Email marketing is a powerful tool you need to add to your marketing toolkit.

Email alone has added millions of dollars to my clients bank accounts in the past few years.  Many of the big launches I have helped with were driven completely digital and combined emails, with articles, driving everyone back to the web pages that took their orders.

I will be the first to add that you MUST use offline marketing as well.

Especially in a challenging economy like we are in now. People are acting different, buying differently, and, frankly, overwhelmed with everything around them.  Email volume has gone up in the past few months… and direct mail (on paper) has dropped.  So I highly recommend you add in some direct offline mail to your mix as well.

That said; email marketing is an incredible tool for getting fast results, for testing the approaches you are going to test offline, and for improving your cash flow quickly.

We would be crazy not to be using it in our marketing.

There are a number of types of emails you can use in your marketing, I would recommend mixing and matching some of the following.  Test what approach works best, and then use more of that moving forward.

One thing I recommend you get used to is to write the email without any sales pitch, then add in a PS that links to your sales pitch. That way, they get useful information from you in the body of the email and an option to buy something if they want.  If you are constantly delivering useful content, they will continue to bring you traffic, buyers and prospects for as long as you continue to use them.

Story telling emails

By far one of the most powerful and easiest (with practice) emails you can send.  Who doesn’t love a good story?  Especially one that is sent to your prospects and clients that draws them closer to you, even dropping any form of resistance they were feeling.

If you are not a natural story teller, then you need to practice this.  Story telling was never a natural thing for me, and is something I am always working on getting better at.

Here are a couple shortcuts to get you thinking:

Discovery stories.  Is there something in your business, in your product line, or in your life that you just discovered?  Share it.

Before and after stories.  One of the most compelling proof elements you can use in your copy.  Show people (through a story) how life was for you, or yoru customers, before your product or service, and how it evolved after.  Show pictures if you can through the links in the email as well.

3^rd person testimonial.  Do everything in your power to get your customers to share their experiences with you and your products.  Make sure you get their approval to use their testimonial, then publish it in its full glory.  Make sure to include their full name and city (at a minimum), which further adds credibility to your claims.

Sceptic turned believer emails. Much like the testimonials above, but look specifically for people who were highly sceptical first, and are now believers in you and yoru business.  Have them tell the story that way… I was a sceptic, now I am a believer… and here is why…

Long lost secrets

People love to believe there is some secret you know that they don’t. So give them one!

If you are an expert in your field, there ARE things you know that they don’t.  Share a few here and there.  You will be amazed at how people respond to you when you reveal a secret or two.

As soon as you do… the floodgates open and you are now officially an expert and people will follow your every word.

Why?

Why should they listen to you?  Why are you the one writing this email?  Why do you do what you do?

You must get comfortable telling your story… again and again.  People want to know who they are buying from and it is entirely up to you to tell them why you.

The reason why is one of the most compelling sales arguments you can tell them… so this one is a good one to test, refine and test again with.

Fear and Anxiety

Sometimes you just have to scare them.  If your product or service helps them overcome something dramatic or dangerous… make sure they understand the pain they will go through if they don’t fix the problem.

Many people I deal with are scared of scaring others.

Despite the FACT that it is one of the most powerful ways to craft emails that get results.

If you are going to scare them really scare them

Common enemies

Pick on common enemies in your emails.  It may be the government. It may be the media. It may be all the blatant lies in the marketplace.

Taking sides WITH them against the enemy will win your friends and make you money… guaranteed.

Techniques for email marketing.

Test using short emails vs long.  The short emails would be a teaser to your long copy.  What you will likely find is that some of your prospects and clients like short emails, others like long.  Both sides work… you just have to test to find out which way works best with your list. And having a link in each email they can click through to gives you the ability to test both approaches and see if the short emails get more clicks than the long.

Only testing will tell you the truth.

Make sure you are consistent in your emails too. Don’t send one a day for 2 weeks then take 3 months off.  I would aim for 2 or 3 a month at the minimum.  2 or 3 a week at the maximum.

Again, it is highly dependent on the type of people on your list, and the type of information they want to see from you.

Email marketing works, and can be highly profitable.  Don’t expect to make millions overnight though… despite all the big promises you see out there.

Test, tweak, test again.

Figure out what works, use it again and again, and again.

Dump that which doesn’t work… and always remember what you tested (so you aren’t retesting the same failed approach).

