As a Publishing entrepreneur and by doing publicity for my clients, I’ve spent years studying the art of selling. The techniques that follow aren’t difficult to learn, but they require discipline and practice.
Your most important skill as a business owner is your salesmanship. Having the best product or service means nothing if you can’t get anyone to buy it, so to ensure the success of your business you must develop the ability to generate revenue – “salesman-ship”.
Here is a brief outline of 13 techniques I’ve developed for increasing sales:
1. USE THE PHONE –Absolutely the cheapest, most effective, and efficient way to find customers is by phone. Yes, “cold-calling”. Write out a script for this before you call, so you don’t sound vague. Introduce yourself, your company, the purpose of the call, and give a brief “benefit” of your product/service to the client. ”What will you do for his/her business?” Be brief, to the point, and have 10 possible objections you might get, answered in your script. This way you’re prepared for the customary “brush-off.” Always try to get a firm commitment to a meeting. This call is not to “sell” the client, it’s to get a face-to-face meeting to establish credibility – and then to sell him/her. Would you buy from a voice on the phone? No. You want to see the vendor and listen to his offer.
2. SHOUT IT FROM THE MOUNTAIN TOP – You should always be looking for new customer, and I’ve found that giving seminars, teaching, guest speaking at trade shows and organizations, or writing an article for your trade magazine or business journal establishes you as an “expert” in your field. People like to buy from experts because it reduces their fear of making a bad decision. Everyone can overcome their fear of public speaking, so find the method that works best for you and do it. As a desperate step, join a Toastmaster’s group near you or take a night course at a nearby Adult School.
3. ASK QUESTIONS – Most salespeople think that the first meeting with the prospect is the only chance to make a sale. WRONG! Before you go into your “pitch” ask questions, take notes, what are your prospects goals, challenges, etc. Helping a prospect solve a business problem creates a “win-win” relationship and closes more sales than you think.
4. AVOID “PRODUCT DUMPING” – Telling your prospect all about your product/service before you know their needs is a mistake made by 95% of salespeople. This is an inefficient selling method and upon reflection, your client will lose faith in you. I’ve met with clients on several occasions and left them with some advice and good feelings, but no sale and that’s alright. Because in the future I’m apt to get “word of mouth” referrals from them, which will outweigh what I might have made if I’d simply “sold” them a service that wasn’t an answer to their problem. Remember – nothing adds more to your credibility than a referral from a satisfied prospect.
5. KNOW YOUR NUMBERS – Selling is a numbers game, and you need to learn your “selling ratios.” How many prospecting calls do you need to get a meeting, and how many meetings to get a sale. This allows you to manage your cash flow by forecasting your sales. It also tells you how many calls are needed to increase your sales revenue.
In next week’s column we’ll continue with the 13 tips which will cover Qualifying Your Prospect and Gaining Trust to name just a few. Happy selling!
Friday, April 13, 2012
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
Guerilla Marketing vs. Big Bucks
Many entrepreneurs market via outreach events, be it trade shows or presenting seminars, and budgets to schmooze clients and impress friends are getting tight.
Now that the economy is back in the spotlight, with gasoline at $2.60+ a gal., big companies announcing layoffs, and prices rising across the board, the time is here to tighten our belts and squeeze that marketing dollar until it squeals. Believe me the rhetoric that the economy is getting better is just that – political rhetoric, and isn’t coming from the business community in the trenches. We know better!
Even though lavish budgets are history, the creative entrepreneur can still use events as a marketing tool if he/she rolls up sleeves and goes into “guerilla marketing” mode. Creativity is the key! The time for promoting an event and waiting to see who registers within 6 to 8 weeks is past. The first’s thing to remember, is that no amount of cajoling, marketing, or freebies will compel attendance at your event if it doesn’t offer real value to the attendee.
People expect to be exposed to valuable content, and aren’t attending just for the networking. With that as a given, let me give you some guerilla marketing tips.
1. Save the expensive advertising you usually do 6 to 8 weeks before the event and use “referrals”. Many of your pasts attendees are either employees of companies or in business themselves, and have contacts and friends they talk with regularly. This source is often overlooked, and you’ve got direct access to them. Send them an invitation as if they were customers, and ask them to pass it on to one or two people they know that might be interested. You could even make it more enticing by having a form at the door for attendees that asks who referred them, and providing some incentive for the person that referred the most attendees.
