Archive for the ‘Sales’ Category

Selling: How to Crack the Psychological Code That Reveals Untold Secrets

January 16th, 2012 Linda Mattacks

Well, maybe that got your attention :-) It certainly would have if you’re one of the (I’m not going to divulge how many – doesn’t really matter) business owners who tell us you want more more profitable custom in 2012!

Is using a Psychological Code in order to sell ethical?

Firstly I’d say: Don’t get freaked out. We all use techniques to help us get the results or outcomes we want and up to 99% of the time we’re not even aware of it!

Once you open your mind to this there are gazillions of examples that come to mind without trying too hard. To make it a no-brainer though, let’s take one of the most fundamental that we can all relate to:

A baby wet/hungry/hot/cold/ not just crying but yelling at the top of his/her lungs until somebody takes notice and starts fulfilling that need to change the unbearable status quo. This babe isn’t taking any prisoners and it becomes impossible for any but the hardest hearted within earshot to ignore! You don’t even have to have been on the receiving end of this – you’re bound to have been a perpetrator!

Depends what you want

How do you set parameters between what’s ethical and what’s not? With the baby in the fundamental example it could be anything from swapping the discomfort of being wet to the comfort of being dry to the very essence of survival: “Feed me!”

I’ve developed my own litmus test for this ethics question over the years, and it started when I was in the employ of others to sell their products or services. It wasn’t even very difficult either – once I realised I’d unintentionally gone down some wrong routes, and worked for some outfits (even household names) that I felt weren’t operating in or with integrity – and faced up to answer the question I devised for me:

“If someone you loved wanted/ required/ needed this kind of service/ product (that you are employed to sell/ persuade people to buy), would you be happy that they’re buying it from you and that it will ‘do what it says it will on the tin’?”

Ping me and I’ll tell those of you who are interested the story about the high powered bloke whom I’d never met yet was caring enough to share some home truths with me about the track (not illegal but definitely tacky) I’d got myself on who was instrumental in the creation of my test for me – and it’s stood me in good stead ever since when I sell, promote or endorse my own or others’ products or services! :-)

Okay, so let’s skip to where you’ve done your own due diligence and have a clear, happy conscience about what you’re selling and get on with the ‘Psychological Code’:

I’m referring to Joe Sugarman’s 30 Triggers. Joe was part of the direct mail, direct marketing, direct selling spearhead movement of the 1980s. He was one of the pioneer ‘ad men’ to realise the need to understand target audiences and segmentation versus the previously adopted mass marketing approach. Technology played a huge part in this new ability to cost effectively test products, marketing messages, bring split runs into play and… well, just have some real creative fun in sales & marketing precision in ways that weren’t possible in the pre-computer-that-fits-on-a-desk era.

Your starter for 5 Top Triggers Tips

Here are my interpretations of and variations on the first 5 of Joe’s Top 30 Triggers. You’ll notice I’m calling them tips rather than triggers. In my opinion they’re a mix of both so I’d say “Don’t worry about the handle, just dive in and see what you can get to work for you!”

  1. Get commitment to buy (something) initially

    2. Add upsells as a “by the way”
    Once you learn what works you can replicate it

  2. Understand your product nature/ personality

    3. For example, with toys, you’re selling to the adult
    Sell them the fun or educational value

  3. Know the nature of your prospect

    4. Their likes/ dislikes, hopes, dreams

  4. Raise your own objections

    5. Highlight what you know are potential drawbacks to your product or service and use them to your own advantage
    “Raise and Resolve”

  5. Take each and every potential problem and turn it into an opportunity

    6. This one is so varied – send your own in and I’ll give you ideas to turn them around!

More to come, obviously – we’ve only just started with the first five of thirty! Yet we’ll return to my litmus test before signing off.

It was part of the kick off point for the workshop last week where the defining questions and (sometimes like teeth being pulled, I kid you not) answers of
why you’re in the business you’re in and
why anybody should buy from you, stay with you and grow with you
absolutely must be clearly and definitively answered before any Psychological Codes have any effect or meaning…

Your thoughts?

