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Your Opinion Is Irrelevant

July 31, 2008 2 Comments

I always suggest you have people in your target market read your copy to make sure you haven’t used any jargon or other types of “foreign” language that would confuse your prospects. I stand by this advice but have recently realized I need to add a caveat–it’s good to get their opinion on the words you use, but tread carefully when it comes to any additional advice they may offer. Here’s why:

1. You (and probably your friends) are NOT your prospect. Sometimes there’s an obvious difference, if you’re targeting people of a different age, gender, industry or revenue-level. But there’s more subtle big difference as well–you DON’T NEED your services. Because, hopefully, you’ve been drinking your own Kool-Aid(R). And if you’re not hungry, you’re not going to look at the menu the same way as someone who is.

2. People are horrible at predicting their own behavior. If you’d asked me a year ago whether I would go to a $3,000 workshop that fall, I would have said you were nuts. About a month later, I signed up to do exactly that.

If you would have asked me whether I’d read a 15-page sales letter for the workshop–again, I would have said you were nuts. Who has time for that? But that letter turned out to be a big factor in my decision.

Truth be told, I never did read the entire letter. I looked at a few key items–like exactly what the workshop would cover, what was included, and a few testimonials. And those items gave such detailed information that I was almost ready to sign-up. (I didn’t actually do so until the last day to spread the payments out. But that’s a whole other post.)

Yet at the workshop, she asked for a show of hands of people who had read the entire letter. And some people had not only read every word–they even called the people who gave the testimonials.

3. Research and testing trumps your and your friends’ opinions any day. Marketers with deep pockets and research firms have done a lot of work to find out what’s most effective based on actual results achieved–not mere speculation. Save yourself the trouble and start with what they learned, tweaking as needed as you track your own results. It may seem counterintuitive to you–but so is pumping the brakes instead of stomping it down to the floor when your car’s skidding (prior to ABS brakes). Do you want to do what seems right or what’s most effective?

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Close Sales Faster and Easier by Priming Prospects for the Conversation (Part 2)

July 30, 2008 Leave a Comment

Last week’s ezine discussed how to improve your chances of closing the sale during an initial consultation or phone call by pre-selling the prospect ahead of time. Done right, the prospect shows up knowing they want to work with you instead of still deciding if they will.

We also discussed one copy element which is critical to the process—an Interview page for your website.

The other copy element you need is testimonials. Hopefully, you’ve already been collecting some. Now you need to add a Testimonials page to your website and list all of them. (Yes, it’s ok to include ones that you’ve used on other pages.) It may seem like more than anyone would bother to read but a few people will actually read every single one. The rest will read a few and just be impressed that you have so many—which is really the point. You want them to come away thinking that it’d be silly not to work with you since your clients always come away so happy.

Prep Your Prospect

So, once you’ve added these two powerhouse pages to your website, you just need to make a few tweaks to your appointment process.

When the prospect calls and requests to schedule that initial consultation with you, set the appointment time and then:

1. Give Them Homework. Direct them to read the Interview and Testimonials pages on your website (giving them the links via email) BEFORE the appointment “so you can make the most of your time together.” Again, these should answer a lot of their questions, handle any common objections, and get them excited at the prospect of working with you.

2. Prep with Questions. Also give them several questions to answer and return to you BEFORE the meeting. In addition to the typical “what is it you’re looking to do” questions, ask a question or two that prompts them to think about what successfully completing the project or achieving the goal will mean for them—what will be next on their agenda. This will really help underscore the value of working with you to get it done. Also, having them complete the questions will increase their commitment to keeping the meeting and prevent no-shows.

3. Send a Reminder. If the appointment is more than a week away, consider sending an “I’m looking forward to talking with you” email that also reminds them about the homework and the questions a few days before.

And if the appointment IS more than a week away, consider mailing a Wow Package.

Exactly what to include in the package will depend on your business, but it should definitely include a letter highlighting the benefits of working with you and a sheet of testimonials from past clients.

But the real “wow” factor comes from adding a CD of a teleseminar, DVD of a demo, printed report or book on a relevant topic, photos, or whatever else may give them a taste of how much value you have to offer them. (Note: This does NOT include that boring old brochure you created about your products and services.) Again, the pieces themselves will help build enthusiasm, but they’ll be so impressed by the package itself that they’ll assume you’re this thorough and together with everything.