2. Don’t overlook clubs, associations or other local groups. Many not-for-profit groups have charters that state their members will be informed about opportunities that will enhance their membership, career and education. Put together a promotional kit announcing your event, an agenda, and offering a discount to the group’s members. You can also offer the association something for free – a full registration, print ad, magazine rack, exhibit space or a sponsoring logo on your Website – whatever is feasible in you line of business. Don’t miss the opportunity of offering your services as a speaker at some of the group or association meetings, and even bringing some event brochures with you after you have the leader’s approval.
3. Local business – the bookmark brigade. If your event relies heavily on local participation, then work through the businesses used every day. A most successful and fun outreach program is to implement a Bookmark Brigade on behalf of the businesses. These are special announcement bookmarks printed with the name of the event, dates, location, and Website on one side and the local business name on the other. Make them big and bright, and get a team loaded with bookmarks to visit every business shop, coffee shop, bookstore, grocery stores, newsstands, cleaners, music stores, and libraries all over the area. Some stores may even let you hang a poster. Give something to the manager or in-store sales personnel as you do this. Maybe a free T-shirt, or pass to the event. The printing bill is bound to run less than half or full-page ads in the relevant weekend newspapers.
4. Your event sponsors and exhibitors are your best allies, as well as a support network of resources for recruiting attendees. Twenty percent of them will support your event because they can, the rest won’t due to limited resources or conflicting agendas. Use any of the tools already mentioned with your partners, or trade a contact database of theirs to be used for telemarketing for promoting the sponsor in the telephone blitz. Offer this database a discounted rate and attribute the discount to the sponsor for their client. Everyone wins!
5. Offer your sponsors tools like posters or tabletop signs they can post in their lobbies. Visitors can learn about the event while waiting for their appointments. This expands your word of mouth, and may even draw additional sponsors. Of course, you’ve already negotiated an event logo and listing presence on your sponsor’s website – haven’t you?
Some key points to remember in any outreach promotion are to build in a tracking method on each marketing piece, such as unique URLs and/or codes on registration. Be ready to offer incentives such as discounts or gifts to gain access to clubs or sponsors members, lists or audience. Lastly, have the appropriate marketing tool kit ready before you start. It should contain such things as Web banners, email templates, sample sales copy, and special offer announcements packaged for easy access.
In good times or bad, these tips will help any entrepreneur draw more interest in their activity or event. A good outreach program promotes special relationships with your sponsors, community and attendees better than any other marketing activity can before the event. Using guerilla marketing tactics in lieu of bucks takes creativity, elbow grease, and luck.
Now that the economy is back in the spotlight, with gasoline at $2.60+ a gal., big companies announcing layoffs, and prices rising across the board, the time is here to tighten our belts and squeeze that marketing dollar until it squeals. Believe me the rhetoric that the economy is getting better is just that – political rhetoric, and isn’t coming from the business community in the trenches. We know better!
Even though lavish budgets are history, the creative entrepreneur can still use events as a marketing tool if he/she rolls up sleeves and goes into “guerilla marketing” mode. Creativity is the key! The time for promoting an event and waiting to see who registers within 6 to 8 weeks is past. The first’s thing to remember, is that no amount of cajoling, marketing, or freebies will compel attendance at your event if it doesn’t offer real value to the attendee.
People expect to be exposed to valuable content, and aren’t attending just for the networking. With that as a given, let me give you some guerilla marketing tips.
1. Save the expensive advertising you usually do 6 to 8 weeks before the event and use “referrals”. Many of your pasts attendees are either employees of companies or in business themselves, and have contacts and friends they talk with regularly. This source is often overlooked, and you’ve got direct access to them. Send them an invitation as if they were customers, and ask them to pass it on to one or two people they know that might be interested. You could even make it more enticing by having a form at the door for attendees that asks who referred them, and providing some incentive for the person that referred the most attendees.
2. Don’t overlook clubs, associations or other local groups. Many not-for-profit groups have charters that state their members will be informed about opportunities that will enhance their membership, career and education. Put together a promotional kit announcing your event, an agenda, and offering a discount to the group’s members. You can also offer the association something for free – a full registration, print ad, magazine rack, exhibit space or a sponsoring logo on your Website – whatever is feasible in you line of business. Don’t miss the opportunity of offering your services as a speaker at some of the group or association meetings, and even bringing some event brochures with you after you have the leader’s approval.
