Tip for June 1, 2007

Sponsor a community event Find an event in your community that needs support, and then lend your time, energy, or imagination in support of it. Parades, beauty contests, races, sailing regattas, county fairs, symphony concerts, and car shows are all places where you can donate services in exchange for a mention in the program or on the event's signs. Large corporations use sponsorships to boost their visibility with sports fans or concert-goers all the time, and you can do the same thing on a smaller, more localized scale. If the event is popular, your efforts bring you visibility, goodwill, and a way to promote your online business in the off-line world.

Tip for June 2, 2007

Cold calling can be fun! It depends on your attitude but what doesn't? Shoot for a sales interview on every cold call but at the very least you can fact find and gather data to follow-up on the phone to set an appointment. Sales people often receive orders from the business cards left behind on a cold call, when a prospect did not have time to see them. Leaving your business card with a note on the back can be a future door opener. "Ms Prospect - sorry I missed you, I'll phone you for an appointment in a few days." Try it. It works!

Tip for June 3, 2007

The world's biggest worries: Again, from 37,700 people worldwide, we learn what they're concerned about -- crime and lawlessness first, inflation and high prices next; recession and unemployment third, terrorism fourth, race relations fifth, religious fundamentalism sixth, immigration seventh, foreign relations eighth, and aid to the third world ninth.

Tip for June 4, 2007

Include a question in every e-mail contact When you respond to customer inquiries by sending out your electronic brochure, include one or more questions about the customer in your message. Questions beg to be answered, and by answering them, your prospect continues the online relationship. The longer you can continue the dialog, the more likely you'll end up with a customer.

Tip for June 5, 2007

Guerrillas know the power of the word "free." There are giver companies and taker companies. Decide what you can afford to give away for free. Everyone loves to receive something for nothing.

Tip for June 6, 2007

What men hate in advertising: Seeing themselves as sex objects, as downtrodden office workers, or as bungling house-husbands.

Tip for June 7, 2007

Create a community The best web sites are the ones that attract a community of users who return again and again. The best way to do this on your web site is to provide a discussion area where visitors can exchange ideas.

Tip for June 8, 2007

Selling on target to control the sales interview. Know your company, the features and benefits you offer customers. The connotation in the words "canned presentation" is negative. Yet - you must have a track to run on, a path to follow so that when the prospect interrupts with a question you are able to respond and smoothly regain control. Then you can head in the right direction - to the close and another sales. One key to more sales is the ability to maintain or regain control of the sales process. Know the services you offer and develop how your services will benefit your prospect.

Tip for June 9, 2007

Video versus letters In England, a recent test of a 50,000 person mailing compared a video mailing with a traditional mailing. The video mailing was preferred by 86% of the respondents.

Tip for June 10, 2007

If you can't write, compile Publishing free information is a great way to gain credibility, visibility, and goodwill, but you don't have to be a great writer or publish long articles to achieve this goal. If you're not a born writer, create new documents by compiling information originally written by others. For example, publish a directory of information sources on a particular subject, or a collections of quotes or tips from various sources. (If you directly use other people's writing, be sure to quote them.) These compilations are as useful as original documents, and have the same positive influence on your Net reputation.

Tip for June 11, 2007

Qualify the prospect with questions. Make sure up front that you are talking with the decision maker. Qualify your prospect! Have you ever discovered at the end of a sales interview that the person you were trying to sell was not the person who could say yes - was not the decision maker? I have!

Tip for June 12, 2007

Seven mistakes to avoid when building a database: Thinking you can test before doing, not getting total commitment from management, thinking you can stop a database loyalty program at any time, not making sure everyone who works for you understands the program, expecting immediate results, not measuring results, and building a database but not using it.

Tip for June 13, 2007

Advertising is not free information Much as you might wish it to be true, there's a difference between advertising and providing free information. Advertising is a blatant attempt to sell your company, product, or service, usually posted without regard for the needs of the people who might read it. Information is tailored for the needs of a specific audience, and answers common questions they might have. Distributing free information will enhance your online reputation, while advertising, in many cases, will damage it.

Tip for June 14, 2007

Tips to ensure that your sales letter gets read: 1) use a professional looking letterhead 2) Write in a personal and conversational tone 3) Start with a quick sentence that captures interest 4) And most importantly, always use a P.S.

Tip for June 15, 2007

What do women love? British research proves that women love relationships. If they have one with their magazine, they'll be more receptive to its advertisers for they see ads as an integral part of the whole.

Tip for June 16, 2007

Will your audience welcome your message? Internet technology is a great thing. You can post a message to hundreds of discussion groups quickly and at no cost. In fact, it's so easy to post information in a discussion or send it out to a collection of e-mail addresses that it's a great temptation when you have a great product or service and want to tell the world about it. But sending out indiscriminate mass mailings or mass postings is the mark of a non-professional who has no respect for people's time. Before you send e-mail to more than one person or post a discussion group message, ask yourself, "Would I welcome this information, or resent it?" If you can't give the right answer, don't send the message.

