Email, when used properly, is really a great way to increase your sales and profits. A single email sent to a list of people who have asked to be on your mailing list can bring in business immediately, either through your online shopping cart (if you have an online store), or through phone calls or email inquiries about services you provide, if you are in a service business.

If you don’t have an online presence, the email may help more people to find their way to your establishment, especially when you have an inducement to visit your place of business.

The more targeted prospects you have on your email list, will result in more business being done by them, with your business. When I say targeted customers or prospects, I mean individuals who have asked to be on your mailing list.  It doesn’t mean emails you have because someone gave you a business card.

Have an email signup form on every page of your website. Make it prominent on the page. If it’s buried on the bottom of one page on your site, few will see it.  Make sure you offer something for free for them to sign up.  If you don’t have a free product to offer, you could use one of my e-books (after getting my permission), or even use a coupon for a discount they can use when they purchase from you.

If you don’t have a website here are some further suggestions:

1.  If your place of business is a physical store or clinic setting, ask customers if they’d like to receive emails from you notifying them of special offers. Have forms available or some other mechanism to immediately capture their email address.

2.  Produce an informational newsletter that appeals to your customers and prospects. Print up one issue and mail it the traditional way, being sure to include a prominent ad telling readers how to get the newsletter delivered to them regularly in email.

3.  In addition to sending the printed copy through the postal system, if the newsletter you produce is informative, talk to local libraries and other community resources to see if they would make it available to their patrons.

4. Give out your printed newsletter at your booth at local trade shows. Encourage visitors to take an extra copy to hand out to others who might be interested in the information you provide.

5.  This last method is one that I see very rarely used effectively…include a flier promoting your free newsletter or promotional mailings in every package you ship, or in every bag you pack in your retail store.

So go to it and use these ideas to grow your business and create more customers. I’m sure over a period of time that you can think of many other ways to get your customers to ask to be on your mailing list.

Technorati Tags: build email list, build your list, grow email list, List

I told him that it didn’t have anything to do with referrals, advertising, or any of the other methods used to create a customer.

Before any of those methods will ever have an impact on your business, you have got to uncover and communicate a way in which your business is different from every other business that says they do what you do. You have got to create a simple idea or position in the mind of your prospective customer or client.

You must create an environment where your prospective customer or client will think of you immediately when they need what you have to offer.

Fed Ex with its “Overnight” theme, and Domino’s Pizza with its “Delivered In 30 Minutes Or It’s Free” promise, are a couple examples.

Another example is how I am offering those of you who do business-to-business selling to put your own title page on my “10 Marketing Mistakes That Steal Your Cash” book and gift it to your B2B customers…free of charge to you.  I also allow you to use this newsletter to help you grow your business; you can use it in your newsletter, on your website, or any way that will help you grow. Just let me know when you do so. 

When you offer additional benefits like these to your B2B customers, you now become not only the person who provides your product, but also someone who wants to help them grow their business and get more customers.  See the difference?

Here are a few more examples:

Whatever business you are in, you can make arrangements with a car wash to detail your customer’s vehicle whenever they visit you.  If you’re an accountant, while you are preparing their return, you can have their vehicle cleaned.  I bet when they leave, they will rave to their friends about this unique touch.

How about becoming dominant with your offer?  I know of an accounting firm that offers their clients a 100% refund on their preparation fee when they refer four new clients.  They are known as the 100% refund guys.

Here’s the last one.  Solve a problem.  Is there something that customers or prospects fear in your market or seem to believe is universal for what you do?  If so, create a system of communicating how you have the answers. For instance: “Painless Dentistry”.

I’m sure you can offer a guarantee that no one in your industry would dream of doing. When I had my insurance company, the department of Insurance said that our customers had a free 30-day look.  They could ask for a refund if they didn’t want the product.

I turned that into a guarantee.  “If within the next 30 days you feel our product doesn’t meet your expectations, just return it and we will refund the money you gave us.”

I don’t know why a guarantee scares most business owners.  You probably guarantee your work anyway.  You just don’t say so. Boldly announce that you guarantee results and watch what happens.

Put your creative head gear on and I bet you will come up with a few ways to dominate your market and become the “one” to buy from.

The last step is to communicate your difference in all your promotions and marketing tools, literally shouting about that difference.