So start supercharging how you handle prospects so you can close the sale with ease and move on to making them your next happy client!

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To Get Past the Gatekeeper, Book the Attention of Your Prospect

July 25, 2008 Leave a Comment

I have to give props to Warren Whitlock tonight for his creative and detailed idea about getting past the gatekeepers to a big prospect. The short version is to send them a book from Amazon (most gatekeepers won’t bother to open it), forgo the gift wrap and use the gift card option to introduce yourself and send them to a landing page–which you have created just for them. How could the prospect NOT be impressed?

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Close Sales Faster and More Easily by Priming Prospects for the Conversation

July 23, 2008 Leave a Comment

When you’re selling services, closing the sale often requires an actual conversation, whether you call it a sample session, free consultation, or just an appointment. But savvy business owners know you can improve your success—and make that conversation shorter and easier—if you do a good job of pre-selling the prospect ahead of time.

Instead of having prospects show up to the call (or meeting) to decide if they want to work with you—your goal is to get them to show up knowing they want to work with you and that it’s just a matter of finalizing the details.

The good news is a lot of the effort to create this shift only needs to be done once. You simply need to create the right copy and tweak how you handle prospective clients.

An Interview—the Core of the Pre-Selling Copy

First, create an “Interview” page on your website that is similar to a FAQ, but has a more personal, casual tone. It should include four important elements:

1. Your story about how you came to do what you do. Don’t just recite your experience like you do on your “About Us” page. Write it as a story. This will give them insight into who you are and help establish your credibility—building that all-important know, like and trust factor.

2. Typical questions you’re asked during these appointments: how does it work, what makes you different, etc. Having to answer them over and over again is a waste of your time. Doing it here will also give the prospects information necessary to make their decision before the call. Write your answers in a conversational style, as if you were saying it aloud, so it doesn’t sound like you’re writing a software user’s manual.

3. A pre-empting of prospects’ common objections or points of resistance. Addressing it here will allow you to think about what you want to say and then say it well, instead of stumbling through a response on the call. Again, it helps moves the prospect into the mindset of how they will work with you, not if they will. Two things to remember:
- Phrase their objection and your response in a neutral, matter-of-fact tone
- Only include the most important, most common ones

4. A mention of cost. Of course, the biggest point of resistance is often cost. I’ve heard arguments for and against posting prices for your big-ticket services on your website. I agree that discussing price during the conversation, after you’ve built some rapport and shown the full value of your services for them, is likely to be most successful. But you also don’t want to have a 30-minute conversation before discovering the prospect’s price expectations are way out of touch with reality.

So my strategy is to take the middle ground. Include a question such as “How much do your services cost?” Elaborate on what goes into providing that service (especially if there’s behind-the-scenes work they may not realize). Then give some kind of reference point. On my soon-to-launch site, I mention that one of the least expensive copywriting projects is an informational web page (About Us, Services, etc), which start at a couple hundred dollars per page.

For one client, we said the cost of disability insurance is usually less than you’d pay for cable TV in a year. This not only gets them into the ballpark, it also highlights that they’re probably already spending a similar amount on something much less important to their family’s well-being.

Next week we’ll talk about one other copy element (which you probably already have). We’ll also cover how to tweak your process to more effectively pre-sell prospective clients on your services before the appointment.

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Movie Stars for a Day

July 22, 2008 1 Comment

For one glorious day in Minneapolis, MN, we were treated like movie stars. A few weeks ago, my mastermind group gathered there a meeting and video shoot. This is a new service fellow mastermind member Viki Vertel of Digital Buddha Studios is launching for small business owners, but you would have thought she and her team had been doing it forever. They were fabulous. One of them actually thanked us afterward for making it so much fun for them. (I guess the rock stars and actors they typically shoot can be a little, um, moody.)

The Minneapolis Video Shoot

From left to right: Carla Young, Viki Viertel, Terri Hoover, Roxanne Pennington, Wayne Johnson, Tracy Needham, Lynn Burkholder, Tom Buford, and Charlon Bobo

I’m not a big fan of getting pictures taken so I was definitely apprehensive about getting in front of video cameras. I’ve done the Toastmasters thing and can definitely speak in front of groups, but I’ll probably never be comfortable doing it. But this was so different. You have the words in front of you on the teleprompter, a friendly crew on the other side of the bright lights, and the freedom to keep doing new takes until you get it right. Much easier!