Truly simply in many ways.

Troy

PS: The Story Selling Home Study Coaching program
http://www.storysellingtips.com is ready and is an incredible way
to introduce your clients and prospects to your backstories…
where your real money will be made.

Much of what they find the general public never knows about… it’s just too scary.

What fascinates me about what he does (it sure isn’t the math stuff!) is the power that these anaylatical types hold in their hands.

When they analyze data, they can find some oh-so-useful-and-powerful information.

So when I read an article in reuters.com called Big Data Big Impact, I thought of him and how this all is becoming the lifeline of small business owners like you and I.

Data IS the future.

Knowing how to use it is where you find incredible breakthroughs that can grow your business by leaps and bounds.

Consider a few statements from this article: (reuters.com)

* “…if you use big data to track your sales more precisely, you need fewer salespeople.”

* The McKinsey Global Institute, trumpeting big data as “the next frontier for innovation, competition and productivity.”

* “To understand how much data is now at our fingertips, consider a few striking facts from the McKinsey report. One is that it costs less than $600 to buy a disk drive with the capacity to store all of the world’s music. Another is that in 2010 people around the world collectively stored more than 6 exabytes of new data on devices like PCs and notebook computers; each exabyte contains more than 4,000 times the information stored in the Library of Congress.”

* McKinsey believes that the transformative power of all of this data will amount to a fifth wave in the technology revolution, building on the first four: the mainframe era; the PC era; the Internet and Web 1.0 era; and most recently, the mobile and Web 2.0 era.”
So what does this mean to you and I, and all other non-math-stats-geeks?  

It means yeeeeeeee haw!

It’s time for us all to get a real grip on our customer data.

It means it’s time to start digging deeper into our customer databases to look for unique trends and commonoalities (imagine if you found out that 63% of your big ticket buyers were fans of Ayn Rand’s “Atlas Shrugged”, or that 51% of your Facebook fans were members of the CPSA).  

Think about it!

THAT is power in your hands.

You can customize your marketing and lead generation to find MORE of those people.

You could go to the CPSA and buy ad spots on their site, their blog, and inside their members newsletter.

You could and you should.

I specialize in helping small businesses grow (small business being defined as 75 employees or fewer, most fewer than 20).

That’s you.

That’s me.

That’s where our biggest opportunity is in 2012 folks.

   This is something I truly hope you “get” and that you really start tracking customer information better.

Perry Marshal has his new Fanalytix program which helps you analyze Facebook data.  I am just starting to test it – if it is even half as good as I think it could be, WOW – that is some SERIOUS power in your hands.

Every single chance you get to talk to a customer, or collect survey data, or do a questionare with them… look for information like books, movies, hobbies, memberships, and associations.

Track them.

Record them.

Look for trends.

…and when you find a trend or common trait… make sure you modify your marketing to capture MORE people like those who already buy from you.

   Small Data is just as powerful as Big Data.

But it is up to you to find it and capitalize on it.

Start now.

Troy

If you aren’t trying to fail, you will never succeed.

In fact, the faster you fail – that faster you will find success.

Money loves speed.

The more speed you have in your business, the more you will attract money. And the best way I can say it is “TAKE IT SERIOUSLY!” Don’t pretend you will try one thing this week and another thing next week. Take 10 things and try 2 of them a day! MAKE the time. If you want serious change in your life and business – make a serious change!

Me?

Many times I feel like my head is swimming as I have so many things on the go at once. But it has reaped great rewards for me in a short period of time

================================================
Some of my daily actions I take – and I recommend you do too:
================================================

1) Habits - get up early and write. Huge rewards. I had a 6 month span where all I did was wake up at 5:30 am and I would write for 2 hours before my kids got up. I got so much done in an average week just from that alone.

You can easily write 2 books a year at that speed. If you don’t want to write – read a motivational or uplifting book (non-fiction). BUT, I can say this: writing every day will turn into the most profitable habit you ever have! You can use these writings in numerous ways in your business, and the rewards will be great.

2) Nutrition - find what works best for you for energy, and a clear mind. Eat fruit only in the mornings is a great way to feel good and clear – and keep a healthy system going. One fabulous tip I learned was the 3 apple a day technique. 3 apples a day is an excellent health foundation that will keep you healthy. Eat them throughout your morning (with no other foods) or spread the apples out so you eat one an hour before each meal. Try it for a couple weeks and see for yourself how good you feel.