Technorati Tags: dominate your market, dominate your niche

Great Customers are the ones who contribute to the bottom line of your company.  A great percentage of your customers occupy a great part of your time, but little to your bottom line. You must determine who they are and then get rid of them.  If you don’t, it will harm you in the long run.

How and what do you do about those customers who seem like more trouble than they are worth?

Each business has customers who know what they want, value your input, and pay their bills on time. The real question is, “Can all customers be educated to become a productive part of your company.

The first thing you should do is to identify your most difficult customers. You know who they are.  They constantly complain, are slow to pay, and always want more than you both initially agreed to.

Many businesses carry unprofitable customers without knowing that they are carrying them. Here’s a suggestion…
Every year or so, complete a customer evaluation to decide which ones you should convince to cease doing business with you, so that you can continue to grow. There are companies who can help you with this, where they will profile your customers and help you determine those you should cease doing business with you.

Once you have determined who those customers are, you could try to convert them into profitable ones by using the following:

1. Change your relationship with them from a position of weakness to one that is powerful.
2. Increase your prices.  If you lose an unprofitable one this way, it saves you the pain of doing it yourself.
3. Lastly, give your customer a choice of options to see if you can move them into a better relationship that results in a profit for you. For example:  Instead of saying, “Would you like this item, yes or no?” ask: “Would you like option one, two, three or four.”

Don’t be afraid to determine which customers are not profitable and more trouble than they are worth.  Once you have done this, then cut them loose.

Technorati Tags: bad customers, increase profits, trouble customers

Direct mail puts your message right in front of your prospect in their own home or business. If you send the right mailing to the right list at the right time, your direct mail is cost-efficient and an easy way to get customer attention and sales.

Here are a few ways that I’ve used direct mail in a few of my businesses.

As a reminder:  Car dealers and other businesses who rely on residual income a number of times during the year, use this tool very well. 

In this fast paced world that we live in, it is hard enough to remember birthdays, let alone when our last doctor visit was.  That is where your direct mail piece comes in. 

A reminder could be anything from a postcard reminding your customer when they are due for an oil change, or a suggestion to repeat the purchase of a birthday cake.

As long as the service or product is something that needs to be repeated or gets used up, this method will work for your business. Your customer will appreciate this service and will be happy that you provided them with such individual attention.

As a promotion. I don’t think there is a customer who doesn’t like to save money.  This is a great method to grab attention and offer an opportunity to save money.

Sending a postcard with a chance to win a new product or offering $20 off a purchase of $60 or more, will inform new and existing customers about what you have to offer and induce them to visit your place of business again.

Make sure you set an expiration date and make it prominent on the mailing so that your customer will rush to save money NOW, before the promotion is over. You can simply say that those taking advantage of this offer within the next 5 days, before (date) will receive (such and such).

To notify your customers of New Products or Services. It is always an exciting time for any business when they decide to offer a new service or handle a new product. This is a great time to share this excitement with your customers.  For example, if you sell software, you can say that you developed an update that will enhance their ability to (whatever) by 45%, therefore saving (Xdollars). The more specific you are, the more you will educate and motivate your customer to take advantage of the offer. Whatever business or service you are in, you can utilize this method to increase sales. Your customers will appreciate your honesty.  And don’t forget the human nature side of this method…people like to be kept informed.

The best way to keep your customers informed is by sending them a newsletter.  In your newsletter, you may want to include articles that relate to your business, special offers, or even stories about your staff.

When customers and prospects see your newsletter on a regular basis, they will start to remember you and your company as an authority and a reliable source for the products and services you sell.  There are several newsletter software programs that you can choose from to format a newsletter.  There are even online programs you can use at very inexpensive prices.  We use a service called Constant Contact.

Here is a very important point.  As you utilize direct mail in your business, be very careful not to bombard the customers with mail. A barrage of mail may invoke an unfavorable response whenever your company is mentioned.

If you have successfully used direct mail in other ways, let us hear what you’ve done. Leave a comment in the Comment section of this blog article.

Technorati Tags: customer acquisition, direct mail

All of us have a hoard of prospects that were initially attracted to us for some reason or another.  It could have been your ad that attracted them, a direct mail piece, or any other method you might have used to attract that prospect.

Once you have attracted a prospect to look at you, they are very close to buying from you.  I call these “Almost Customers,” because they have yet to do business with you.

Here are some ideas for converting them into buying customers.

