WebProWorld
Speakers and Coaches know their business. Many of them write useful, inspirational books and have creative Web sites. But, one thing they are not as adept at is promotional copy.
It’s not the book, it’s the hook! It’s not the beautiful Web site, it’s the one with benefit-driven headlines that lead your visitor straight to your sales message. What you say outside the covers matters. What you say about your service on your site must be so much more powerful than your pleasing personality.
For many entrepreneurs and small business owners, selling is not usually one of our favorite tasks. We picture salespeople as greedy, unethical and unscrupulous individuals who are determined to close a sale at any cost. Yet, we cannot survive without generating sales so selling skills are a critical competency we need to acquire.
Selling is an honorable profession and everyone who operates a business should learn some fundamentals. From my perspective as a small business owner, sales trainer, and consumer, the most important skill to learn is how to effectively qualify your prospect.
Face it; most that write sales letters don’t want to sound too “pushy”. And I agree with you. You don’t want to sound like a used car salesman selling hype and filler. But you do need to take a more active voice in your sales letters and actually give direction in the form of a command to close more sales.
I’ve spent literally hours and hours developing my website and promoting my products. I’ll bet you have too. There’s just so much to be done. And the demand for this time is all the time.
Most business entrepreneurs would rather be in the driver’s seat than to be driven. Yet, surprisingly enough, many business owners put little effort into planning to sell to their biggest and ultimate customer… the person (or company) that buys their business.
I’ve seen genuine hardworking people struggle and persevere to build up a successful business, only to watch them fail to reap their deserved rewards when they come to cash-out. They don’t know what to do, or where to go. They lack the required skills to present their business effectively to potential buyers. The end result; they get stressed-out and bitterly disappointed with the outcome.
Do you ever wonder how you are going to make your product or service sell when you don’t offer the lowest price? Because people always go for the lowest price offered, right?
Not exactly. Do most people buy their cars from the junkyard? Or their TVs from pawn shops? Of course not. There is one thing that customers value more than getting a good deal. They will pay exorbitant amounts of money to eliminate risk.
Personalization. It’s everywhere. It’s the big thing. Everyone wants to implement it–and you can’t blame business stakeholders for this viewpoint. Personalization can be a powerful ally in gaining competitive advantage.
For some people “voice mail” means the voice mail menu system—or “voice mail jail.” You know, when you dial the business number and a voice—not a person—answers and says, “Hello, you have reached XYZ Company. Please listen carefully to the following options.” At this point, you grit your teeth and prepare for an ordeal.
After listening to all the choices, you discover that none of them suits your needs. Several different can reactions occur. You might feel stupid that you can’t figure out what number to press. Or you might get annoyed that you have to go through the list again, wasting precious time and money.
The skillful use of classified ads builds your business.
Classified ads are inexpensive and powerful, and are an excellent way to promote your business both online and offline. Online, you can place ads in ezines and on Web sites, and offline, run them in your local paper and in niche magazines.
If you’ve tried a classified or two to promote your business and were disappointed with the results, remember that a one-shot deal won’t work.
1. Segment Customer Lists. Carefully analyze past buying behavior or your customers and categorize by their buying habits. Basically you will be slicing and dicing your database list. Discounts may motivate your customers better than premiums, vice versa for others. Study your list and break it down to create special offers for different customer groups.
