When people hear that I am an internet marketing and new media consultant very often the conversation becomes all about how to get the persons business more traffic, more attention, better search results and “what can we do with this social media stuff?”.

Yes, they are all valid concerns, but on further questioning the majority of the time I work out these are not their most pressing problems. There is a common issue, a deeper factor, that most of these companies have, and more traffic would only serve to cover up the root cause of their woes, not cure it.

What is this issue? How to get into your prospects brain …
Continue reading The Real Secret of Sales Copywriting

Posted in Sales & Marketing

On the TV again today was another business pundit explaining how certain companies were feeling the pinch because of a retraction in advertising spend. The cooling economy in USA had impacted many media companies who rely on advertising for the bulk of their revenue.

It seems counter-intuitive to me, but just when people need sales the most, they pull back on their advertising. Doesn’t this seem strange to you?

Continue reading Advertising in a Recession

Posted in Sales & Marketing

If you are not using email in your business then you will be missing out on major profit opportunities.

Since the rise of blogging many people now believe that all they need is a blog, maybe RSS, and email no longer is necessary. Not true!

In fact email is still consistently a fantastic way for any business to maintain and grow their customer base and profits.
Continue reading Make More Money With Email

Posted in Sales & Marketing

Chris Brogan raises an interesting take on the old “blog swag” issue. When is a review item a bribe and when is it just a review item? Most bloggers deal with the issue from the blogger point of view, in this post I will look from the marketers side.

I am in the fortunate and enjoyable situation where I get sent stuff to review. Just recently I was sent a GPS tracker from ATP and SanDisk sent me a huge box full of expensive memory cards and a firewire card reader. When I am sent anything I check the terms.

• When do I need to return it?
• Confirm that nothing on my side is guaranteed, I might not even mention it let alone give a positive review
• What can I say about it should I write anything?

This sort of campaign works. The up side of the positive word of mouth can be terrific. Like most bloggers with a decent following, people have bought everything from mobile phones, books, gadgets to laptops based on my recommendations, and at least three quarters of those reviews have been for stuff I paid for myself. Not only that, but the ripple effect of getting a connector to use your product can cause a viral cascade. For example, I tell everyone who wants to listen about my Nokia N95, which led other bloggers to buy them and tell their audiences, who then continued the conversation. Those were people who were about to by Flip video cameras or iPhones most likely.

The down side is this is not a cheap way to promote a product, and get it wrong and it can backfire nastily. You really need to go in knowing that the review item is not all you do for the deal. Support is essential (especially if you don’t want a “this thing doesn’t work” style review), and generosity with time is as important as generosity with product.

Too many companies go in thinking “send some gear, get a positive review, everyone wins”. Anything but I am sorry to say. A good blogger will give an honest review. Their reputation is worth more than your gizmo will ever be. Also even those who are willing to be bought off might cause a backlash to them and your product.

A certain huge software company ended up damaging their relationships until they realized that too many NDA’s, company lines and controlling tactics were driving their best advocates away. Once they took the feedback their community involvement has been amongst the best.

With any community or blog program, plan from the start:

• Find someone who is connected to your ideal market
• Work with them to develop the ideal approach
• Become part of the solution and involve yourself in the community
• Listen to feedback and provide answers to questions
• Use the product as the start of the conversation, not the whole message
• Develop advocates through authentic means, not buy-off
• Disclose exactly your part and allow free flow of communication without unnecessary edicts or restrictions

In the end, if your product is good and your support is there to help, then just getting involved with the community might be all you need to get a great conversation started. If not, you will certainly learn where you need to improve. Just remember it takes more than a fat cheque book!

Posted in Sales & Marketing

Understanding your visitor is the underlying answer to creating a successful website. However, gathering the required information can prove to be quite a task. There are a variety of ways to gather key information about site visitors and of course the more methods you utilize and implement the greater the results.

As we’ve noted in previous blogs, persona development is crucial to your site’s success. Creating hypothetical individuals that represent your market is key to increasing calls to action. But many people struggle with ways to gather and sometimes decipher through all the data because not all data is useful data. You want information that will achieve specific business goals you have set for your company.