3) Exercise. Guilty! I put on 30 pounds when quit my corporate job to work on my own. At the time I was doing 5 days a week of kickboxing and Muay Thai, and went from that to sitting at a desk all the time.

5.5 years ago I got back into marital arts (Tae Kwon Do now – First Degree Belt, working on second), and LOVE IT! Averaging 4 times a week gives me a great escape and a fantastic calorie burning regiment. I also walk Casino, my trusty marketing assistant (and dog) twice a day for a fast paced 30 minute walk that gets my heart racing. That “rush” feeling from a great workout is something that I missed deeply and look forward to experiencing every chance I get. Find something, anything, that helps you work up a sweat. 3 times a week for 30-60 minutes at a time is the perfect start.

4) Hire a coach. Years ago, those in business didn’t quite get this. Athletes made sense – but business? Now it is more commonly understood and adhered to. And it makes sense.

Coaches can see things you can’t – both good and bad. They can motivate you. They can hold you accountable to your actions and promises. And they can make it happen for you, versus stumbling along trying to tackle it all yourself.

My thoughts: hire one making much more money than you. And check their references. I made the mistake of hiring one once that sounded good on paper, but was a disaster as a coach. I now have one who is phenomenal and I suggest you find one too. If you are interested, I have a small coaching program I run for a select group of people. It is not cheap – and you will be held accountable for your own results. But those results can be fabulous!

5) Read – lots. I am guilt of reading too many business books – and too few novels. I think the advice to read 4 business books for every 1 novel is a good one. Business books – the reason is self explanatory (remember the one big idea philosophy). Novels – because you need to expand your mind and because much of what makes for a successful business involves building character into your marketing and day-to-day operations. Novels provide you with exceptional character building ideas… if you put your mind to it.

6) Invest in seminars. But be careful. Seminars can be a very powerful way to fire yourself up, meet incredible entrepreneurs, and discover techniques to grow your business that you may have never even thought of before. But, make sure the speakers are all high quality success stories. Make sure there is some form of a guarantee. And make sure the seminar promises to help you with your existing business, not distract you with another business “opportunity”. Those are a dime-a-dozen, and are not the answer to success.

Learn as much as you can about marketing, advertising, and the mindset of the successful.
Master those 3 and you will succeed in any business you decide to take up.

7) Start or join a mastermind… preferably more than one. If you haven’t read Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill, go get it! It is only $10 new, and you can probably find one at your local used book store. That one single book has created more millionaires than any other book in existence… you think there may be an idea or two for you in there? Damn rights! One of the best ones is the mastermind principle.

In a nutshell: meet regularly (bi-weekly or monthly preferred) with 3 to 5 other driven entrepreneurs. Discuss your business challenges, and ask for suggestions on what to do or who to talk to. Keep the conversations positive and helpful. Look deep to find the right people – preferably get people from other industries as you will expand the viewpoints and not get pigeon holed into thinking like everyone else does in your industry.

==================================================
The key with the action reaction is to do many things…

…all at once.
==================================================

Take MASSIVE ACTION and see what happens.

Test new ads, new sales campaigns, new success mindset ideas, new client referral ideas… weekly… all at once.

Some will work and some won’t.

But the ones that DO work will make you a fortune.

To your success!

Troy

PS: Don’t forget to check out the Canadian Profits special offer as well at http://www.entrepreneurprofit.com - the ultimate resource for expanding your business in good times and bad.

PPS: If you want a step-by-step, day-by-day marketing action plan for 2012… the Cash Flow Calendar is READY! This is a copy and paste, simple solution for those who don’t want to have to create the marketing ideas or copy – and just want it done for them. Have a look at what you get http://www.cashflowcalendars.com

If you are frustrated with having to compete on price,
“sell” yourself all the time to make the sale, cold call
 to make sales, and then and have your customers and 
prospects ‘price-shop’ before they buy from you, then I would urge you to…..

Read This FREE Book – http://www.EntrepreneurProfit.com

I think he’s a little nuts, but I had to let you know

No Cost Book, Money-Making Marketing for Canadians

If you want to make a lot more money, a lot easier from your business or professional practice, then you need to grab a copy 
of the book my good friend Dave Dubeau and I wrote,  called
 “Money Making Marketing for Canadians” ASAP…

Right now Dave is actually giving our book away…

and if you grab one of the complimentary copies he is actually
 going to donate $2 to the Make-A-Wish foundation or Habitat for 
Humanity- you even get to choose the charity!

