| Tip for January 1, 2007 |
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Mark Twain reminded us that "A banker is a fellow who lends you his umbrella when the sun is shining and wants it back the minute it rains."
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| Tip for January 2, 2007 |
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Mailbots make your life easier
A mailbot, or auto-responder program, sits at an e-mail address and automatically responds to every message you receive. For a $25 or $50 setup fee, you can have your service provider set up a mailbot for you, and that can make dealing with inquiries much easier for you. If you're too busy to respond to all e-mail queries within a day, set up a mailbot that sends out a message saying the query was received, and that you'll need two or three days to respond to it. That way, your customers know you got their message and that you're working on a reply. You can also have a mailbot send out a general brochure about your company. Mailbots save you time, but they also impress your customers by getting information to them instantly. Most mailbots respond to queries within seconds of receiving them. Finally, every mailbot program keeps a log that tells you the e-mail address of each person requesting information, so you can later follow up with a more personal contact. |
| Tip for January 3, 2007 |
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Prospects will trust you and look forward to your presentations if they feel you (1) understand and (2) want to help them look good. This is the essence of all good selling. Showing a prospect that you comprehend the problem or the pain and how your product will make them look better to others is the sum and substance of guerrilla selling. When you learn how to get this message across in indirect ways your sales will soar!
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| Tip for January 4, 2007 |
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Experts tell us that readers look over your ad, then spend seven seconds deciding whether or not they are interested in buying or learning more.
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| Tip for January 5, 2007 |
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Are you following up?
If you're promoting your business by e-mailing free brochures, don't rely on the brochure alone to make the sale. It's so easy to ask for free information via e-mail that many people do it quite a bit and then never take the next step toward a purchase. You can move things along from the evaluation stage to the buying stage by making a second contact. Maintain a list of people you send brochures to, and then follow up a week or so later and ask if they have any questions about your product or service. Most of your competitors won't bother to follow up, but doing it shows you care about your customer and usually translates to more sales. |
| Tip for January 6, 2007 |
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Many sales presentations are organized and hard-hitting. But if your assessment of the client's need is poor, the impact of your solution for the need may land you off-target. Be careful. It is far better to repeat a question by rephrasing it to define the need further than to have the slightest hesitancy that you have (or haven't) heard the full story.
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| Tip for January 7, 2007 |
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Direct marketing reminders:
Direct marketing is not just direct mail - it is also postcard decks, telemarketing, statement stuffers, catalogs, match books, direct response television, electronic bulletin boards, coupons in print media, dome shopping TV, direct response radio, inserts, and more. Use as many as you can. |
| Tip for January 8, 2007 |
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Links equal locations
Since visibility is in such short supply in cyberspace, it pays to locate your business in as many places as possible. Big companies have separate storefronts on various online services as well as on private bulletin board systems and the web. Guerrillas usually can't afford to maintain all these locations, but they can do the next best thing by seeking links to their web sites from as many related locations as possible. For example: * Check with forum administrators on online services about adding a link to your web site from within their forum. * Seek links on related but non-competing web sites. * Post articles on related web sites, and make sure the article includes a link to your store. |
| Tip for January 9, 2007 |
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When you listen carefully and show you sincerely want to understand, prospects will relax, talk freely, and later welcome your recommendations. All of us tend to give short incomplete answers. This is due to laziness or our belief that others don't care that much. Show that you care.
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| Tip for January 10, 2007 |
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Numbers for your mind:
There are 259 million people living in the U.S. There are 77 million people born between 1946 and l964 -- graying boomers. |
| Tip for January 11, 2007 |
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Don't be too trendy
In describing your business or products, avoid trendy words or phrases that may mean nothing to a large portion of your audience. When you use cyberspeak words like "MUD," or slang expressions that may only apply to your industry or your region of the country, you risk confusing and thereby alienating everyone else. To get your message across to all potential customers, use words anyone can understand. |
| Tip for January 12, 2007 |
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There are two major purposes for listening well: to get information and to make prospects receptive to your ideas. People are hungry for understanding. When you've shown yourself to be a good listener most people will naturally imitate your positive behavior and listen more closely to you when you begin to tell them how your product will solve their problems.
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| Tip for January 13, 2007 |
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New magic words for your marketing vocabulary: advantage, helpful, satisfy, success, understand, valuable. To that list, authors Jack Trout and Al Ries add the upcoming word for marketing types -- refocussing. (Don't say that in copy.)
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| Tip for January 14, 2007 |
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Move from the general to the specific
All effective writing follows a general progression from a general idea to specific details. Your online communications should do the same. In a storefront, arrange your menu choices from general to specific, putting items like major departments toward the top of the menu, and details like an "about our company" item toward the bottom, for example. In an online ad, article, or brochure, explain your general point first, and then supply details to back it up. |
| Tip for January 15, 2007 |
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Many sales people are eager to fire the first shot in what they call "the business battle." Don't. Remember your job is not to sell, win, or score any points. Your job is to uncover the hurt, pain, upset, and illness that your product cures.
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| Tip for January 16, 2007 |
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There are fewer babies these days. Does that mean fewer baby goods will sell? It does not. More older parents will spend more money on their kids.