3. Local business – the bookmark brigade. If your event relies heavily on local participation, then work through the businesses used every day. A most successful and fun outreach program is to implement a Bookmark Brigade on behalf of the businesses. These are special announcement bookmarks printed with the name of the event, dates, location, and Website on one side and the local business name on the other. Make them big and bright, and get a team loaded with bookmarks to visit every business shop, coffee shop, bookstore, grocery stores, newsstands, cleaners, music stores, and libraries all over the area. Some stores may even let you hang a poster. Give something to the manager or in-store sales personnel as you do this. Maybe a free T-shirt, or pass to the event. The printing bill is bound to run less than half or full-page ads in the relevant weekend newspapers.
4. Your event sponsors and exhibitors are your best allies, as well as a support network of resources for recruiting attendees. Twenty percent of them will support your event because they can, the rest won’t due to limited resources or conflicting agendas. Use any of the tools already mentioned with your partners, or trade a contact database of theirs to be used for telemarketing for promoting the sponsor in the telephone blitz. Offer this database a discounted rate and attribute the discount to the sponsor for their client. Everyone wins!
5. Offer your sponsors tools like posters or tabletop signs they can post in their lobbies. Visitors can learn about the event while waiting for their appointments. This expands your word of mouth, and may even draw additional sponsors. Of course, you’ve already negotiated an event logo and listing presence on your sponsor’s website – haven’t you?
Some key points to remember in any outreach promotion are to build in a tracking method on each marketing piece, such as unique URLs and/or codes on registration. Be ready to offer incentives such as discounts or gifts to gain access to clubs or sponsors members, lists or audience. Lastly, have the appropriate marketing tool kit ready before you start. It should contain such things as Web banners, email templates, sample sales copy, and special offer announcements packaged for easy access.
In good times or bad, these tips will help any entrepreneur draw more interest in their activity or event. A good outreach program promotes special relationships with your sponsors, community and attendees better than any other marketing activity can before the event. Using guerilla marketing tactics in lieu of bucks takes creativity, elbow grease, and luck.
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
ASP.NET Blogging Software
Of all of the different kinds of programs on the market
today, many people feel that Microsoft's recently
released ASP.NET blogging software is the most
advanced. In many ways, this particular program is
more adaptable and more versatile than any other
blogging software on the market. Although most of the
people who favor the program are accomplished coders
who are familiar with programming languages like html
and C++, this new program from Microsoft is much
easier to use than a lot of other blog design software
that incorporates hands-on coding. One of the things
that makes ASP.NET stand apart from its competitors is
the fact that it allows designers to use a wide variety of
programming languages when they build a blog. This
means that a larger number of coders can realize their
dreams by programming in the language with which
they are most familiar and in which they are most
accomplished.
A lot of people have welcomed ASP.NET blogging
software with enthusiasm and with open arms.
However, that doesn't mean that the ASP.NET program
is right for everybody. If you are not familiar with
computer languages like javascript or perl, you may
find that the release of ASP.NET does not directly
affect you at all. However, if you are an experienced
web designer, you are likely to find much to celebrate in
this exciting new program.
today, many people feel that Microsoft's recently
released ASP.NET blogging software is the most
advanced. In many ways, this particular program is
more adaptable and more versatile than any other
blogging software on the market. Although most of the
people who favor the program are accomplished coders
who are familiar with programming languages like html
and C++, this new program from Microsoft is much
easier to use than a lot of other blog design software
that incorporates hands-on coding. One of the things
that makes ASP.NET stand apart from its competitors is
the fact that it allows designers to use a wide variety of
programming languages when they build a blog. This
means that a larger number of coders can realize their
dreams by programming in the language with which
they are most familiar and in which they are most
accomplished.
A lot of people have welcomed ASP.NET blogging
software with enthusiasm and with open arms.
However, that doesn't mean that the ASP.NET program
is right for everybody. If you are not familiar with
computer languages like javascript or perl, you may
find that the release of ASP.NET does not directly
affect you at all. However, if you are an experienced
web designer, you are likely to find much to celebrate in
this exciting new program.
Internet Marketing Introduction
Today, most people access the internet for information, products and services. All entrepreneurs have turned their attention to the World Wide Web because it reaches so many people so quickly. Sales are increased dramatically and expenses are not necessarily smaller, but different. If a company had a small shop in a rural town, they would have employees and other expenses. If this same company had an online business, they would probably not have as many employees on the clock. They may have the same amount of expenses but they would be different. There would be advertising costs, web design costs, search engine optimization costs, affiliate or joint venture costs, among others.