You already know about me, but in case you forgot…
 I am a self-professed Corporate World Flunky that left a six-figure-a-year career in the computer industry 10 years ago to start my own thing.

…Since then I have been privileged to live and work on my own terms, while helping entrepreneurs from all over the world build their own dream life as well.

I have been writing for Dave’s private paid newsletter membership for a number of years now and can speak to Dave’s ability to over deliver on everything that he does.

…and here is what “Canadian Rich Dad”
 Darren Weeks has to say about Dave Dubeau:

“I’ve know Dave for years. Dave is a friend and a business partner of mine, and with his marketing know-how we have 
grown my Fast Track Group of companies from 4 employees
in 2005 to over 100 employees with over $100M a year in gross 
sales and a ranking in the prestigious “Profit 100” list of fastest 
growing companies in Canada.”

He continues to say…

“Quite frankly, I would not have been able to grow this big, this 
fast without Dave’s amazing marketing skills and knowledge.”

Pretty high praise from a very sharp business owner… and I agree.

And, modesty aside, I have to say that this book is outstanding.

http://www.EntrepreneurProfit.com

In it Dave, myself and the 9 other Canadian expert marketers and 
business growth experts involved do what no other book I have seen
does… take you by the hand and show you exactly how to start from
 wherever you are in business and grow it FAST, even with a very small
budget.

And what I like the BEST is that everything we talk about in
 this book is proven to work here in Canada! None of the usual re-hashed stuff that “doesn’t quite work” here at home.

Get this complimentary book and…

* You’ll discover the “ONLY” 3 ways to grow your business (simplifies it doesn’t it?)

* You’ll learn how to double your profits in 90 days…or less.

* You will be able to quickly tell if your friendly advertising rep
 is ripping you off.

* You’ll find out the #1 way to make more money FAST from
 your existing customers.

* Never throw money away on wasted marketing again!

* Radically Reduce (or even Eliminate) Cold Calling Forever!

* Discover Dave’s #1 Money making marketing strategy, and
 how to put it to
use and much more….

So if you have been frustrated with the growth of your business,
sick of having to compete on price, or worried about making ends meet, I 
highly recommend that you grab a copy of the book now – and you 
can’t beat the price (GRATIS)…

http://www.EntrepreneurProfit.com

But don’t wait or think about it because Dave only has 83 copies 
available to give away and there are over six thousand three hundred 
business owners, entrepreneurs and independent professionals
 who will hear about this. (If you wait, your book will have to be on back-order for 2-3 months).

To Your Success, Profits and Ideal Lifestyle,

Troy White

PS: An important note on this book: The title says Money Making Marketing for Canadians… but the information applies to EVERYONE. There is no difference in how we grow businesses in Canada over the US, or Australia, or {insert your country here}. In the past 10 years I have written marketing campaigns for entrepreneurs all over the world – the EXACT same principles of marketing work everywhere.

Master it once and use it anywhere!

Here’s how… http://www.EntrepreneurProfit.com

If client acquisition and retention are top of your list (they should be), then you need to hear this call…

[jwplayer mediaid="1719"]

Right click here to download the mp3

Also – he made some excellent offers at the end for his new book and how you can save $600 in printing off your next print newsletter campaign (details below).

Some of the things we discussed:

* The profitable marketing strategy of client retention versus acquisition
* Why your business is like a leaky bucket!
* Why newsletters are vitally important in growing your business
* Why a customer newsletter is such an effective marketing tool
* Jim will share five of his secrets to producing a great newsletter
* Jim will discuss how not to be a newsletter pansy!

Jim is the acclaimed author of three great books, The Magic of Newsletter Marketing – The Secret to More Profits and Customers for Life and Stick Like Glue – How to Create an Everlasting Bond with Your Customers So They Spend More, Stay Longer, and Refer More and Jim’s latest book, The Fastest Way to Higher Profits, 19 Immediate Profit-Enhancing Strategies You Can Use Today.