Continue reading Research: Getting to the Roots of Your Site Visitor

Posted in Sales & Marketing

Get a group of business people in a room and ask about leads and you will get varying definitions. That’s fine if you are at a networking event, but if your own business can not agree on definitions you will find your sales process hampered before you even begin.

Branding might define a lead as someone warm towards the brand.

Marketing might define someone as in the target demographic, or perhaps someone who has read the materials.

Sales is only interested in people ready to buy, but even then (often depending on how their targets are determined) might disagree on strict definitions. Is someone in the market a lead, or do they have to have contacted you? Should they be about to buy, or do they have to have expressed an interest in buying from you?

Without getting to the bottom of all this how can you possibly track and tune your sales process? How can your marketing link up to sales? Are you ever going to be able to create a qualification system if nobody can agree on what a qualified lead looks like?

What is the minimum your people should agree on?

1. You have contact information
2. You have permission to contact them
3. They are in the market

On the last I would go even further and say they should be ready to buy.

Personally I prefer to use the following phrases

• Suspect – Someone you have identified to be in your target group.
• Prospect – This person is a suspect who has interacted in some way. A warm prospect will have requested information, opted-in to a list or granted some other permission for follow up.
• Lead – A prospect becomes a lead when the need for your service is expressed. This might be explicit or implied (discussing product in detail).
• Customer – Customers are people who have bought from you in the past. Past customers are often your best prospects for the future.

It doesn’t matter if you agree with me, you just need to be sure within your business of your own definitions.

How do you define leads in your business?

Posted in Sales & Marketing

Why is it that so many, otherwise kind and intelligent, people try to be sales predators?

Last night a guy came to our community knocking on doors trying to sell his garage locks. He had my wife listening to his script for several minutes about how homes had been broken into and how many houses on the estate he had fitted his locks for already. In the end I interrupted him to tell him we don’t buy from the door. Ever. He looked insulted, made a culturally offensive remark, then said “you are guessing, I know” before leaving.

To be honest I was a little intimidated, he had that body builder physique and was getting visibly irritated that I was interrupting his flow with questioning and wasn’t giving him free run at his pitch.

His whole approach was confrontational, fear mongering, and intended to pressure us into buying his product. Little did he realize that our garage is full of junk and never locked. Of course we would have told him so had he actually asked any questions. He didn’t even ask if we were the owners of the home.

Does that sound familiar? What were his mistakes?

• Interruption – He chose a time in the evening when most people would be home from work, watching TV or eating. IE. prime interruption opportunity. This alone is not a deal breaker but on the other hand launching into an obvious pitch sets you down a losing path.
• Sales speech – His entire gambit was to talk us into buying. You can’t bludgeon your victim over the head with your “facts” and expect them to be persuaded.
• All Features – Not one of his points made any sense to us, it was all about how strong and secure his locks were and looked.
• No Empathy – Had he taken some time to ask some questions we might have been inclined to listen more
• Zero Trust - Selling door to door damaged his credibility, being aggressive more so.

How might he have turned us from skeptics to customers?

Rather than going straight in for the kill, he should have tried to understand the needs and concerns of his prospects. His first approach should have been to give something, provide or offer, in return for permission to call back. That changes the scenario from aggressive salesperson and victim into “here is something you might find useful, sorry for the interruption”.

My approach would have been to arrive with a leaflet highlighting the recent break-ins of the specific area, some tips on general home security awareness, preferably backed up by quotes from the Police, and end with call to action that involved a free consultation and quote. In addition some form of “recommend a friend” deal or bonus to get neighbors to recruit each other.

Bait, nibble, reel in.

As it is, his predatory approach just caused my fight or flight response to kick in. Sale lost.

Posted in Sales & Marketing

Are you confusing your customers? Is it obvious what actions they can take, and more important, which action they should take next?

Our world is full of sequences. We learn the alphabet early on, and every flat pack has step by step instructions. In education we start with the basics and progress via degrees all the way to being a doctor if we stick at it.

People like to be told what to do next, it is comforting and straight forward.