1. In my experience there are 6 questions you must ask yourself and get answers for. Potential customers will not buy from you until all of the 6 questions are answered. Your potential customer may not think of all of these questions, but they will become your customers if you will answer these questions for them

a. Precisely what are you offering?

b. How should they get it from you?

c. Why do they need or want it?

d. How fast can they get it?

e. What if they don’t like it after they get it?

f. What do they need to do to get it?

Also, if you have a website, make sure that you answer these 6 questions and state them prominently.

Again, it’s not about features but about benefits.  Your customer is only thinking, “What’s in it for me.”  So answer these 6 questions around providing benefits.

2. Set up a system to consistently follow-up with your prospect.  In my experience, most prospects don’t buy the first time they see or hear about you.  If you have a system to follow-up, they will eventually buy from you, especially if you’ve answered the prior 6 questions.

Your follow-up can be as extensive as sending them a weekly newsletter with useful information, as I do, or as simple as contacting them occasionally with a new offer.

3. Make a memorable Impression the first time they are in contact with you.  Think of powerful reasons for prospects and customers to think of you, especially when they encounter a competitor.

Again, in my experience, most prospects who do not buy from you the first time, will come back to buy later.

4.  Send a “Thank-You” message after the sale.  It means a lot to them.  Just think about all of the Thank-You messages you received whenever you purchased something.  Perhaps like most of us, you never received a “Thank-You” message after making a purchase.  Can you just imagine how your customer will feel when you are the only one to send them a “Thank-You” message? You will indelibly leave an imprint in their mind that you are one of the few business owners that appreciate their patronage.

If you have other ideas that we can share with our readers, let me know.

Technorati Tags: Client conversion, Customer Conversion, turning prospects into clients, turning prospects into customers

I recently read an article where Herb Kelleher, the individual who made Southwest Airlines famous, said the following. 

“Southwest’s communication, its message, is its people.”

That means that they have trained their employees to be the Ambassadors of their company.  If you have flown on Southwest, you know what I mean.  Whenever I have flown with them, it was a pleasure. 

Southwest has over 25,000 employees spreading the word as Ambassadors and you could even call them missionaries, because they have converted many an airline passenger to their cause.

Here is a question for you.  “Are your employees your missionaries?”

Here are some guidelines for turning your employees into ambassadors/missionaries:

1. Train them, constantly, to keep their dedication, skills, and enthusiasm at the highest levels.
2. Select only those who you feel will be excited enough to represent your company on the highest level.
3. Keep only those who display their zeal when talking to a customer or potential customer.
4. Reward them well.  They are the individuals who are bringing profit into your company, so share the wealth.

This is a good place to start. If you need more detailed help in doing this, see Step 3 in my book “Up The Loyalty Ladder”, and Chapter 3 in my book, “How To Get Customers To Call, Buy & Beg For More.”

Technorati Tags: business promotion, herb kelleher, promoting your business, southwest airlines

A Virtual Assistant, also referred to as a VA, is technically an administrative assistant. They handle a wide variety of tasks and work to make life and work easier for the busy professional. In most cases, VAs are contracted by small business owners and entrepreneurs.

The key difference between a virtual assistant and an administrative assistant is the fact that the VA is an independent contractor or self-employed individual, while the administrative assistant would be your employee.

 When you use a VA, you do not have to worry about taxes, insurance, and a variety of other expenses as you would have to with a traditional employee. Furthermore, a VA takes responsibility for their own equipment and needs, which means further savings for you.

Before choosing a virtual assistant, you need to be clear about just what they’ll do for you, as well as your own responsibilities. Furthermore, you should know whether or not you really need a VA.  Ask yourself some questions to find out:

1. Are you having trouble meeting deadlines?
2. Are you overwhelmed by the amount of work you have to do?
3. Do you find that you need more help, but cannot hire due to lack of resources or space?
4. Do you not have enough time in the day to get things done?
5. Are you focusing more on administrative duties than you are income-producing activities?
6. Are you spending your time doing minimum wage work?

If any of these apply, then yes, you might have a need for a virtual assistant.

What Does A Virtual Assistant Do?

A VA has many duties.  They are there to help you and your business succeed. Aside from traditional administrative duties, they are also there to help you in outsourcing. When you need more help, whether it is to complete projects on time or because you lack experience in a certain area, a VA can help you find someone to get the job done.

Other duties include:

•           Preparing Documents – such as correspondence, presentations, reports, statements, and so forth.
•           Data entry
•           Research
•           Bookkeeping
•           Billing
•           Reminders
•           Mailings
•           Emails
•           Transcription
•           Appointments
•           New Client Services
•           Paperwork
•           And much more.