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| Tip for January 17, 2007 |
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Use power words
Copywriters and advertisers have known for years that certain words, by themselves, excite readers and encourage them to learn more. Use as many of the following words as possible in your e-mail subject lines, brochures, ads, and in your storefront: You, now, money, save, sale, new, secrets, results, proven, guaranteed, health, easy, safety, why, benefits, yes, love, discover, deliver, announcing, how, fast, information, intelligence, report, tip, news, bulletin, guide. |
| Tip for January 18, 2007 |
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A Guerrilla closes at the beginning, right up-front, rather than at the end. The key to up-front closing is Intense Listening. Closing means eliminating the objections people come up with so as to not buy from you. Do this by being 100% sure about the need, their budget, who makes buying decisions of this type, and are they ready to make some kind of decision today. You find all this out before you talk about you, your company, or your products.
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| Tip for January 19, 2007 |
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What the heck does new age mean? In my house, it refers to a music channel. Others define it as holistic, alternative, nontraditional, ethereal, natural, spiritual or radically different. The term is applied to philosophy, biodegradable, and soothing. Many choices, so if you use the term, be sure you and your prospect are on the same new age wavelength. Is guerrilla marketing new age marketing?
I'd say that it's a combination of new age and age-old techniques. |
| Tip for January 20, 2007 |
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Eliminate buying barriers
Most companies set up their ordering systems to make their employees' lives easier. Guerrillas set up ordering systems to make their customers' lives easier. Review your ordering process and think about how you might make life easier for your customers. Maybe you'll want to accept more payment methods, such as JCB cards or Eurocards. Or maybe you'll want to invest in a "shopping cart" ordering system, where customers can browse your catalog and simply click a checkbox to add items to their order. The online world presents enough conceptual barriers to buying online without your adding practical barriers of your own. Strive to eliminate them. |
| Tip for January 21, 2007 |
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All objections to buying take one of four forms. No need, no money, no authority, and no hurry. As in, "Well, I really don't think I need that." or "You know, I really can't afford that much." or "Actually, I need to check with our comptroller first." or, finally "Thing is, we're just shopping right now, we'll get back to you in the Spring." Remember NBC! It will eliminate the classic objections. Find out the Need first, their Budget for this need second, and who makes and when will a Commitment to purchase be made?
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| Tip for January 22, 2007 |
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New guerrilla media:
15-second commercials are replacing many telephone busy signals and ringing sounds, filling nooks and crannies of "dead time", not to mention the coffers of the company patenting this technology. |
| Tip for January 23, 2007 |
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The web isn't for everyone
Everyone thinks the web is the place to be, but being there requires time and energy you might better use elsewhere. For example, if you're a consultant doing business with a handful of companies, you're better off exchanging e-mail with people at those companies. If your business is limited to a small geographic area, a bulletin board system for your customers with a local phone number would better serve their needs and yours than a web site that can be seen by people you can't possible serve. Business-to-business services like IndustryNet serve manufacturers and industrial suppliers. And forums on online services can also be rich places to prospect for customers interested in specific hobbies or business issues. The web is often viewed as the main commercial portion of the Net, but it isn't the only one, and it isn't always the best one. |
| Tip for January 24, 2007 |
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Listen to the sound of your own voice. Develop a great phone script by taping yourself taking 100 calls. Pay attention to the questions asked and answers given.
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| Tip for January 25, 2007 |
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Three misuses of testimonials: Getting testimonials that don't tell specific results, not identifying the person or firm giving the testimonials, and not using the testimonial to back the claims you're making.
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| Tip for January 26, 2007 |
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It doesn't work if you don't do it
Lots of your competitors know what you know about attracting and keeping customers, but the competitive advantage comes from implementing what you know. It's easy to read tips like this and then forget about them within the hour; the hard part is putting tips into action. But if you're not on the attack, you're waiting to be attacked. Make it a goal to implement at least one new marketing weapon every week and to maintain the ones you're already using, so you can stay on the offensive in the battle for profits. |
| Tip for January 27, 2007 |
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An aggressive sales-person wants to go where the action is, not sit around gathering information about prospect needs, so their diagnosis of the need is generally superficial. Don't make this mistake. Prescription without thorough diagnosis is malpractice in both medicine and sales.
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| Tip for January 28, 2007 |
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Check your display ad
To see how your display ad will look in the publication, make a photocopy of your camera-ready art to exact size and paste it in the publication. Then, make any changes. |
| Tip for January 29, 2007 |
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Security is a state of mind
Security is considered the major barrier to online transactions, but it's the perception of insecurity rather than the actual insecurity of data on the Net that stops people from buying. Here are four ways you can offer your customers the feeling of security without having to wait for a standard Net encryption scheme. * Briefly explain the reality of Net security, which is that credit card numbers transmitted online are at least as secure as the same numbers displayed on your card in a restaurant or store, or given to a mail-order firm's employee on the telephone. * Offer several other ordering options for customers who just won't order online, including a printable fax order form, an 800 number for phone orders, and a physical address for mail orders. * If you're operating a storefront on a secure Net server, make sure your customers know about it. * Offer a guarantee on everything you sell. |
| Tip for January 30, 2007 |
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A Guerrilla's follow up is meticulous, bordering on fanatical. They take personal responsibility for making sure everything sold is delivered exactly as specified. They take full responsibility for any and all slip-ups regardless of who may be at fault back at the office or warehouse. They get right on top of remedying the situation. When all goes well, they credit the support staff. They return to the customer within 30 days of delivery to see that all is running well. When it is they ask for referrals.
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| Tip for January 31, 2007 |
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Is your business related to home improvement?
If so, you may already know that 29.5 million Americans were remodeling their homes during the past year. Bathrooms were remodeled most, followed by kitchens, basements and dens. |