Posted in Sales Tags: , , , , , , No Comments »

Calling Women Who Love Life and Mean Business!

December 30th, 2011 Linda Mattacks

Regular readers will know by now that I’ve enticed Jackie (Make Friends With Money) Dunn to join me in London on Friday 13th January 2012 to offer 20 women a fabulous opportunity to roll up their sleeves, work and play hands on with us and gain from our combined 50+ years of business and financial growth experience for an entire day! And not just that – can you imagine the sheer energy of 22 women working together to help each other enhance her business success? Wow!

Are you one of these

  • A Happy Successful Business Woman?
  • A Trapped Successful Business Woman?
  • A Struggling Business Woman?
  • An Aspiring or Reluctant Business Woman?

We’re looking for all levels to come together because when we’re good at what we do, enjoy it and are successful at it we are of more value to ourselves, those we care about and the community in general. We create cash flow in the economy. We also tend to be more fun to be around!

By the end of this day everyone will be closer than ever before to complete clarity on:

  • The precise space or niche you occupy
  • Its potential value to you
  • Its value to your customers
  • Who your target market is
  • What that market wants or needs and will pay for
  • How to reach it efficiently and effectively
  • What to say to it
  • How and when to say it
  • What results you want and how to get them

And you’ll have several new tools and techniques to add to your existing tool bag and help you achieve your aims!

Talking of money…

Financial freedom is high on 98% of the population’s wish list yet how many of us actually believe it’s achievable?

What negative or limiting concepts do you have about money that might be holding you back from:

  • Believing you deserve it
  • Making more of it
  • Sharing it
  • Being aware of money that’s literally frittered away
  • Uncovering resources you don’t realise you have
  • Knowing there is always ample money around for whatever you need or want
  • Making what you earn work for you … And that includes using event receipts (such as this event) and allowing the tax man to pick up the tab

By the way, did you know that:

“It’s never about the money; it’s about fear of loss, or wanting things to be different.”

Come along and be prepared to blow apart any limiting ideas about money!

Your Hosts for the day

Linda Mattacks – Value in Business
Jackie Dunn – Make Friends with Money

The most effective way to do your own due diligence is probably to Google each of us but here’s a bit about us to start you off.

Linda – Me!

I have worked for over 25 years with international corporations, from senior management to rank-and-file employees, to independent consultants/ sole traders and everything in between, to help them win, keep and grow customers. I have created and run courses, and trained and coached on the subject.

I am an ace on living, giving and receiving your value in business. 6 years worth of free training is accessible right here on this website :-)

I am the author of “Redundancy – Survive and Thrive” and “Opening Doors” a ‘how to’ book on effective networking – offline and online.

Jackie

Being a sole trader for almost 22 years, most of it as an holistic Independent Financial Adviser, and running alongside that, a financial coach: getting and retaining high value clients. Managing to have a great life uncovering and advising about the richness of her finds: A win-win!

As a story-teller Jackie loves having fun sharing these real life financial anecdotes with you. They bring financial freedom to life in an animated and memorable way.

Seeing her role as a teacher and student, the sense of wealth-being is evident on the page ‘What people say about Jackie’

And remember Jackie will show you how to make this event tax deductible…

The Event

£60 per delegate for the entire day includes light refreshments – more than a carrot, not a feast!

By the way, we’ve been asked: “Why only £60?”

The answer is simple: If we put the price tag on it we know it’s worth, it would probably preclude the ones who at first glance would have most to gain – those struggling or just starting out – from attending.

Those of you who are (happily or unhappily) more successful will come because you’ll want to mix with your peers and the idea of sharing your own experiences and offering shortcuts to those currently less fortunate will appeal – the money will be almost irrelevant – it’s the time investment that you’ll consider. Oh, and the promise of having access to a financial coach for a day at a mere £60 won’t go amiss! :-)

Be part of something special!