Jim is a good friend, a good guy, and delivered some exceptional content on the call.

http://www.newsletterguru.tv - how to use videos in your marketing mix (simple videos anyone can do)

SPECIAL OFFER

http://www.higherprofitsbook.com – use the coupon code “profit” for $16.95 ($6 off) – open for 48 hours

http://www.nohasslenewsletters.com - mention troy in comment window and get $600 in FREE printing towards your first 6 newsletters!

 

…The sports industry.

And YES, it does apply to you.

No matter what field we are talking about (pun intended), the ideas behind these promotions could easily be changed to fit your own.

The sports marketing industry is very creative and they have to draw a lot of people out to their games… so their marketing had better be good!

Imagine if you had to get 10,000 people to pay you money every single week or month… what would you do?

Many with the marketing mindset aim for product launches and successful campaigns for single products. But what would you do if you had a weekly event to sell out that delivered pretty well the same experience?

Here are some great ideas that sports teams have used to get people through the gates, money in hand.
As you go through these, PLEASE start thinking about how you could make one or more of them work in your business.

I guarantee they could… if you try.

* The promotions could be for a sale.
* For a launch.
* For a fun event.
* For a customer appreciation party.
* Or just to get some free publicity.
* As a co-operative promotion with other like-minded businesses
* As a seminar or workshop
* As a theme party you throw for all the photos and videos you could use

Or any one of a hundred different reasons to get your customers and prospects interacting with you.

=========================
Wacky Marketing from the field
=========================

Bald head night: anyone who has their head shaved gets in for free.

Mustache Appreciation Night: Fresno Grizzlies fans were encouraged to grow mustaches. They also were incented to encourage their friends to contribute $ to a worthy cause as part of the promotion. Contests were also held for “best in show,” “best Tom Selleck look-alike,” and most pathetic attempt at a mustache. Great times – and great results.

Second Chance Night: Probation officers got in for free. As well as anyone who brought in a traffic ticket and promised to never do it again also got in for free.

Kevin Federline Night: The first 3,000 fans got free temporary K-Fed tattoos. They also got to watch videos of K-Feds rise through the ranks, and a dance contest between the dance troop to which Kevin Federline once belonged and the Grizzlies’
mascot.

The Hagerstown (Maryland) Suns had a McDreamy Day: Everyone was encouraged to dress the medical part… and to know their medical lingo to win prizes.

Or what about Anger management night – held by the Augusta
(Georgia) Green Jackets. One of their rival teams manager had a meltdown… so let’s turn it into a promotion! They offered the first 250 fans free stress balls and DVDs of the movie Anger Management.

[Look at all the new movies out and coming out on dvd - is there any way you can tie a promotion into the theme of the movie? The newest as of this week: 50/50, Money Ball, Abduction, Dolphin Tale, Lion King 3D, Courageous, Drive, Limelight, The Debt, to name just a few]

How can you go wrong with a Britney Spears promo? She certainly gives us all lots of great opportunity to make fun of her antics. The Newark (New Jersey) Bears held a Britney Spears Baby Safety Night. Anyone who dressed as a baby, brought a baby toy, or brought an actual baby got in for free. Everybody else that attended received a brochure about baby safety.

[NOTE: before you get uptight about how "hokey" or
"unprofessional" these events sound... remember how many TICKETS
they sold. Thousands and thousands of tickets sold per event.
They didn't worry about the "hokeyness" of the event... they
cared about the newsworthy parts of the promotion only. News and
buzz gets people talking about buying... these events did
everything you and I should be aiming for!]

The San Antonio Missions held a Used Car Night and gave away a dozen luxury used automobiles randomly.

Or how about the Southwest Michigan Devil Rays and their College Course Giveaway Night? Each fan received a free three-credit course of their choice at nearby Kellogg Community College.

The Charleston RiverDogs minor league baseball team is a master at using wacky promotions to get people in the seats. Some of their events: a Run, Forrest, Run 5-K Race; My Hot Dog Is Green Night and Salute to the G-string Night in which select fans will receive a G-string.

Get this… they even had a Vasectomy Night where a lucky male fan would win a vasectomy. That was canceled after management received complaints.

========================
Talk about getting some press!
========================

Or this: they even staged a Nobody Night, locking out fans at the door as the club attempted to set a minor league record for lowest attendance at a game.

Steal of a deal. Recessionary promotion gone wild with the Minnesota twins offering an entire season (81 games) for only $250. Comparable seats in New York go for $250 per seat – per game.