I wrote and filmed three scripts including a comedy sketch called Bad Copy Theater. That was certainly the most challenging one because it involved three of my mastermind members (Viki, Carla Young of Tangent Ideas, and Corporate Escape Coach Lynn Burkholder) as well as honoree member for the day Tom Buford of Charge What You Deserve—and we never had a chance to practice it. During the filming I couldn’t see what Viki, Carla and Lynn were actually doing—the only way I knew the action was over was when producer Wayne Johnson would break out in laughter. I’m really anxious to see how it turned out, but all the technical production work is still being completed. For the moment I have to take solace in the fact that Wayne, who’s entering a film into Sundance this year, said it was his favorite video of the day.

Viki had quite a day prepared for us—limousine to and from, professional hair and makeup people (yes, it’s true, the pros really do use Maybelline Great Lash mascara with all their high-end makeup), the video shoot, headshots, and then an Inside the Actor’s studio-style shoot where Tom interviewed all of us about our mastermind group. We also occasionally guest-starred in each other’s videos throughout the day—I got to channel Cruella de Ville as a boss giving her employee a bad review. It was exhausting but it was a blast.

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Is Your Marketing Strategy Tuned In?

July 17, 2008 Leave a Comment

Tuned In: Uncover the Extraordinary Opportunities that Lead to Business Breakthroughs is a road map to the ultimate in “pull” marketing–creating a great product people instantly know they want. Yes, it takes a little more time upfront, but it pays off by having to spend less time and money on educating the customer as to why they need it or using “push” sales and marketing tactics to sell it.

The opposite is Outside-In thinking, which companies often prey to when they think THEY are the expert. As the authors say, “Your opinion, although interesting, is irrelevant!” Even your current customers’ opinions are not important—only buyers’ opinions—because the BIG opportunities may lie outside your current market.

Tuned-in companies create a resonator—a breakthrough product or service that buyers immediately see the value of having, even if they know nothing about your company.

The best example the authors cite is Zipcar, a membership service that allows you to rent cars by the hour in urban locations. It’s been a huge hit with city dwellers and those who use public transportation to commute into the city. Zipcar resonated to the tune of $60 million in revenue in 2007.

In fact, the authors’ steps to being tuned in are:

Step 1 – Find Unresolved Problems
Step 2 – Understand Buyer Personas
Step 3 – Quantify the Impact
Step 4 – Create Breakthrough Experiences
Step 5 – Articulate Powerful Ideas
Step 6 – Establish Authentic Connections

While some readers will want more detailed how-to’s, the authors do share good, concrete ideas that any entrepreneur can use to speed a business’ path to profitability.

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Landing Pages that Land More Clients and Sales

July 16, 2008 Leave a Comment

Click on a link in an email or online ad and most likely you’ll end up on what’s called a “landing page.” A landing page is a specific type of web page, designed to prompt the reader to take one action—whether that’s signing up for a free report, buying a product, or contacting you for a consultation about a service.

And, because they’re focused on getting one result, they are typically much more effective than sending someone to your home page. Home pages are designed to appeal to everyone in your target market and offer an overview of all the information that’s available. But all those choices can also be distracting.

The good news is once you have the copy, they are fairly easy and inexpensive to create. The design is supposed to be very basic—to keep readers focused on the task at hand. Often, you can create the page on your current web server for no additional cost except the $9 or so to buy a unique domain name.

Both Marketing Sherpa and Silverpop recently studied landing page effectiveness, and a few of the results were surprising to even long-time marketers. Based on their research, a landing page should:

• Match the look and tone of the email, ad, postcard or whatever that sent people to the site. Consistency is important.
• Repeat the call-to-action/offer that enticed the reader to come to the page in the first place. Again, consistency prevents confusion.
• Omit all navigation tabs or options to click away from the page. No tabs mean fewer distractions.
• Consist of a single column. Fewer columns keep them focused.
• Position headlines at the left margin instead of the center. Contrary to popular belief, centered headlines are less read less often than non-centered ones.
• Use a good-sized, preferably black font on a light background. People actually view reversed text (white font on dark background) as less trustworthy.
• Feature powerful bullets near the top. The top bullet is often the first place people look to decided whether they should keep reading.
• Use an action button large enough to be read from six feet away and which has text referring to the specific action being taken. I.e. Skip the “Submit” in favor of “Buy Now” or “Subscribe.”