Where: The Arches Fairhazel Gardens NW6 3QE
The event is downstairs at this well known wine bar in London’s Swiss Cottage (or South Hampstead if you look at the A to Z!).
Google or Streetmap will pinpoint it for you if you copy and paste the postcode in.
Overground: South Hampstead 2 mins walk
Underground: Finchley Road (Metropolitan& Jubilee lines) 4 mins walk
Parking: Don’t unless you’re a local resident!
When: Friday 13th January 2012. Convene at 9.30am for 10am start: Play/work through to 4pm
4pm: Disperse OR stay to brainstorm next steps / get to know us and your fellow delegates better
6pm : Get kicked upstairs to the main bar or go home!

Why come and play? Because you’re worth it!

We are so convinced of the value of this day to you we’ll even say: Leave at 1pm if you’re not totally happy and we’ll refund your money within 31 days.

To register or for clarification:

Call Linda on 020 7209 1284/ 07879 628367
Or Jackie on 01664 482665/ 07973 895750

  • Tell us in advance what you need to jump start or take the success you’ve already achieved to the next level
  • Tell us your biggest money issues

We’ll compile all issues (not attributable to any individuals – many we know, will crop up more than once) and shape this day’s event around the group’s needs and by the end of the day each of you will be aware of previously untapped possibilities, how to explore them and make money work smarter for you!

There is only space for 20 delegates so it’s first come first served…

What do you have to lose if you come?
What do you have to lose if you don’t come?

Act now!

Posted in Business, Marketing, Sales 3 Comments »

Successful Business Women – are YOU one or WILL you be in 2012?

December 20th, 2011 Linda Mattacks

Let’s find out! Some of the traits of ALL Successful Business Women are that they:

  1. Know the precise space or niche they occupy
  2. Know who their target market is
  3. Know what their target market wants/ needs and will, if necessary dig deep to pay for it
  4. Know how to reach that target market
  5. Know what to say to that target market
  6. Know how to say it
  7. Know when to say it
  8. Know what results they want and how to get them

If only it were that simple – but it’s not. Let’s be aware that there are TWO types of Successful Business Women. The first are

HAPPY Successful Business Women

HAPPY Successful Business Women say things like:

“I LOVE virtually all aspects of what I do”
“I’m good at it and it contributes hugely to my all-round enjoyment of life and of those I care about”
“I’m getting a good/great returns”
“I just want to expand and build on them”

Happy Successful Business Women ask things like:

“What next, how can we innovate?”
“Who can I work with?”
“How can we help each other?”

TRAPPED Successful Business Women

These women are often ironically bound by their very own success :-(

They are likely to privately think things like:

“I don’t particularly enjoy much of what I do any more”
“…Though I’m good at it…”
“And it gives me a return that enables me to do things I DO enjoy with people I care about”

And they ask themselves questions such as:

“Do I stick with this and ‘safety’?”
“Or do I ‘break out’ and take a chance doing something I really enjoy?”
“…And what guarantees will I have that I’ll be able to keep and build on the benefits of the success I already have and don’t want to lose?”

And there’s another category we need to address:

Struggling Business Women

Theirs is a tale that’s heard all too often in this crazy economic climate. Their self-talk goes something like this:

“I LOVE what I do”
“I think I’m good at it”
“BUT I’m not yet (or no longer) getting anywhere near a good enough return to live the life of my dreams”

The Struggling Business Woman is asking questions like:

“Where am I going wrong?”
“Should have just stayed in employment and not struck out on my own?”
“What can I do about it?”

And, finally for now, there may well be some women whose changing situations mean they now need to consider how they’re they’re going to earn money:

  • They’re suddenly made redundant
  • The volatile market means their savings are no longer enough to live on
  • The main bread winner has lost his/ her job
  • The kids are now in school and are costing more and more to feed, clothe and ferry around

The list is potentially endless… and there may not be any jobs around that these women can just ‘walk into’. They may well be thinking:

Do I have it in me to be a Business Woman?

And you know what?
These women probably have the most untapped potential of any of the groups!