Take a look at a lot of websites though and you see a random collection of buttons, content and gizmos. Rather than one clear next step we have a multitude of options.

Research has shown more options leads to abandonment. We like choices, but not more than a couple. Give us too many and we just get confused, annoyed and leave.

Look at your products too. Have you got dozens of disconnected products and services or is there a clear progression from introductory offer all the way through to premium?

You can hint at the next step by making the button or link visually stand out. What is the biggest button on the page? What can you not miss? Have you placed the most wanted action right next to where they are going to be looking or their mouse will naturally land?

In the content actually spell out the steps. Describe the process and sequence. This allows people to anticipate and not feel cheated or railroaded.

With your products you can find that telling your customers the paths people usually takes encourages follow on purchases and up-sells. In my own consultancy I have considered reducing my service offerings as most clients either start with a consulting call or some writing, regardless of what projects, retainers or partnerships they engage me on later.

As with most marketing approaches, your goal is to get the prospect to take the next step. Just one. But knowing where the path is leading can help reassure your customer to make the first small leap of faith.

Image originally by Mad Paul

Posted in Sales & Marketing

One of the most effective ways I have been able to increase sales is through information. If you provide useful advice it can build trust, can qualify you in clients minds, show your solution in the best light, and can fly under the radar of organisations.

It suits me very well because I love to write, often work in markets where there is a lot of explaining to do, and I am quite shy so the whole cold-call thing, well, leaves me cold.

There are some traps to be aware of though when using articles to sell. Here are the most common that come to mind:

1. Make the article all about issues, solutions and benefits, NOT you you you. All too often people write brochures thinking they are marketing with articles. Articles can place your product or service very well, but educate first.
2. Sell the whole category, with your solution the best of breed. When you do come to sell with the article, build up to describing your specific solution. Talk about the product category, “smart phones”, “running shoes”, “cuban cigars”, not your Brand X until the very end.
3. Be careful with humor. I find humor a big risk, especially when your content is aimed at corporates. Very often you will just put potential customers off, or even confuse them, plus adding humor is wasted words. Busy decision makers will not thank you for trying to entertain when really all they want you to do is get to the point. Only use humor when you are VERY sure of the audience and you have done your very best to be clear about everything so no chance of confusion.
4. Location counts. If you use syndication, be aware that many times your content will be used completely out of your control or awareness. Better to keep syndicated articles general and the real meaty sales lead generators on sites and positioned where you can be sure how they will be used and presented. I mainly see syndication as links, and controlled venues where you can sell.
5. Have a point. Too many articles and whitepapers seem forced. You need to solve a real problem, or answer questions the customer actually has. Use surveys and interviews, then test using Google adwords if you are not sure.

There will be other danger points but these are the issues I see most. Have you had any success using articles and contents to promote a business? Please share in the comments …

Posted in Sales & Marketing

WIIFM?

This should be the first and last idea in your mind when developing a marketing campaign or even the smallest tactic.

What’s In It For Me?

Answer this for everything you do and you are more likely to see results. I mean everything. Everything from your Google Adwords copy, through to your blog articles, email newsletter, white papers, or that funny video you are sure will go viral.

Heck, you need to be able to answer this next time you are handing your business card over at a networking event.

It’s Not About You!

We need to get out of the old “broadcast and consume” mindset. More than ever before our customers have distractions and they have choices. “New and improved” won’t cut it. Just being out there is doomed to failure.

• Who is your message for precisely?
• What exact needs do you address?
• How does your product or service address those needs in a beneficial way?
• Which specific benefits will the customer acquire?
• Why is this important?

Look over your work. Does it talk about who you are and why you are great? Or does it speak to a specific customer with specific needs about how your service will help them?

You have an instant where you have your prospects attention, are you going to waste it on lots of flannel about yourself or are you going to talk about issues that matter to them?

Today we can’t just interrupt our customers with our message and expect them to take notice. We need to give good reasons why they should listen, attract them and hold on to them. We need to promise value and deliver on it.

You will know this from dating, Me Me Me is not attractive. What do you have to offer? You have 10 seconds, make it good!

Posted in Sales & Marketing