales process. She recalled the story from her office copier salesperson days of going to work one day with one navy and one black shoe on. But instead of hiding her feet under a desk all day, she decided to go cold call and had her best day ever. Turns out–being able to laugh about it with the gatekeeping receptionists and office managers disarmed their usual defenses and made her memorable.

So when she was first trying to convince store buyers to carry Spanx, she would surprise them by pulling out a picture of her butt to show them the difference the product made. And the rest, as they say, is history.

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Last Chance: Cash Flow Secrets

April 1, 2008 Leave a Comment

While you probably can’t see the connection to marketing (yet, it IS there!), every small business owner should sign up for this free call (even if you can’t make it, you can get mp3s of this one and her previous ones) on “The 4 Mistakes Small Business Owners Make With Their Cash Flow” with simple strategies for finally taking control of your small business cash flow.

[Read more...]

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