Tip for June 1, 2008

Emphasize Return on Investment, not Costs One of the easiest traps to fall into is to discuss the how's and why's of a proposed implementation plan to the extent of forgetting about the benefits. Instead of saying that a proposed venture to increase sales of a $100 product will cost $8,000.00, for example, tell the prospect that "sales of just 80 units will replace out-of-pocket costs--and then show how the proposed project will create those 80 sales, i.e. * 30 sales from __________________. * 15 sales from _________________ * 35 sales from _________________ This emphasize puts your proposal into an entirely new perspective.

Tip for June 2, 2008

Guerrilla Jeff McNeal wins business online with a rapid response. One recent prospect reported that after contacting fifteen suppliers Jeff was one of only two to reply within 48 hours. Other online vendors even replied with snail mail and fax and then did not include their email addresses. Even though Jeff's rates were a little higher than the rest, he beat out all his competitors with a 30-day, unconditional, 100% money back guarantee.

Tip for June 3, 2008

Confirm every order One of the great barriers to increased sales in cyberspace is the lack of a direct connection between buyer and seller. Customers place orders, but they don't really know the order was received and is being shipped until they hear from the seller. The sooner you can confirm each order, the happier and more comfortable your customers will be. Make it a goal to confirm every order within 24 hours of receiving it. In your confirmation, repeat the contents of the order and the sale price, and then state when and how the order will be shipped. Your customers will appreciate your follow-up and professionalism.

Tip for June 4, 2008

Effective Headlines and Titles, Part 6 Use metaphors so readers can visualize the benefits they will enjoy. Metaphors are easily remembered and communicate at a glance. " How to Mine Gold from Your Database * Converft Your Expertise Into a Profit Bonanza * Passive Income Converts Everyday Into Payday! * New tools to add to your Marketing Arsenal" Headlines are the key to the success of everything you write.

Tip for June 5, 2008

Consider Joining Business Networking International Do you hate to stand up and speak? Are you uncomfortable distilling the essence of your business to a 60-second "informercial?" If you answered "yes" to either question, you're probably a good candidate for joining a local chapter of Business Networking International. BNI is a nationwide firm with chapters throughout the country, in cities large and small. Chapters are limited in size, so you may have your choice of chapters in your area. Each week, BNI members meet to share referrals and deliver a 60-second description of their own business. You'll be surprised at how your confidence will grow, the more often you stand up and present. You may develop some strong friendships while profiting from valuable qualified business referrals. To locate a chapter in your area, visit www.bni.com.

Tip for June 6, 2008

Panera Breads Profits from Sampling I am currently hooked on Panera Bread's asiago cheese bagels. The flavor is very compelling. Six months ago, I had never heard of asiago cheese. But, Panera always had samples of their bagels on a table near the door. After I sampled it several times, I tried a bagel, and found myself hooked. How do you encourage your market to "sample" your products and services? Do you make it easy for prospects to consistently "sample" your offerings, too, until they're "hooked?"

Tip for June 7, 2008

A survey of national advertisers in the U.S. found they believe that online services can be used for the following marketing activities: information resources, 94%; customer services, 88%; sales support, 79%; advertising, 74%. Sounds about right to me.

Tip for June 8, 2008

Guerrillas know that, ultimately, buying is an act of faith for the prospect. We always buy the cover, not the book. The cover can be intriguing, colorful with a catchy title, but what if the content's awful? There needs to be a way out, an easy exit. In sales this is usually some kind of guarantee. Do you have one? If not, get one. Make it liberal. Increase the buyer's faith factor.

Tip for June 9, 2008

Ten Commandments of Guerrilla Marketing Design, No. 5 Guerrillas design for SELECTIVE EMPHASIS. Guerrillas know when to whisper, when to road. They use design to help readers separate the important from the merely supportive. Changes in typeface, type size, type style, and color are used to highlight important information rather than decorate an otherwise dull page. Guerrilla Marketers recognize that "less is more" when it comes to selective emphasis. They use discretion when choosing a different typeface design, changing a type size, or setting type in bold or italics.