As you can see, a virtual assistant can literally be the backbone of your business.

What should you look for in a virtual assistant?

Because the VA will be working closely with you, the first thing you want to look for in a VA is a personality that meshes well with your own.  Here are some other things that you want to look for:

1.         Experience – this is an important factor, however, just having experience as a VA or administrative assistant is not enough. You will need to look for experience in tasks that you will specifically need. The services provided will vary from one virtual assistant to the next, so be sure that they offer services that you will actually need.

2.         Organized – Organization is an absolute must. You need your VA to be able to organize your projects, and quickly. You need them to know where everything stands when asked and be able to provide you with an update at the drop of a hat. This does not mean that they have to memorize everything, but having things organized will make their life, as well as your own, so much easier.

3.         Training – Having someone who is a certified virtual assistant or who has taken classes specific to the title is a good idea. Of course, you can also look at experience or degrees if they exist. This goes right along with experience. When they have the right training, they will be more efficient and valuable to your business.

4.         Has The Ability To Meet Deadlines – Deadlines are important to any business. If you must meet deadlines regularly, be sure to choose a virtual assistant that takes responsibility and meets any deadline that you set.

5.         Communicative – You need a VA that will maintain communication with you regularly. They should report to you, by any means that you choose and keep their channels of communication open and clear during working hours.

You can start finding the right VA now.  You can start your search with websites like International Virtual Assistants Association ( http://www.ivaa.org ) or sites with freelancers, like www.elance.com.

Technorati Tags: outsourcing, virtual assistant, virtual assistants

I hope all of you have read the life story of David Oglivy, because when he started in the advertising business, he made a list of the corporations he would most like to have as clients. In fact ,he called this list his Most Desirable Customers List. I don’t remember reading anywhere how many names were on Oglivy’s list, but it didn’t have to be extensive for him to succeed. 

Unfortunately I never read what he did with this list he created.

In my suggestion to create the 1,000 list, I mentioned that when I was in the insurance business, I also created the 1,000 list.  My secret was to be in communication with them at least twice a month, and at the very least once a month, with valuable information that would help them. 

The information didn’t necessarily have to be in reference to their business. It could have been information that would help them lead a better life, a healthier life, or help them and their family to create wealth.   I can go on and on with ideas, but these few should give you an idea of what you need to do.

I had created over 18 reports that I would mail out to them.  Remember, back then it was regular mail.  Today you can email your prospect the reports.

Another thing I did was that whenever I came across an article in a magazine or a newspaper, I would get permission to reprint it to mail to my list.  I’d include a note such as, “Dear Jim, I came across this article and didn’t know if you saw it yet, so I decided to send a copy to you.  I know it will help…(whatever the article was about.)

And by the way, whenever I converted someone from my 1,000 list to a customer, I immediately added another name to the list, so that I always had 1,000 names.  Here’s the remarkable part…I had over a 90% conversion rate—90% of the people on my list became my customers over a five year period of time. 

That means I was in front of them, if once a month, at least 50 to 60 times over the five year period of time.  It doesn’t matter that it took me on average 9 months to get the majority of them to become my customer.  What matters is that you can do the same thing.  So begin today making your list of 1,000.

I know how much time it took me to create these reports, and some of you have asked me to create some way for you to access the ones I’ve already created, or to create additional ones.  I’ll only do it if most of you send me an email and tell me that you need me to do it.  I know how much time and effort it takes to write these reports, but the result is thousands of dollars in profit. So, send me that email.

Technorati Tags: customer acquisition, follow up systems, prospecting

Choosing a Webinar Company:

Webinars are a great way of reaching a large group of individuals from diverse locations with your message.  These useful virtual meetings can be used for marketing, for training, and for a wide range of other purposes if you know how to run one smoothly.  Learning the basics of webinars isn’t difficult, but ensuring that you are consistently putting together a professional quality event can be more challenging.

Before you can run a successful webinar, you’ll need to choose a webinar service that will make your presentation possible.  Although some big names tend to dominate the industry, you’ll also find a number of smaller players worthy of consideration.  Don’t just assume the first name you’ve heard will provide the best service.  You want to do some research.

First, you should make a list of all of your requirements: how many computers can be connected simultaneously, what software needs to work with the service (most support PowerPoint), what learning curve you can expect, and what your cost will be.  These are just a few of the factors.