Nevertheless, selling products or services online has become very popular for many new entrepreneurs ranging in all ages, even as young as 15. If you run a small business online where you sell an information product, such as an eBook, you can write the eBook yourself as a guru on the topic. For example, let’s say you studied religion in college and got a PH.D in this subject. You write up an eBook explaining a drastic point of view concerning scriptures. You make sure it is information packed and very good quality. You sell it for 14.95 dollars to whoever is interested and you get their email address so you can forward them new updated info. You now have an email list so you can keep in contact with your buyers and possibly sell them other products in the future. You keep track of all your sales, you take care of customer service, and you handle everything. Guess what? You keep 100 percent of the profits.
Obviously, some companies are MUCH more complicated than that. But you get the picture; online marketing is a piece of cake. All you need is an idea and an internet marketing business plan of action. In other words, you do not need millions to start up a company on the internet. All you need is a great idea and the drive to do most of the work yourself.
Nevertheless, selling products or services online has become very popular for many new entrepreneurs ranging in all ages, even as young as 15. If you run a small business online where you sell an information product, such as an eBook, you can write the eBook yourself as a guru on the topic. For example, let’s say you studied religion in college and got a PH.D in this subject. You write up an eBook explaining a drastic point of view concerning scriptures. You make sure it is information packed and very good quality. You sell it for 14.95 dollars to whoever is interested and you get their email address so you can forward them new updated info. You now have an email list so you can keep in contact with your buyers and possibly sell them other products in the future. You keep track of all your sales, you take care of customer service, and you handle everything. Guess what? You keep 100 percent of the profits.
Obviously, some companies are MUCH more complicated than that. But you get the picture; online marketing is a piece of cake. All you need is an idea and an internet marketing business plan of action. In other words, you do not need millions to start up a company on the internet. All you need is a great idea and the drive to do most of the work yourself.
Monday, April 2, 2012
Get What You Want in 7 Powerful Steps
In my most recent columns we’ve covered issues about improving your business and marketing, but today let’s start right at the beginning.
You’re really getting tired of the 9 to 5 “rat race” and are thinking about chucking it for your own business. All your friends keep telling you that you could do for yourself just what you’re doing now for your boss. Why shouldn’t you profit from your ideas instead of him?
You keep thinking about it because you know that you’ll never be financially where you want to be with a weekly paycheck, but what business would you start?
Before you pack in that weekly paycheck, this is the time to evaluate yourself and your future and it takes some real, down to heart honesty. You want to change your life for the better, so let’s start.
Did you know that you have the potential to do and be anything you want? People have different perceptions of the ideal life, and it ranges from obtaining financial freedom to as simple as owning a new pair of sneakers. Unfortunately, many fail to reach their aspirations because they can’t get a solid, clear picture in their mind of what they want.
Take the next few days and embark on a fact-finding journey that will be a life-changing experience. Get a pad and pencil and start with this first step:
STEP 1 - KNOW EXACTLY WHAT YOU WANT – Be specific in your passions, then focus all your efforts on that particular desire.
Those who always change their minds and those who give up easily when the going gets tough will never get anywhere. If you’re a bit confused and aren’t sure what you really want in life answer these questions:
1. What makes your heart beat with excitement?
2. What makes you happy?
3. What are you constantly thinking of day and night?
4. What do you want to do with the rest of your life?
5. What do you enjoy doing?
6. What are your obsessions?
7. What things make you jump for joy?
Write down all your possible answers to the above questions. Write down everything, no matter how silly or unimportant it seems. Put all your desires on paper that answers any of the above questions.
When that’s done, go back and circle five to seven items that interest you the most. Then evaluate and choose with your heart, not your mind, the one and only thing worthy to spend all your time and resources on and that brings out the best in you.
Now you may wind up with something like, “I want to play quarterback for the RAMS.” If you’re over 20 I’d say that isn’t too viable a choice, but you could do something related to football or sports. How about starting a sports publication? Or perhaps a sporting goods retail business, sports memorabilia business, or even a gym could be the answer. You can always read books and surf the net to help you in your search.
The most important thing to remember, no matter how “pie in the sky” it seems, is to USE YOUR HEART. Others may disagree with you, but you should be firm with what you really want. Others may offer comments or advice, but the final decision is always yours to make. You should concentrate on what you want, not what others want.