The purpose of this post

We help nobody by playing ‘small’. So I’ve enticed Jackie Dunn, the ‘Make Friends With Money’ lady (a money coach with 20+ years experience of working primarily with high earning women) to join me for the day in London on Friday 13th January 2012 – that’s right, Friday 13th, just over three weeks from now – to work play with a group of just 20 Business Women who will be from a combination of all four categories above.

We ask what you want out of the day – and that you be as specific as you can be – upfront. Then Jackie and I work our socks off with you to make sure you get that – minimum! :-)

  • We are going to have an absolute ball using all the sales & marketing experience and techniques I’ve accumulated over the past 25+ years to knock into shape and refine the 9 traits of Successful Business Women for every woman present…
  • Jackie will completely blow away any existing negative or limiting concepts about money and share ways to find it, grow it and put it to best use…
  • That will go hand in hand with some mind blowing techniques from both of us that, if you’re stuck or struggling, alter your perspective on what’s possible for you to achieve, and if you’re already flying will help you soar even higher…
  • All of you get to contribute…
  • You’ll meet like minded women – some of whom may well become good friends…

And this is just for starters…

Your investment?

One day of your total presence and engagement and £60* that includes light refreshments to stave off hunger pangs!
Arrive 9.30ish for start at 10am prompt
Jackie and I will lead/ facilitate/ coach where warranted and probably generally cause mayhem along the way at times! :-)

We anticipate working/ playing straight through until around 4pm.

Then the choice is yours. You can dash off if you need to at that point though we fully expect some of you will elect to stay and get to know us and your fellow delegates better informally for another hour or so.

*Jackie has told me of a way of payment and receipt generation that means you can offset your investment against tax – if you’re not yet making enough money to pay tax then that gives us an area of focus…

What should you do next?

20 delegates plus Jackie and I is an ideal number for everyone to get maximum return for her investment so I’d say “Don’t hang around if you want to be with us on January 13th!”
Call me:
Tel: 020 7209 1284
M: 07879 628 367

Or email me:
linda(at)lindamattacks(dot)co(dot)uk

To register and reserve your place.

Posted in Business, Marketing, Sales 13 Comments »

Looking for something a little bit special this Christmas?

December 6th, 2011 Linda Mattacks

Are you tired of the same over-processed Christmas cards that everyone sends at Christmas? Are you looking for something a little bit different, something with the personal touch? Do you think your customers might just love that?

As you’re probably only too aware, I’m always banging on here about knowing why you’re in business, what you do for your customers and what that’s worth to them.

Every now and then I come across somebody who just so has it cracked, I’m humbled to witness it and I want them to take the world by storm! Anita Hunt, designer extraordinaire of original cards (and more!) is such a ‘find’ and I was tempted to keep her all to myself – but that’s selfish and this is a season for giving – so I relented and you’re the potential beneficiaries! :-)

You can have a quick sneak peek here but come back before you decide to buy anything so that, if you do, you can claim just a bit extra – why not?

By the way, if it had been down to me I’d have removed “a little bit” from the post tile – but that’s Anita for you! Her own words convey the raison d’être of Nita Joy Designs, and the fire that ignites that creativity that enables her to come up with her beautiful work, far better than I could. So I’ll hand you over to her and, at the end of this post remember you’ll see our own little “thank you” for those of you who decide to share her joyful creativity with your customers (or mates, or loved ones… anyone who’s a bit special).

Anita’s message

I began my business with the aim to brighten someone’s day. I love nature and making cards and saw how much receiving a card with a personal message meant to those going through a hard time, or who were lonely and not able to get out much due to ill health.

With the unfortunate tendency of Christmas starting earlier and earlier each year and credit cards maxed out, the season is hard for many and it’s easy to become jaded.

I’m very much aware of how Christmas can be seen as an unwelcome expense – so how can greeting cards, specifically Christmas cards, be seen in a positive light instead of an unnecessary luxury item?