Of course, many of these tips could be used to make any type of web page more effective.

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5 Steps to Creating Copy that Persuades Prospects to Know, Like & Trust You

July 9, 2008 Leave a Comment

My new ebook is finally out and it’s packed with great information to make any writing to market your business more compelling. 5 Steps to Creating Copy that Persuades Prospects to Know, Like & Trust You So You Can Land More Clients & More Sales–No Additional Marketing Required!will reveal:

  • How to avoid the biggest mistake companies–large and small–make in their copy, which will send clients running AWAY from you (learn how to avoid it and you will have a MAJOR advantage over your competitors!)
  • How to push the right buttons so your customers can’t WAIT to give you money
  • The five types of Greek-speak that could be killing your sales
  • How to zero in on the most profitable prospects
  • And more!

Find out more and get your copy for only $29.97 at 5 Steps to Compelling Copy.

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Grow Your Marketing Funnel to Grow Your Bottom Line

July 9, 2008 Leave a Comment

What does your marketing funnel look like?

For those who are unfamiliar, a marketing funnel represents the progression of prospects from the initial raising of the hand to say, “I’m interested in hearing more from you” to the purchase of your core—and probably most expensive—service. This is such a basic marketing concept, but I still see so many people, including advanced marketers, getting it wrong.

Prospects usually enter the wide-mouth top of the funnel by opting in for something free—such as signing up for your ezine or subscribing to your blog. But the business often tries to immediately push prospects to the narrow spout of the funnel, which represents their high-dollar, core product or service. Most prospects will balk—preferring to sit on the sidelines until they know more about you.

Channel Prospects Down the Funnel

Instead, you should keep prospects moving down the funnel with a series of products or services that “step-up” in price—allowing them to see the value you can provide with less risk to their wallet. These funnel products can be ebooks, paid newsletters, seminars, workshops, DIY home study guides or even just pared down versions of your core service. And the good news is you probably already have everything you need to create them in your head and your computer.

I’m sure someone out there is thinking, “But if they can get my expertise for less, or learn how to do what I do, won’t that hurt sales of my core service?” No, it won’t. People often buy the lower-priced products, recognize that either there’s much more to learn than they thought or decide they just don’t have the time to do it and hire you to do it instead. (I hope it goes without saying that these products should be high quality and high value, not slip-shod efforts to upsell people.)

AND you’re getting sales from people who would have never paid for your core service anyway.

So to get started filling out your funnel:

1. Make a list of all your products and services—from the lowest (including free ones) to the highest priced

2. Identify the big gaps

3. Brainstorm products and services based on different areas of your expertise to create a more logical price progression (If you need help, sign up for a Magnetic Marketing Strategy Session!)

4. Create your new products and services!

So what is a logical price progression? This will depend on your clients. But I’d say expecting them to jump from a $20 ebook to an $800 workshop is not a logical progression. Adding a teleseminar series and workbook for around $100-$150 though could easily bridge the gap.

In the end, expanding your marketing funnel will result in more clients, more sales, and a much more consistent stream of income.

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WSJ & Forbes’ Pathetic Attempts at Marketing to Women

July 8, 2008 Leave a Comment

Here we go again. B2B magazine reported recently that both the Wall Street Journal and Forbes have started separate content sites/publications for women. WSJ’s is just a section of its online site called Journal Women but Forbes is launching a quarterly ForbesLife Executive Women (FLEW) magazine and online section.

I have to say, I find this kind of offensive. It’s almost like a “separate but equal” thing–we’ll give you your own little section since women execs and women’s “issues” so rarely make news worthy of our “regular” publication.

Issues like balance, of course. But isn’t that perpetuating the stereotype that “juggling” work and home should be a woman’s issue?  Instead of one for both parents?

Or clothing. On the current FLEW page, five of the features are about fashion. Please. The only reason Forbes launched this magazine is to attract high-end luxury advertisers they weren’t getting in the flagship magazine, which only has a 30% female subscriber rate. And everyone knows the high-end advertising market is less affected by a slow economy.

Don’t get me wrong–I have nothing against creating a magazine aimed at women (or men). Aside from the horrible name, I’m a big fan of Pink magazine. It’s the approach here of segregating out women’s sections like they’re just trying to throw us a bone or something.

I guess we should be thankful that at least they aren’t charging us more (yet) like the dry cleaners do?

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