Tip for June 10, 2008

What to do when you have an idea: First phone someone about it, then write a memo, then make an action plan, then make a outline, then talk to someone in person, then list the key ideas, then budget it, then enlist assistance, and finally delegate it and move on to your next big idea.

Tip for June 11, 2008

Personalize your e-mails Guerrillas recognize and respect the power of personalization. When inviting visitors to your web site to register their e-mail address, also invite them to submit their first name. Then, set up your e-mail program to automatically insert their first name when sending out e-mails announcing the availability of your latest One-Page Newsletter on your web site. "Dear Fred:" or "Dear Mary" is far friendlier than a "Dear Colleague" or--worse--"Dear Customer."

Tip for June 12, 2008

Before taking a seat, always adjust the position of the chair slightly, whether it is needed or not. Adjusting the chair puts you, in the minds of all present, subconsciously in control of the environment. As a guerrilla you'll be turning the controls over to the buyer as soon as you get started. It's a good idea to do this from the platform of one who is in control. Re-arranging the furniture, even one piece, does this.

Tip for June 13, 2008

Watch the bells & whistles If you're programming a web site or offering information on the Net in other ways, make sure your method of presentation is accessible to your target audience. You may think an audio greeting adds pizzazz to your web site, for example, but if most of the people likely to visit your site don't have an audio player, that greeting will just be a frustrating barrier for them. It's fine to add excitement through new Net technologies, but making use of the new technologies shouldn't require any extra work from your customers or prospects.

Tip for June 14, 2008

Every business we can think of needs good word-of-mouth advertising but so very few attack this task head. Mostly we hope for the best. Guerrilla Gary Brody hunts down his word-of-mouth advertising with an online marketing tactic. Gary runs an independent record label and uses online music lovers to hype his new releases. He visits online discussions, newsgroups, and forums, choosing people randomly to receive copies of new releases for review. Respondents supply their real world address and get free copies of new music. The music comes with a request that if they like the music, to please post comments online and/or share them with friends. If the music is not to their liking, then they are under no obligation.

Tip for June 15, 2008

Discover the crucial difference between profits and sales

Tip for June 16, 2008

Guerrilla Greetings Troubled by the high cost of keeping in touch with your customers? Guerrilla Ron Foster keeps in touch with his customers year round using simple and inexpensive fax greetings. Ron sends a fax greeting just before holidays, special events and personal events. His customers really appreciate the faxes and even call him back when the greeting is particularly creative. Either way, they enjoy the effort and remember him year round.

Tip for June 17, 2008

Don't stop learning Big companies have marketing departments where they actually pay people to continually learn as much as they can about marketing. You probably don't have time to read everything you'd like to read about online marketing, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't read anything at all. Getting this daily tip is a start, but with a few more minutes each day you can do much more.

Tip for June 18, 2008

Guerrillas and Creative Waiting Everyone is forced to wait at some point. It may be a doctor's waiting room, in line at airport security, a line at the Post Office, or at a restaurant waiting for a friend to show up. Guerrillas excel at taking full advantage of waiting time. They bring both old-fashioned tools--paper and pens--as well as new technology like microrecorders and wireless laptops, to review tasks and capture their ideas while waiting. Creative Waiting is one of the most important tools you can utilize to achieve Ninety-Minute Hour productivity.

Tip for June 19, 2008

Good messages don't wear plaid Tarting up your online messages with asterisks, exclamation points, or all-capital letters are the online equivalent of shouting. They're the online equivalent of wearing loud, tasteless golf clothing to a business function. You will often see this sort of thing--subject lines in e-mail, newsgroup messages, or classified ads peppered with all-caps or multiple exclamation points, asterisks, and such. But customers don't like being shouted at. Visual gimmicks with caps or punctuation lose their edge and quickly become overused. Stick with good, effective writing. It always works and it shows you're a pro.