Many people such as the elderly love receiving a card; many don’t have access to a computer so an e-card isn’t going to be appreciated.

2011 has been a difficult year for many; so hearing your letter box struggling to cope with the avalanche of Christmas cards from friends and family always brings a smile, people feel remembered at a time when many feel disillusioned and worried about the future.

Every time you walk into your lounge and see the variety of cards lining up on shelves, over fireplaces and hanging across your walls really adds to the enjoyment of the season.

This is why I love what I do; it’s a privilege to make personalised Christmas cards that convey the joy that Christmas can bring – thanking someone for being a valuable customer – not selling to them just thanking them speaks volumes, thanking someone for their kindness, letting someone know how much they mean to you…

I have kept numerous Christmas cards over the years as the message written either on the front or inside the card meant a lot to me. Knowing that someone has taken time out of their busy schedule to sit and think about and write to me, is something I treasure.

Someone once said to me that they used to buy bulk packs of cards in the supermarket, hastily throwing them into the shopping basket, with their other food items, scrawling a hurried message, before flinging them in the post, but thought about what that said to the person who she was sending them to… so decided to spend less on gifts and more time on cards to write a special note.

One of Nita Joy Designs customers said

“You have now become my own personal card designer”
“I have just received the cards, they are beautiful!!!! I can’t stop looking at them; they are all so different and gorgeous. No one else will be buying the same, so that makes these really special. I know who to come to in the future for unique cards!”

Back to Anita

Yes we have Facebook, Twitter and e-cards to send a quick message to people at Christmas, but they don’t decorate our walls, we can’t feel them in our hands or keep them as a treasured memory.

If you would like to bless someone with a smile this Christmas, or to thank someone for their valued custom, I would love to make a set of special Christmas cards for you. I can add an insert with your special Christmas message, or add a message to the front of the cards at no extra cost. (Linda’s comment: Do I need to confide in you that this great woman is a new pal and not my client?)

My packs of Christmas cards are available in packs of 5 or 10 :-)
Send a Christmas card, brighten someone’s day!

Special offer for UK readers of Small Business Training

If you purchase a pack of 5 Christmas cards and add the code SBT11 in the message section at the checkout, you will receive 6 cards for the price of 5.
Post and packing is free.

The need to act

This offer must end 18th December 2011 – not to do with the usual hype of “only x number remaining” – so much as December 25th is looming fast and there’s the postal time to take into account, too! So do you fancy being that little bit different this year? Do you want to offer your customers a small token of appreciation that says “We value you – you’re not just a number…

So, if you’re serious, best nip over to ‘Nita’s place now… :-)

Posted in Business, Marketing, Sales 12 Comments »

Selling: Men, Women, Emotions, Logic and Persuasion or is that Manipulation?

November 3rd, 2011 Linda Mattacks

I admit upfront that this contains a bit of a rant but stick with it and you’ll see where we’re headed… 😉

Yesterday

I went to a women’s event in London, primarily in my role as an Ambassador for Birds on the Blog. What fascinated me and what I thoroughly enjoyed was both hearing from very successful speakers – and the trials and tribulations they’d been through along the way – and still faced to some degree, and speaking with them and other attending businesswomen, starting to make new friends.

The only duff part of the entire day, in my opinion, was the one bit, one of the master classes, that was run by a bloke. He used to run comedy workshops then went into the corporate arena running workshops on stand up presentation skills for employees. I really don’t think he was used to presenting to audiences that included women who are responsible for running companies that turn over £several million a year! The content was basic, not new, and fairly lightweight and I wasn’t the only one in that class who felt we’d been patronised and that the presenter had totally misjudged his offering for us. :-(

Today

I found an email with a link to a download from a website that promised:

FREE BOOK: How Influence Masters Get Exactly What They Want In Business, Relationships And Life And How You Can Too, Guaranteed

Written, allegedly, by a Million-Dollar Copywriter And Influence Master whose name I’d only come across in my email box to date. Well, I thought I’d see what this guy had to offer – pourquoi non? as our French amis would say, and here’s my take on it for you 😉

The book in a nutshell

It’s 47 pages mostly of waffle, psychobabble, and manipulation à la snake oil salesman. Some of what he advocates should have gone out with the ark and I honestly wonder whether he’s tried it on a 21st century prospect… he kind of gives this away when he says that he’s been a salesman most of his life and that “most of the selling that I did was in the fitness industry”. That emboldment of the ‘did‘ is mine.