Hungry fans unite! The Athletics, Orioles, Rangers, Royals, Braves, Dodgers and Padres all have designated All-You-Can Eat sections for fans hungry to see more than a game. Ranging from $30 – $45 per person to eat their way through the game.

Musical fan fare. The Pirates have offered up REO Speedwagon and Collective Soul and the Marlins offer KC and the Sunshine Band. The Devil Rays have the most interesting series featuring The Commodores, Trace Adkins, Kool And The Gang, LL Cool J and MC Hammer. (could you not offer something like this in any of your promotions with lesser know artists?)

Luring them in. The Twins promotion department hooked some new fans by offering a Joe Mauer fishing lure. Only available to the first 5,000 fans, this was a run away winner.

==================================
How about some NON sports promotions?
==================================

What about the Beer-for-Bags event, which the company promoted that they would accept beer for merchandise. They grew their sales by 20% using this promotion (including all the free publicity they received as well). The company hopes to make

“Beer For Bags” an annual event, as it is in Australia.

Gonigam’s World Furniture Mall near Chicago offered customers up to $10,000 of free furniture if the Chicago Bears shut out the Green Bay Packers (which they did). The company had prize reimbursement insurance to cover their backs. They saw huge traffic growth to their site and an increasing amount of new sales to people who never bought from them before.

Long John Silver’s offered to give customers free “Giant Shrimp” if NASA found conclusive evidence of an ocean on Mars.

This is a great list you could use anytime you need a promotion.

====================
The key is to MAKE IT FIT.
====================

I realize 99% of those who read this blog are NOT in the sports marketing business. But… so what? Why can’t you put some time and effort into this list and find some ways to use these ideas?

Keep your eyes on the local news, industry news, Hollywood movies, strange trends, technology trends, and pretty well anything you see on the covers of the magazines like Star, National Enquirer, The Globe, etc (those are the ones the majority of the population reads… and you should be finding a way to tie into them!)

All it takes is some effort – and the results could be exceptional.

You won’t know until you try… right?

Thanks again.

To your success,

Troy White

PS: Speaking of Wacky Promotions… the new and MAJORLY improved
2012 Cash Flow Calendars is almost off the printing press. Wait and see
what we have in store for you this year! Thousands of wacky and creative
marketing ideas – many of them with done-for-you marketing campaigns
ALREADY WRITTEN.

If you can copy and paste, you can use these to grow your cash flow.

Watch for it. http://www.cashflowcalendars.com

PPS: One other plug for my favourite wacky guarantee and headline creator – Saddleback Leather.

They have a 100 YEAR guarantee on all their leather goods (they even tell you
to put it into your will). And they took a great quote from a customer and
turned it into one of the best headlines EVER….

…They will have to pry it from my cold dead hands as they
lower me into the ground.

Visual? yes. Intriguing – hell ya!

Check out Saddleback Leather – the PERFECT christmas gift for
those who have everything (and the perfect gift for your friend
and marketing idea generator… ME!

I gladly accept Saddleback Leather gifts )

Ethical bribes, but still a bribe.

The hypsters out there will tell you that you don’t need to incent people to buy… they will just be attracted by your positive energy or incredible products and will whip out their credit cards for the pleasure to do business with you.

Realists will show you proof that plan is a sure-fire way to failure.

There was a great article I just read in the Huffington Post about a home owner who got FED UP with their realtor lack of results. Most realtors have that hope, wish and meditate on a sale until it happens BS. That’s why 97% of realtors out there make less than the waitress at your local diner.

…which is exactly the type of realtor this home owner was stuck with.

Since JUNE(!) they have had 3 showings of their home.

Less than one a month. Yikes – that is not how you sell a house.

So instead of listening to the renegade-realtor-who-does-things-oh-so-different, they took things into their own hands.

Right across the street was “Grandpas Bar & Grill” – a favorite watering hole for the neighborhood minglers.

And Grandpas place would be a friendly place to eat and drink for anyone who bought this house for sale.

The frustrated home owner had a brilliant insight and offered out of her own pocket a $1,000 bar tab at Grandpas!

Flipping brilliant.

Did it work?

A 300% increase in showings since her new promotion hit the street!

So it worked – not their wonderfully brilliant realtor just has to do half what they are paid to do…close the deal.