Remember you only get one shot at living your life. There are no replays and you don’t get to do it over. You may not do it right, but at least you’re doing it. Too many lives have been lived in quiet desperation waiting until – until they had saved a nest egg, until the children are out of school, until I retire, and they depart this life before “until” ever arrives.
Don’t go to sleep tonight without making a decision on WHAT YOU REALLY WANT IN LIFE MORE THAN ANYTHING ELSE.
Then spend a few days evaluating how to make it possible and make a living at it. Begin living every day as if it were the last day you had – never leaving anything to be done next week, next month, or next year.
There will always be bills, things will always break down eventually and need replacing, there may be storms and earthquakes and repairs – but there will only be one life for you to live. It can’t be put on “hold”!
The final outcome of your efforts may be in the future, but you’re living each day by taking steps toward that outcome.
You’re really getting tired of the 9 to 5 “rat race” and are thinking about chucking it for your own business. All your friends keep telling you that you could do for yourself just what you’re doing now for your boss. Why shouldn’t you profit from your ideas instead of him?
You keep thinking about it because you know that you’ll never be financially where you want to be with a weekly paycheck, but what business would you start?
Before you pack in that weekly paycheck, this is the time to evaluate yourself and your future and it takes some real, down to heart honesty. You want to change your life for the better, so let’s start.
Did you know that you have the potential to do and be anything you want? People have different perceptions of the ideal life, and it ranges from obtaining financial freedom to as simple as owning a new pair of sneakers. Unfortunately, many fail to reach their aspirations because they can’t get a solid, clear picture in their mind of what they want.
Take the next few days and embark on a fact-finding journey that will be a life-changing experience. Get a pad and pencil and start with this first step:
STEP 1 - KNOW EXACTLY WHAT YOU WANT – Be specific in your passions, then focus all your efforts on that particular desire.
Those who always change their minds and those who give up easily when the going gets tough will never get anywhere. If you’re a bit confused and aren’t sure what you really want in life answer these questions:
1. What makes your heart beat with excitement?
2. What makes you happy?
3. What are you constantly thinking of day and night?
4. What do you want to do with the rest of your life?
5. What do you enjoy doing?
6. What are your obsessions?
7. What things make you jump for joy?
Write down all your possible answers to the above questions. Write down everything, no matter how silly or unimportant it seems. Put all your desires on paper that answers any of the above questions.
When that’s done, go back and circle five to seven items that interest you the most. Then evaluate and choose with your heart, not your mind, the one and only thing worthy to spend all your time and resources on and that brings out the best in you.
Now you may wind up with something like, “I want to play quarterback for the RAMS.” If you’re over 20 I’d say that isn’t too viable a choice, but you could do something related to football or sports. How about starting a sports publication? Or perhaps a sporting goods retail business, sports memorabilia business, or even a gym could be the answer. You can always read books and surf the net to help you in your search.
The most important thing to remember, no matter how “pie in the sky” it seems, is to USE YOUR HEART. Others may disagree with you, but you should be firm with what you really want. Others may offer comments or advice, but the final decision is always yours to make. You should concentrate on what you want, not what others want.
Remember you only get one shot at living your life. There are no replays and you don’t get to do it over. You may not do it right, but at least you’re doing it. Too many lives have been lived in quiet desperation waiting until – until they had saved a nest egg, until the children are out of school, until I retire, and they depart this life before “until” ever arrives.
Don’t go to sleep tonight without making a decision on WHAT YOU REALLY WANT IN LIFE MORE THAN ANYTHING ELSE.
Then spend a few days evaluating how to make it possible and make a living at it. Begin living every day as if it were the last day you had – never leaving anything to be done next week, next month, or next year.
There will always be bills, things will always break down eventually and need replacing, there may be storms and earthquakes and repairs – but there will only be one life for you to live. It can’t be put on “hold”!
The final outcome of your efforts may be in the future, but you’re living each day by taking steps toward that outcome.
SECRETS OF MILLION DOLLAR SALES LETTERS – FOR MAIL CAMPAIGN & INTERNET
Regardless of what you're trying to sell, you really can't sell it without "talking" with your prospective buyer. An in attempting to sell anything on the Internet, the sales letter you send out is when and how you talk to your prospect.
All winning sales letters "talk" to the prospect by creating an image in the mind of the reader. They set "the scene" by appealing to a desire or need; and then they flow smoothly into the "visionary" part of the sales pitch by describing in detail how "wonderful" life will be and, how "good" the prospect is going to feel after he's purchased your product. This is the "body or guts" of a sales letter.