Second, start searching for services.  Read the details of what they offer until you find a couple which meet most of your needs.  Be prepared to compromise if you can’t find a perfect fit. 

Next take a couple of these services for a test drive.  Many webinar services do offer a free trial period so use that period to do your testing.  Also, read reviews of the programs to get a feel for what others think of them.

Finally, test the company’s customer support to find out how they perform.  You don’t want to be in the middle of a presentation then find out the service’s tech support is lousy.

Gather Your Supplies:

The webinar service is only part of what you’ll need for your presentation.  It’s a good idea to begin getting your items together early so that you can make sure you have everything you need, you know how to use it correctly, and that everything works.  You don’t want to delay your entire presentation because your headset is malfunctioning.

With that said, you are going to need a headset with a built-in microphone.  Do not choose the cheapest model you can find.  Remember that quality is important here.  The participants in the event need to be able to clearly hear you, so consider the headset an investment and spend a little extra.

You also want to get a screen-capture program that allows you to show images that are going to be important for your presentation.  For example, charts, graphs, photos, etc.  A popular screen-capture program is Camtasia.

Most importantly, you’ll need a solid Power Point presentation, as well as a well-rehearsed oral presentation.  Both the visual and the aural parts of the webinar must be working well together if you are going to leave a positive impression on your audience and convey the information you need to share.

What to Do on the Day of the Webinar:

Prior to that day, you need to practice your entire presentation using the software.  You’ll want to ask a couple of co-workers or trusted acquaintances to call in and critique your presentation so you can make changes.  You may also want to do a run through a few hours before the start of the actual presentation so you’ll feel confident and prepared.

Make sure you contact any presenters or others involved with the presentation to make sure they are on time for the start of the webinar.  It’s also a good idea to send out reminders to everyone who will be attending either by email, text, or phone.  You should include all of the details for joining the webinar in advance, but make sure to include these again with every reminder, in case the person has lost the original information.

Finally, you should join the webinar about ten to fifteen minutes early so you can greet participants as they enter for the presentation.  It’s also a good idea to have a welcome screen of some sort posted through the webinar service so people will know they are in the right location.

Common Mistakes to Avoid:

The biggest mistake is not practicing.  You definitely don’t want to try and “wing” your way through a webinar.  It’s not going to work.  You want to practice and practice as much as possible.  Most of the things that could go wrong – malfunctioning equipment, PowerPoint problems, etc. – can be avoided with planning, preparation, and plenty of practice.

Services:

Here are a couple services you can check out for presenting your webinar:
1. Cisco’s Webex: http://www.webex.com/

2. Citrix Online: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/?Portal=www.gotomeeting.com
This service is the one I see being used most often.

Again, the best advice I can give you is practice, practice, practice.

To your success…

Technorati Tags: Running a webinar, webinar, webinar tips

Here’s the advice I want to give you in this blog… 

Every day, and I do mean every day, in spite of what might stop you, make it a point to reach out to at least one other business, newspaper, or trade association like the Chamber of Commerce to set up an appointment to get interviewed.

Naturally, these interviews are to promote you and your business.

Here are some of the benefits that interviews can bring to your business.

#1.  It can generate very responsive leads.  If you have a website, you can set up an opt-in system to generate leads.  Giving access to these interviews via your web site is a great way to have individuals opt in.  This also works very well for interviews done in magazines and newspapers.

#2.  Naturally, you can make immediate sales.  When someone listens to your interview or reads your interview in a newspaper, the leads captured this way are some of the hottest ones you’ll find anywhere.

#3. When you interview experts in fields that your people find can help them, you are bringing value and cementing your relationship with them.  It tightens the bond you have with your existing list of clients and prospects.

#4. Last but not least, it builds your brand and your own personal credibility. 

Since your time is very valuable, you don’t want to do interviews just for exposure.  Get a feeling for the size of your audience before committing to be interviewed.  But be sure that you will have some time to talk about your business and what you are selling during and at the end of the interview.

If you also interview others, you must be sure that the subject matter is consistent with what your subscribers expect from you.  Does it compliment what you are already giving them? Is it quality content that they will value?  These are a few of the questions you should ask.

And here is what I feel is the most important part of it all…ask your listeners what they thought of the interview and set up a mechanism for receiving their comments. 

Technorati Tags: gettting interviews