“We live in a place where restaurants and bars come within walking distance so we thought this was a way to cross-promote the neighborhood and our homes.”

How does this relate to you?

I hope you can see where I am going with this… if not, you need more help than I can provide )

Here are the lessons to be learned:

* Wishing and praying won’t build your business – YOU have to build your business.

* Look for complimentary businesses, products and services you can bundle in with your own products or services.

* Think outside of the basement here – how often have you seen something like this in your city? I doubt if you have ever seen a $1000 bar tab with home purchase offer before. Why not? It makes sense! Or a $1,000 restaurant gift. Or a $1,0000 maid service. Or a $1,000 credit towards movers. When you are selling a home worth a few hundred thousand dollars, a grand out of your own pocket isn’t going to kill you, or the deal. If you are selling a product or service worth $200 – a $50 gift certificate is worth it (especially when you factor in repeat business from the client once you get them into your marketing funnel – right?)

* The economy is still sluggish and people are not spending like they used to – so you had better think up some very innovative ways to get them to notice you, over the hundreds/thousands of others trying to get inside their wallets also.

* Many realtors are clueless when it comes to marketing your home – so pick and choose wisely. See if you can find one who has at least studied SOME direct marketing. It won’t be easy to find (I’ve looked)…but snag one if you find one.

This was a great example of an average everyday homeowner who got fed up with dismal results and took it into their own hands.

Not only have they tripled their prospects…

…the got MASSIVE media attention from this (Huffington Post, NBC Chicago, Sun Times, to name a few). That alone is worth a fortune for both the home owner and for Grandpa’s bar!

Last – she got over the hoping and praying phase that her realtor would perform for her – and she took ACTION to do it herself.

This is a very recent story, so we will have to wait and see how effective it is… but with 300% more prospects to talk to, odds are VERY good someone will buy soon (and they will have a hell of a good story to tell their friends and family about this home they bought which was in all these newspapers!)

Now get busy.

Troy

PS: We are just getting ready to launch the new and improved Cash Flow Calendar for 2012 – 15 months of done-for-you, pre-written marketing campaigns, and a TON of money making tools that you haven’t seen here before.

Watch for it.

In the meantime, there are a number of solutions here to help you grow your sales if they are slow http://www.blog.smallbusinesscopywriter.com/on-line-store/

Usually they claim their buyers are different than any other buyers.

Often though it comes down to this…

“…I sell to businesses – not consumers. And business buyers don’t fall for the same tricks you are sharing Troy.”

I will say this… Business to business (B2B) buyers are NOT different than Business to consumer (B2C) buyers!

A BUSINESS cannot buy anything.

Someone, somewhere, has to be involved in the purchasing process.

And anytime a person is involved, there are biases, prejudices, emotional triggers and hidden motives involved.

As much as we like to pretend otherwise, I don’t think there are too many businesses who use robots for purchasing from strangers. )

Yes, there can be minor changes you make to your campaigns to target business buyers, but people are people and the exact same tools and techniques that work in the B2C market ALSO work in the B2B market.

I have shown this many times over the past blog posts.

Like the one client who sells B2B: we sent out 200 letters to a COLD list… business buyers who had NEVER heard of him before. These were highly sophisticated buyers who worked for companies that ranged from $5 million a year to $500 million a year.

We mailed a 2-page black and white letter (no fancy brochures – no gloss – no color – not even a picture to be seen).

We sent it DIRECTLY to the purchasers.

We got a 18% response rate (the goal of the campaign was to initiate direct contact with the purchasing managers – either through a phone call or email… in essence, getting that first foot in the door).

The letter talked more about his family than his business!

And we got email after email THANKING US FOR WRITING A PERSONAL LETTER.

One guy said “I get DOZENS of ‘pitch letters’ like this a week – I want to commend you on writing a very personal letter like this – I wish I saw more of this in my business”.

Hum.

Guess something like that shows you that B2B buyers are NOT different…. they are people and like to buy from people.

So keep that in mind next time you are thinking up excuses on why YOUR buyers are different.

They aren’t that different.

They still eat, sleep, dream and have fears or dreams.

They are people like you and I are.

Treat them that way.

Not many B2B sellers do… so you will definitely stand out from the rest of the nonsense!

Troy

PS: I wanted to make sure you understand this – I have personally sold both B2B and B2C.