Overall, a winning sales letter follows a time-tested and proven formula: 1) Get his attention 2) Get him interested in what you can do for him 3) Make him desire the benefits of your product so badly his mouth begins to water 4) Demand action from him - tell him to click the right button or send for whatever it is you're selling without delay - any procrastination on his part might cause him to lose out. This is called the "AIDA" formula (Attention, Interest, Desire and
Action) - it works.
On your website, your sales page should be the length of what it would be
if were doing a mailing, or longer if you're using bullets to emphasize benefits to build the desire. Of course on the Internet you don't have to worry about letterhead stationery or the cost of postage, which is a considerable savings. If, however, you want to also do a mailing campaign then the following would apply. The sales letters in mailings that pull in the most sales are almost always two pages with 1 1/2 spaces between lines. For really big ticket items, they'll run at least four pages. - on an 11 by 17 sheet of paper folded in half. If your sales letter is only two pages in length, there's nothing wrong with running it on the front and back of one sheet of 8 1/2 by 11 paper. However, your sales letter should always be on letterhead paper - your letterhead printed, and including your logo and business motto if you have one.
Regardless of the length of your sales letter, it should do one thing, and that's sell, and sell hard! If you intend to close the sale, you've got to do it with your sales letter. You should never be "wishy-washy" with your sales letter. You do the actual selling and the closing of that sale with your sales letter - any brochure or circular you send along with in your mailing will just reinforce what you say in the sales letter.
There's been a great deal of discussion in the past few years regarding just how long a sales letter should be. A lot of people are asking: Will people really take the time to read a long sales letter? The answer is a simple and time-tested yes indeed! Surveys and tests over the years emphatically prove that "longer sales letters" pull even better than the shorter ones, so don't worry about the length of your sales letter - just make sure that it sells your product for you!
The "inside secret" is to make your sales letter so interesting, and "visionary" with the benefits you're offering to the reader, that he can't resist reading it all the way through. You break up the "work" of reading by using short, punchy sentences, underlining important points you're trying to make, with the use of subheadlines, indentations and even the use of a second color, and leaving lots of white space around it. On your website, the sales letter should run down the middle of the page so the viewer doesn't have to keep adjusting the screen to see the whole sentence. This is very distracting and more apt to send that client to another website than losing patience reading a long letter.
Relative to the brochures and circulars you may want to include in your mailing with your sales letter - providing the materials you're enclosing are of the best quality, they will generally reinforce the sale for you. But, if they are of poor quality, look cheap and don't compliment your sales letter, then you shouldn't be using them. Another thing, it will definitely classify you as an independent home worker if you hand-stamp your name/address on these brochures or advertising circulars instead of having them printed.
Whenever possible, and so long as you have really good brochures to send out, have your printer run them through his press and print your name/address - even your telephone number and company logo - on them before you send them out. The thing is, you want your prospect to think of you as his supplier - the company - and not as just another independent entrepreneur. Sure, you can get by with less expense but you'll end up with fewer orders and in the end, less profits.
Another thing that's been bandied about and discussed from every direction for years is whether to use a post office box number or your street address. Personally, I don't like Post Office Boxes in a business address - because it transmits an aura of instability or temporary location. If your business is run from home, get a mail box from a post box vendor that has a street address. Then your address looks like, 1234 Willow Lane, #567, Your Town, and the box number could appear to the reader as a Suite number. However, if you live in a remote area where your address is 7890 Main St., RFD 42, Box 123, Your Town, then you have no choice but to include both your post office box number, AND, your street address on your sales letter. When doing it strictly for your website, put your street address, telephone number, and email address at the bottom of the page. More than likely, the customer will contact you by email, but it conveys dependability if that Internet buyer sees that you're willing to give your address. This kind of open display of your honesty will give you credibility and dispel the thought of you being just another "fly-by-night" mail order company in the mind of your prospect.
Above all else, you've got to include some sort of ordering page or coupon if you're mailing. The coupon has to be as simple and as easy for the prospect to fill out and return to you as you can possible make it. The order page on your website should already be filled out, with perhaps just the shipping left to choice. If your product is an eBook or software to be instantly downloaded, then you don't have any options to be chosen. A great many sales are lost because this order coupon is just too complicated for the would-be buyer to follow. Don't get fancy! Keep it simple, and you'll find your prospects responding with glee.