Tip for June 20, 2008

Guerrillas test prices, even higher prices. It is not unusual for a $299 price to outpull at $245 price.

Tip for June 21, 2008

Guerrillas treat all objections as legitimate concerns. They love objections because they help the guerrilla to see real needs underneath the superficial ones we all talk about. "Well, I'd like pay a lot less, maybe get some discount or other." This is very superficial. "Tell me more about that...," begins the guerrilla. Now you begins probing for the specific underlying worries and fears.

Tip for June 22, 2008

Get an 800 number. People are seven times as likely to phone if the call is toll-free.

Tip for June 23, 2008

Roger C. Parker tells us that the best time to resell a customer is when you are delivering a previously ordered item. Says Roger, “I buy railroad books from www.karensbooks.com. Each time Karen ships me a book I've ordered, Karen includes her latest catalog. Within a week or ten days, I invariably order another book...or two. Enclosing a catalog with each shipment makes a lot of sense. My awareness of her firm is at its peak when I'm unpacking a new book, I'm pleased with it, and--being happy with it--I soon will want more in order to continue the pleasure.”

Tip for June 24, 2008

Use Acrobat Distiller To Make Permanent Copies of Media Publicity Today, more and more articles and testimonials appear on the web. You may be written up in a newsletter serving your trade. In addition, local newspapers almost usually run a web version of articles that originate in their print versions. The problem is, web articles quickly disappear: they lack tangibility They're often quickly deleted from the web server. Use Adobe Acrobat Distiller's web browser feature to make permanent copies of web site articles and comments. Once captured, you have a permanent copy of the article, one that you can easily share as an e-mail attachment.

Tip for June 25, 2008

A Great Guerrilla phrase: "That sounds important. Do you mind if I take a few notes?" This is an excellent way to accomplish three critical guerrilla pillars at the same time. In taking notes, you not only appear interested and professional, but you also imply a contractual relationship regarding the terms of your offering, price, and terms. Always take written notes.

Tip for June 26, 2008

Way of Guerrilla # 7: Fusion oriented Guerrilla Marketers are willing to combine marketing efforts, production skills, information, leads, mailing lists, and anything else to increase their effectiveness and marketing reach while reducing the cost of achieving these goals. These fusion marketing efforts are intentionally short-term and rarely permanent. Adapted from: The Way of the Guerrilla, 1997.

Tip for June 27, 2008

Guerrilla Greg Dale of Carrollton, Texas sells all kinds of window coverings and wins against even the largest competitors. He puts his email address on EVERYTHING, from post cards to letters, ads, business cards, his van and even his wife's car. Customers always mention the E-Mail address as something that gives them comfort in dealing with them. Greg uses email for all kinds of things, quotes, follow ups and general correspondence with our customers through E-Mail. Even though they operate from home, customers say that they seem like a "real" business and not some "fly by night" operation.

Tip for June 28, 2008

Way of Guerrilla # 3: Guerrillas are not in a hurry Guerrilla Marketers recognize that unnecessary speed frequently undermine even the best-conceived strategies. Accordingly, Guerrillas plan intelligently, to eliminate most emergencies that call for moving fast. Patience is their ally. Haste makes waste and sacrifices quality. Adapted from: The Way of the Guerrilla, 1997.

Tip for June 29, 2008

Ninety-Minute Hour Countdown: List # 4 The fourth list to make on your journey to Ninety-Minute Hour productivity includes chores that you can delegate to others. This is where you can greatly multiply your personal time. If it costs money to delegate, remember that your time is more valuable--in terms of your whole personality and time on earth--than money alone.

Tip for June 30, 2008

Add a PS to every sales letter. Even though the P.S. is at the bottom, it's the FIRST thing people read. Put your hook or premium offer here in a single sentence.