Tip for June 17, 2007

Determining how unsatisfactory service affects the prospect. Determine if unsatisfactory service causes the prospect a loss in money, time, or peace of mind. Does the unsatisfactory service cause the prospect anxiety or aggravation? What about the lost time to placate a supervisor and the time involved in getting replacement? It's up to you to determine by questioning how unsatisfactory service impacts on the customer contact's time, money and/or peace of mind.

Tip for June 18, 2007

Customer database Store information about your customers. From this database add a personal touch with your thank you note or correspondence. Casual conversation can yield important data like birthdays and anniversaries, special interests, names of children, pets and favorite vacation spots. Go all out to be warm and personal.

Tip for June 19, 2007

Finding a niche Even if you are the first company to offer a product or service on the net, you won't be the last. Before you take the leap into cyberspace, ask yourself some tough questions. 1) Why do people chose you over the competition? Is it price, selection, service, expertise, etc.? 2) Can you fill the same niche on the Net? If a geographical location is a major factor in your success, you'll need to find a new strategy on the internet. 3) Can you defend your position in this niche against all competitors? Survey your competition and determine which niches they're filling. Stake out a specific niche in order to create a unique business identity. Today's unique niche may be a crowded shelf tomorrow. Look for advantages that you can defend such as service, quality, specialization and expertise. Price and breadth of selection are more vulnerable to attack.

Tip for June 20, 2007

Do I relate to prospects on their own terms? Do I ask questions that show that I'm really interested? For example, "That's interesting. Can you tell me more about that?" To most prospects you appear to only be there to get an order. Showing your interest in the prospect's needs by questioning will win the day for you.

Tip for June 21, 2007

Charge accounts and credit cards A recent study showed that 39% of people surveyed had department store charge accounts or credit cards, 24% had Visa, 24% had phone credit cards, 23% had gasoline company credit cards, 23% had MasterCard, 11% possessed American Express and 2% had Diners Club.

Tip for June 22, 2007

What's your mission? In a couple of sentences, your mission statement specifies your reason for being in business, your goal in being online, and your method of reaching that goal. If you don't know where you're going, you don't have much of a chance of getting there. Make your mission statement specific, straight-forward and easy to understand.

Tip for June 23, 2007

Do I act professionally? Do I always ask more questions than I answer? Is the prospect talking more than 50% of the time? Acting professionally means spending more time asking questions than in giving answers. When we act professionally in this way we will be able to uncover more needs and hear more truthful answers. People are more inclined to tell the truth to a professional.

Tip for June 24, 2007

Your voice is the key to telemarketing Successful telephone salespeople tell an astonishing truth: the sound of your voice may do more to make the sale than the words you use. If you sound confident, knowledgeable, enthusiastic and genuine, people will pick up on your voice inflections and feel confident in you.

Tip for June 25, 2007

Your business has a personality A business's identity is one-of-a-kind and authentic. Although cyberspace allows you to create and promote an image, it's essential that your presence on the net be an honest reflection of your business identity. An exercise you can do to identify your business identity is to sit down with a few key employees and list key phrases that define your company. Once you've established those words, use them consistently in your ad and brochure copy, mission statement, theme, e-mail signature, and even in the name of your company, your products or services. This may be hard work but it will result in a unique presence on the internet.

Tip for June 26, 2007

Do I give my prospect control over the sales meeting? Am I the one giving over control by asking if everything is okay? Do I object when they want to buy? Do I point out a reason or two why they may not wish to buy right now. The Guerrilla Law of Candor says that when you do this they will be more eager to buy from you. And you'll be building customers for life.

Tip for June 27, 2007

How to get others to listen to you: Here are five ways to command people's attention: 1) Speak softly, but carry a big message. 2) Be interesting; focus on your listener's favorite topic. 3) Never interrupt; let the speaker finish. 4) Don't finish other people's sentences; be patient. 5) Use non-verbal gestures to enrich communications.

Tip for June 28, 2007

Your marketing plan is your blueprint Your online marketing plan spells out what you hope to accomplish and how you'll go about it. It starts with your mission statement and goes on to identify specific resources, battle targets, and weapons you'll use to reach your goal. Begin with a budget. Figure out how much time you can devote to online marketing. Use this estimate to determine your targets. Delegate responsibilities. Next consider your finances. Estimate setup and monthly access charges, classified ad fees, training, computer and telephone equipment. Targets include discussion groups, electronic storefronts, advertising locations, conference venues and electronic publishing locations. Allocate time and money to each target. Finally, choose the weapons that service your targets. For example, to set up a discussion group, you'll need one or more signatures, an electronic brochure, canned messages and a mailbot, while an electronic storefront requires a storefront design, a logo, graphics, text, a location, domain name and a master plan.

Tip for June 29, 2007

Do I really listen to the Customer's answers? When you listen carefully and attentively they know that you really care. And you hear things that'll help you to close the sale in their behalf. Really listening implies that your posture and your words encourage them to keep on talking. The more that they talk the more you'll hear real, deep-seated needs that your product uniquely satisfies.

Tip for June 30, 2007

Relationship marketing Customers should be viewed as strategic partners. Establish relationships that meet the profit objectives of both parties. Pay extra attention to issues that are important to the client, making customers increasingly dependent on you and vice-versa. The cost of winning new accounts is about five times more than the cost of building on current loyalty.

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