However, hidden in amongst all this are a few nuggets and bloopers that, if you haven’t considered in any great depth before might be worth your while pondering on – knowing which are potentially good news for you and which to stay well clear of.

I’ve only highlighted a few here. You can phone me [+ 44 (0) 20 7209 1284 or + 44 (0) 7879 28 367] or email me [desk (at) smallbusinesstraining (dot) co (dot) uk] for the link to get your own copy of the .pdf

“Emotion v. Logic”

Cutting through all the verbiage, what he’s basically saying here is that buying decisions are driven by emotion reinforced with logic. This is absolutely true and any sales person worth his or her salt knows it – there’s nothing new here. What’s a little more interesting is that a lot of this is going on subconsciously. The examples chummy gives are about as subtle as a brick and I won’t insult your intelligence by repeating them here but, in essence it’s a valid point and, no matter how logical your buyer-of-the-moment might like to think s/he is, this is still going on under the surface (a bit like an iceberg).

“Third Party Evidence is a must”

‘A must’ is a bit heavy handed and not so easy to apply if you’re just starting out but it’s certainly very powerful. Referring to experts and quoting statistics will work reasonably well until you can include your own satisfied clients/ customers, anything that basically says “Look, don’t just take my word for it…” and helps the potential buyer to feel comfortable, that s/he’s in good company are all good. BTW: If someone says they’ll give you a testimonial/ reference but “You write it” – Don’t! Even if you have to wait for it, it’ll be worth it – your wording won’t sound like them to anyone who knows them and you’ll never dream of some of the lovely things they’ll say about you!

“Obligation/ Reciprocity”

Our man lists this little gem under “Triggers of Mind Control” and quotes Dr Robert Cialdini’s research into what makes people think and act in certain ways to justify his use of it in selling: Give the potential client something for nothing then they’ll feel they have to buy.

I’m not kidding. This is really what he says. I call it unethical garbage that deserves to blow up in the face of whoever’s dumb enough to use it. Or maybe I’m not being clear enough…

So let’s salvage this one: A freebie as a goodwill gesture plain and simple is fine. As an example of your expertise for your potential buyer to try, why not? Just as long as you don’t employ it to create a feeling of obligation. Give me strength!

“Scarcity: The less available something becomes the more people want it”

This one can be a bit of a double edged sword. For a start, ‘the more people want it’ is only going to be true if it (whatever ‘it’ is) was desirable in the first place. Secondly, I honestly believe that buyers are far more sophisticated nowadays and a far more aware of potentially created ‘scarcity’:

“In all my years of being in the Internet marketing business and writing sales copy, the scarcity trigger is one of the most important tools that I have used to get the customer to take action.”

Oh boy, I guess that shows our author in his true colours… :-(

What’s the link between yesterday’s event and today’s email?

To me it’s that the kind of in-your-face thinking/ approach that these two guys demonstrated is passé and no longer works.

I’m not saying that all males are like that or that all male thinking needs to be thrown out of the window, just that now might be a good time for all of, women and men, to incorporate more of our feminine side in out business activities.
What are your thoughts?

Posted in Sales 11 Comments »

Do you know YOUR ideal client? 95% of companies don’t!

August 15th, 2011 Linda Mattacks

If you think that’s an exaggeration, not so according to Murray Smith, successful businessman and author of the New York Times best seller ‘The Answer’. Before you switch off, perhaps thinking “This will only apply to the American market”, why not stick with it because what he was talking about was, I strongly believe, generic, not country- or culture-specific.