When I was working for Hewlett Packard in their Unix systems group… I sold $50,000 computer systems to business buyers. I also sold multi-million dollar servers and storage systems to business buyers. There was ALWAYS a person writing the final orders. Those people wanted to be TREATED like a human being too.

One potential client I nurtured for 2 years selling them smaller systems, ultimately knowing a big purchase order was coming… eventually.

And it did.

$3 million dollars worth of computer gear was sold in the end – the only reason he bought? “Because I stuck with him, and treated him the way he wanted to be treated. Not like some robot purchasing system. That was from him – the one who signed the purchase order and cheque.

If I treated him differently – the sale would have NEVER gone through.

Why?

Because ‘everyone’ is NOT online.

Because ‘everyone’ do NOT prefer email to print mail.

Because ‘everyone’ is not on Facebook and Twitter.

There is a huge opportunity to leverage the dinosaurs we call our postal service into your marketing.

And the United States Postal System just figured out one of Canada Post’s little secrets.

Yes, for many years now, astute marketers were using Unaddressed Admail in Canada. Direct to the door mail for 11.9 cents per household.

Fantastic for lead generation!

But until recently, the USPS didn’t have a service that would work like Canada Posts Unaddressed Direct Mail tools.

…Until now…

What it means to everyone is that there are now more options south of the 49th parallel.

And it also means it is TIME to get serious about using this tool.

If you need help – let me know.

If you want a webinar around this – let me know.

This is a fantastic tool for geo targeting of your prospects and clients.

Hope you are using it!!

Let me know your thoughts.

(I also have a product called Direct Mail Detox
that you will find helpful for generating QUALIFIED leads)

Troy

PS: I should also share the fact that I have seen some incredible results using this next-to-free direct mail tool. One client in a very competitive, commodity type business used a flier I did up and we used Unaddressed Admail to businesses – and got an incredible 12:1 return on their investment. Another sold a number of high end home products (average price of each piece if $800) for a whopping $300 investment in mailing and postal services.

This is a great way to find leads and make sales. Definitely worth your time to test.

There are some solid lessons in my reply – whether or not you plan on using this type of service – the answer applies for ALL leads.

Question: > What is your opinion on Swarmjam, Groupon, and sites like that? I have been approached by some of them and (competitor #1), (competitor #2), and (competitor #3), have run campaigns with them. Thank you.

My answer…

Hi Ghislaine, I think they are good for one thing only (which is why they will never work for most businesses).

Leads.

You won’t make money (doubtfully anyhow) off the promotion with them.

You may get hundreds of people in the door – but they will usually be at break even or a loss for you.

BUT, if you have a system in place to get them back… then it can work.

Most people assume that buyers from all these Groupon type deals will come back to buy more after the initial discount deal.

But Groupon type buyers typically go on looking for the next great deal.

And they never hear back from the last company they bought from anyhow… so time to move on to the next 80% off deal.

But if you have a system in place to get them back at a smaller discount the next time.

Then a system in place to get them buying again – at regular price. THEN you can make money.

But you know as well as I do – most businesses have ZERO system in place for this.

If you have yours in place – then you will be ok (as long as you get in front of them regularly to get them back).

You can make money with these – but only when you get them back to buy more and more often, without the huge discount you gave them in the first place).

My thoughts anyhow.

Troy

So, the questions for you are…

…what are you you willing to PAY for a lead (this type of lead generation is usually at break even or a loss).

…what SYSTEMS do you have in place to guarantee a certain percentage comes back to buy more from you?

If you don’t know those, don’t bother with Groupon and the clones. You WILL lose money and never get it back.

In my own opinion, Troy

PS: Don’t believe me?

Lets say typical purchase if $50 at list price. $25 is margin.

Groupon and clones want you to discount by at LEAST 50%.

Now you are at break even.

BUT, you still haven’t PAID Groupon and clones – they will want at LEAST 10% of sales.

So you sell 1,000 ‘deals’

$25,000 revenues – alright!
Minus $2,500 to Groupon clones.
Leftover = $22,500

BUT it cost you $25,000 to create the products you are selling.

It cost you $2,500 to bring in 1,000 new potential repeat buyers. Which is $2.50 per ‘lead’ – which is actually quite reasonable IF you know how to get them back to buy more, at higher margins next time.

Make sense?

So what is your system to get them back to buy more, at higher margins?