Should you or shouldn't you include in your mailing a self-addressed reply envelope? There are a lot of variables, as well as, pros and cons to this question. Overall, when you send out a "winning" sales letter to a good mailing list, a return reply envelope will increase your response tremendously.
Tests of late seem to indicate that it isn't that big a deal or difference in responses relative to whether you do or don't pre-stamp the return reply envelope. Again, the decision here will rest primarily on the product you're selling and the mailing list you're using. Our recommendation is that you experiment - try it both ways - with subsequent mailings and decide for yourself from there.
All winning sales letters "talk" to the prospect by creating an image in the mind of the reader. They set "the scene" by appealing to a desire or need; and then they flow smoothly into the "visionary" part of the sales pitch by describing in detail how "wonderful" life will be and, how "good" the prospect is going to feel after he's purchased your product. This is the "body or guts" of a sales letter.
Overall, a winning sales letter follows a time-tested and proven formula: 1) Get his attention 2) Get him interested in what you can do for him 3) Make him desire the benefits of your product so badly his mouth begins to water 4) Demand action from him - tell him to click the right button or send for whatever it is you're selling without delay - any procrastination on his part might cause him to lose out. This is called the "AIDA" formula (Attention, Interest, Desire and
Action) - it works.
On your website, your sales page should be the length of what it would be
if were doing a mailing, or longer if you're using bullets to emphasize benefits to build the desire. Of course on the Internet you don't have to worry about letterhead stationery or the cost of postage, which is a considerable savings. If, however, you want to also do a mailing campaign then the following would apply. The sales letters in mailings that pull in the most sales are almost always two pages with 1 1/2 spaces between lines. For really big ticket items, they'll run at least four pages. - on an 11 by 17 sheet of paper folded in half. If your sales letter is only two pages in length, there's nothing wrong with running it on the front and back of one sheet of 8 1/2 by 11 paper. However, your sales letter should always be on letterhead paper - your letterhead printed, and including your logo and business motto if you have one.
Regardless of the length of your sales letter, it should do one thing, and that's sell, and sell hard! If you intend to close the sale, you've got to do it with your sales letter. You should never be "wishy-washy" with your sales letter. You do the actual selling and the closing of that sale with your sales letter - any brochure or circular you send along with in your mailing will just reinforce what you say in the sales letter.
There's been a great deal of discussion in the past few years regarding just how long a sales letter should be. A lot of people are asking: Will people really take the time to read a long sales letter? The answer is a simple and time-tested yes indeed! Surveys and tests over the years emphatically prove that "longer sales letters" pull even better than the shorter ones, so don't worry about the length of your sales letter - just make sure that it sells your product for you!
The "inside secret" is to make your sales letter so interesting, and "visionary" with the benefits you're offering to the reader, that he can't resist reading it all the way through. You break up the "work" of reading by using short, punchy sentences, underlining important points you're trying to make, with the use of subheadlines, indentations and even the use of a second color, and leaving lots of white space around it. On your website, the sales letter should run down the middle of the page so the viewer doesn't have to keep adjusting the screen to see the whole sentence. This is very distracting and more apt to send that client to another website than losing patience reading a long letter.
Relative to the brochures and circulars you may want to include in your mailing with your sales letter - providing the materials you're enclosing are of the best quality, they will generally reinforce the sale for you. But, if they are of poor quality, look cheap and don't compliment your sales letter, then you shouldn't be using them. Another thing, it will definitely classify you as an independent home worker if you hand-stamp your name/address on these brochures or advertising circulars instead of having them printed.
Whenever possible, and so long as you have really good brochures to send out, have your printer run them through his press and print your name/address - even your telephone number and company logo - on them before you send them out. The thing is, you want your prospect to think of you as his supplier - the company - and not as just another independent entrepreneur. Sure, you can get by with less expense but you'll end up with fewer orders and in the end, less profits.
Another thing that's been bandied about and discussed from every direction for years is whether to use a post office box number or your street address. Personally, I don't like Post Office Boxes in a business address - because it transmits an aura of instability or temporary location. If your business is run from home, get a mail box from a post box vendor that has a street address. Then your address looks like, 1234 Willow Lane, #567, Your Town, and the box number could appear to the reader as a Suite number. However, if you live in a remote area where your address is 7890 Main St., RFD 42, Box 123, Your Town, then you have no choice but to include both your post office box number, AND, your street address on your sales letter. When doing it strictly for your website, put your street address, telephone number, and email address at the bottom of the page. More than likely, the customer will contact you by email, but it conveys dependability if that Internet buyer sees that you're willing to give your address. This kind of open display of your honesty will give you credibility and dispel the thought of you being just another "fly-by-night" mail order company in the mind of your prospect.