In an interview I saw recently the host introduced a budding entrepreneur businesswoman to Murray Smith and asked her what would be the one gem she would like to learn from him. The answer was how to get more clients – no real surprise there, then and Mr Smith opined that there are two things that apply to all businesses:

  1. They all want more clients and more income
  2. They each recognise the belief they’re different and unique

He took the second point first and asked the guest to describe what she did in order to help him decide his strategy for her.

Defining the offer

Without going into detail his incisive questioning enabled him to elicit from her that, over and above being a business coach – which anyone could claim to be – and improving interdepartmental communications in larger companies – which she started out by saying, what she actually did enabled her (business/ corporate) clients to ensure that not only did they have the “right people on the bus” but also that they were on the right seats on the bus. Now that, Mr Murray said is crucial for an organisation’s success and growth.

And that positions her work squarely under the heading of profit centre as opposed to cost centre and already distinguishes her from 99% of business coaches… The host admitted that whilst she’d known her guest for some time only now did she really ‘get’ what she did!

How do you describe what you do?

Who do you do it for? AKA your ideal client…

Now this guy has worked with some big Fortune 500 companies and this is where he dropped the killer clanger – that 95% of them don’t know their ideal client. :-(

To illustrate this he tells the story of an American restaurant company with a failing Canadian franchise. They’ve spent millions of dollars over three years targeting 25 – 40 year old males, trying to improve custom. Mr Smith discovers within minutes that the decision makers (in Canada, anyway) were in fact 35 – 50 year old females… and the story has a happy ending of reversal in fortune :-)

Returning to our budding entrepreneur, Murray Smith next asked her to describe her ideal client, which she happily did, drawing on a current one, using traditional demographics such as company size, industry and location.

A perfectly acceptable approach except that the company’s psychographics were much more important and relevant to her. Murray Smith redefined her ideal client for her roughly as follows:

A solid, successful company, affected by the economy; wants to change; looking for innovative, creative ideas – and will pay…

As she could currently only handle another one or two clients, he said he wouldn’t even consider demographics.

How would you describe YOUR ideal client?

As Murray Smith says – the sales process is unique and different in each case but for our budding entrepreneur it’s pretty simple:

CEOs and executives know other CEOs and executives… She should go to her current client and ask for referrals… 😉

Would the budding entrepreneur have got there on her own?

Not easily and maybe not for years, if at all. Yes she is a business coach but her expertise is self-admittedly not in getting clients! Can just anybody do what he did? No 😉

I’m a firm believer that we all need help with different aspects of our business from time to time, and struggling alone with the likes of the two key issues addressed here just doesn’t make any kind of sense to me…

PS
The video of the interview is Simple Steps to Business Success on BraveheartTV.com


Your comments on this post and/ or the interview, as always much welcomed… :-)

Posted in Marketing, Sales Tags: , , , 5 Comments »

Write to Sell in the 21st Century

July 27th, 2011 Linda Mattacks

Writing to Sell and Writing for Social Media are different!

Social media readers and followers are, by and large, very forgiving of misspellings, commas in the wrong place and so on because we like the fact that the writer is maybe thinking aloud rather than giving a pre-prepared speech.

It can be a costly mistake to expect the same leeway from a potential buyer – someone who expects certain standards to be met…

Getting the right there, they’re or their … pear, pare or pair … doesn’t seem to carry much importance nowadays. But it still means a lot to me and probably to anyone else who went through schools in the education system that made you feel like a right – yes that’s right, not rite or write 😉 – plonker if you got it wrong…

So when I sent off for a write-to-sell programme, with a price tag of over £250 a few years ago and found my intake was constantly being interrupted by glaring and more and more intrusive grammatical and spelling whoopsies on every single page… :-) I complained. The author of the course said words to the effect of: “Whoops! Okay. Keep it. We’ll return your money and please can we have your proofed pages?” Fair enough deal to me.

There was some good stuff there though I found it a bit annoying that much of the content and examples were gleaned from America despite the fact that the course creator was born and based in Ireland. I remember thinking that I wouldn’t have used the material without making it UK-market friendly first. (I wonder if nowadays you could watch a series of Mad Men and learn just about as much? Nah! Silly thought…)

Surprisingly (to me) much of the information was along very similar lines I’d learned way back when I was a classified advertising telephone sales person and then as a trainer in the 1970s and 80s:

When the only discounts we sales people could give were those printed on the rate card, we learned how to add value in other ways – i.e. become mini copywriters for the column we worked on and help our advertisers ‘sell’ their wares.

Anyway, here’s the headline stuff that would seem never to really change… and it’s still based on a mate that’s been around for years: A.I.D.A…

Attention

  • 90% of the reason anyone responds to a sales message is because of what’s in the headline or opening statement
  • An effective headline can bring in up to 17 times more response than an ineffective, weak one, even if the rest of the copy is the same?

Your headline / first line of communication should include at least one of:

  • Self interest
  • Curiosity
  • News

Combine this little lot and you’ve made a cracking start – remember, tempting though it may be, you’re really not trying to attract the whole world!

Interest

Now you’ve grabbed the attention of those potentially in your market you need to hold onto it and really start to address the “What’s in it for me?” question.

It’s estimated that only 20% of people who are initially attracted by a headline actually continue on to read the rest of the message. So what’s going to hold me once you’ve grabbed me?

  • Blah, blah, blah experts … join the ranks of our elite…
  • Blah, blah, blah expertise/ training/ consultancy, as used by… offered…
  • Fabulous… for discerning …

Start filling out your spiel with the information that typifies what your best clients/ customers or potential employer (s) were looking for when they first came to you.

Make your readers feel comfortable – that they’ve come to the right place…

Desire

If YOU can’t get any enthusiasm going you might as well forget the idea of whipping up any from a potential punter!

This is where your presentation of offer comes in. The ‘Gurus’ all agree “Free is good” here – it may sound corny but it works a treat for many 😉 …

  • FREE trial
  • FREE estimate
  • FREE audit
  • FREE demonstration
  • FREE delivery
  • FREE information
  • FREE survey
  • FREE report

If FREE doesn’t work for you, or you have something really different to offer, you could lob in alternative or additional sweeteners for good measure…

  • Unique benefit
  • Unique guarantee
  • Etc. – get creative…

Action

This may sound incredibly obvious but it’s nothing short of criminal how many of us fall at the final hurdle by simply assuming that our buyer will know what to do next… and don’t bother to tell him or her.

So make it clear what the next move should be :-)

You can add a P.S. (and a P.P.S.) to inject some urgency into the action you want the recipient and reader to take. In my opinion, I’d say be a little bit wary of how you use the P.S and P.P.S .and avoid the P.P.P.S: They were done to death in the late 90s – don’t knock it – some of the people around then will be recipients of your current masterpieces…

Finally

This is just the start – the words. There’s tons more to consider with regard to making creations look good: layout, typeface, sub headings, strap lines, images (logos, pictures, etc.) and colour.

And you’ve got to make sure your masterpiece gets to the right people…

With a message that resonates…

Hopefully catching them when they’re prepared to listen/ read…

But we’ll leave that till another time …

Linda

P.S. Let us know what you think… 😉
P.P.S.

I contributed the bones of this post first as a guest on another site back in June.

Since then I’ve had several comments and compliments about how down to earth and helpful the information has been to people in vastly different walks of life and businesses. So it was obvious in retrospect that I’d goofed: I should have posted it here so that our regular readers, many of whom have been with us since 2006 when we first started this site, could easily see it.

So I decided to put that right…

I altered the title – it’s now actually much closer to the one I originally gave it but somehow got changed by the time it was published, so it’s as it should be on its “home” territory! And I beefed up the content for you… :-)

It’s a bit longer than most of the posts we publish here but it’s very meaty so you may want to bookmark it so you can refer to it when you want/ need to…

Posted in Marketing, Sales Tags: , , , 1 Comment »
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