Above all else, you've got to include some sort of ordering page or coupon if you're mailing. The coupon has to be as simple and as easy for the prospect to fill out and return to you as you can possible make it. The order page on your website should already be filled out, with perhaps just the shipping left to choice. If your product is an eBook or software to be instantly downloaded, then you don't have any options to be chosen. A great many sales are lost because this order coupon is just too complicated for the would-be buyer to follow. Don't get fancy! Keep it simple, and you'll find your prospects responding with glee.
Should you or shouldn't you include in your mailing a self-addressed reply envelope? There are a lot of variables, as well as, pros and cons to this question. Overall, when you send out a "winning" sales letter to a good mailing list, a return reply envelope will increase your response tremendously.
Tests of late seem to indicate that it isn't that big a deal or difference in responses relative to whether you do or don't pre-stamp the return reply envelope. Again, the decision here will rest primarily on the product you're selling and the mailing list you're using. Our recommendation is that you experiment - try it both ways - with subsequent mailings and decide for yourself from there.
Sunday, April 1, 2012
"INFO-LOADING" CAN INCREASE YOUR AD'S PULLING POWER
There are many schools of thought on how to write a successful
direct-response ad, letter or brochure. Some say you need to be subtle,
some say be harsh, some say be round-about, some say be direct. There is
one technique, though, that is coming to the forefront as one of the most
successful to employ.
Info-Loading is the style of overloading an advertisement with information
about your product or service. The theory is, you give the customer more
information than they'd ever want on your product/service, and they'll feel
more confident about you and what you offer. Also, the customer that
actually reads through it all is the one who's interested enough to buy
what you offer. The good news is, it works!
Here's how to do it. Say you're planning a quarter-page display ad in a
magazine. Instead of leaving a lot of white space, so it looks open, and
instead of putting pictures in to catch the eye, fill the whole space with
text! Load it with as much information as you can fit in, without making
it unreadable. To prevent it from looking like a grey blur when the reader's
eyes scan through the page, put a bold, black box around the ad, a bold
headline, and emphasize important words and phrases with bold print.
You can do the same thing with a mailing. Put together a four-page sales
letter loaded with copy, then add a brochure/flyer that re-emphasizes the
important points in even greater detail.
A few cautions with this technique. First, make sure you actually have
something to say! We are so conditioned to being economical with our
words in advertising that it'll be hard to info-load without feeling
repetitious. Instead of rambling on about features, tell customers every
single benefit they'll get from your product/service. BENEFIT is the
important word.
Give Info-Loading a try. Depending on your audience and what you're
trying to sell, you may find that info-loading can load more sales into
your bank account!
direct-response ad, letter or brochure. Some say you need to be subtle,
some say be harsh, some say be round-about, some say be direct. There is
one technique, though, that is coming to the forefront as one of the most
successful to employ.
Info-Loading is the style of overloading an advertisement with information
about your product or service. The theory is, you give the customer more
information than they'd ever want on your product/service, and they'll feel
more confident about you and what you offer. Also, the customer that
actually reads through it all is the one who's interested enough to buy
what you offer. The good news is, it works!
Here's how to do it. Say you're planning a quarter-page display ad in a
magazine. Instead of leaving a lot of white space, so it looks open, and
instead of putting pictures in to catch the eye, fill the whole space with
text! Load it with as much information as you can fit in, without making
it unreadable. To prevent it from looking like a grey blur when the reader's
eyes scan through the page, put a bold, black box around the ad, a bold
headline, and emphasize important words and phrases with bold print.
You can do the same thing with a mailing. Put together a four-page sales
letter loaded with copy, then add a brochure/flyer that re-emphasizes the
important points in even greater detail.
A few cautions with this technique. First, make sure you actually have
something to say! We are so conditioned to being economical with our
words in advertising that it'll be hard to info-load without feeling
repetitious. Instead of rambling on about features, tell customers every
single benefit they'll get from your product/service. BENEFIT is the
important word.
Give Info-Loading a try. Depending on your audience and what you're
trying to sell, you may find that info-loading can load more sales into
your bank account!
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