Jim's Marketing Blog

Marketing tips and ideas to help you grow your business

How would you cope, if this happened to YOU?

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How well do your business resources match your marketing goals or sales targets?

You may want “more business” right now, but if it came, if your marketing was so effective and compelling that all the extra business you want actually arrived, how well could you service it?

Many people say that this is a “great problem to have” but they are totally missing the point!  If you are unable to benefit fully from all that potential when it comes along, you are likely to miss out on what might be a business-changing or life-changing opportunity.

Internet

Many businesses, for example, have their websites on servers that are poorly equipped to cope with a sudden surge in traffic.  You need to know how your site would hold up, if a major Internet influencer, like Robert Scoble, decided to share your amazing product page or a blog post you wrote, with his huge social network.  Equally, if your site or blog gets linked to by a popular website for whatever reason, traffic can go through the roof.

I’ve seen sites drop after a few minutes, when they have been linked to by an influential person or website – The EXACT opposite of what they want, if they want to benefit from all that free exposure!  If you are serious about your website / blog as part of your business, get serious about your hosting too.

What about the phones?

Can your phone system cope with more than 1 call at a time?  If you were taking a call right now and I called you, what would happen to my call? Would I get a busy / engaged tone?  If you state your phone number in your marketing material and you plan doing some endorsed relationship marketing, for example, you would need as many simultaneous calls to be taken as possible.  Otherwise, you will lose sales AND stacks of highly valuable leads too.

Talk to your phone provider or one of the many call handling services to see what your best options are.  Some offer ad hoc services, which you can use during the busy times only.  These can be ideal for small businesses.

Logistics?

If you have to ship a physical product as part of your business, do you have a strategy in place to cope with a surge in orders?  When I first launched my Motivation Master Class audio program, it was only available as a CD box set.  I did an appearance on The BBC and had a massive surge in orders – Which resulted in me needing to find 5 people immediately, to help me deal with the packaging and despatching of orders.  Luckily, I knew some people and we got everything out in time.  Luck, however, is not a great fall-back plan!

It’s a lot easier today – you can simply click here and be listening to me in minutes!

Proposals and tenders

You just designed a wonderful website and it gets featured on a TV show that’s watched my millions.  Over the next 3 days, you get more tender requests than you did over the past 3 years!  Do you have a system in place to reply to every single request you get?  Do you have a way to efficiently sift through the requests generated, so that you spend your major time talking to serious people?  If not, now is a great time to get yourself prepared.

Those are just a few of the areas that are better to research and plan for BEFORE you need them.

If you have others you would like to add, ideas that will help people deal with a surge in business, please share them!

Let’s work together and grow your business. To find out more click here!

It’s only useful, if you use it!

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It’s a fact: The best marketing ideas in the world will not work, unless you use them.

Over the years, I have discovered that small business owners can be divided into 2 groups, when it comes to marketing.

Group 1: Those who find marketing interesting, but just dabble and seldom work with the ideas they find.

These people love reading about marketing and they enjoy the social elements of marketing such as networking, social media etc, but they seldom actually take time to develop a marketing plan and work the plan.  In many cases, they have businesses that are struggling financially and they knowledge to turn it around – If only they put some of their marketing ideas to work.

Ideas are GREAT, but they need to act on them if you want to achieve anything.

Group 2: Those who understand that marketing is an essential part of their business, so they put the best marketing ideas they find into action.

These business owners see things very differently from the previous, much larger group.  They have discovered that if they find a marketing idea interesting, then use it, amazing things can happen.  They are not afraid to fail, because they know that marketing is all about testing and measuring.  If they try something and it doesn’t work the way they want, they will review the feedback and try again with a new refinement.  They will then measure the feedback and make further adjustments, until they get the results they want.

Ultimately, our commercial success will be determined by our level of intelligent activity; not by how much useful knowledge we have acquired.  Why not take the best marketing idea you have right now, and use it!

Don’t push your marketing on people!

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One of the reasons that you get targeted with so much unprofessional marketing, is that small business owners never view what THEY do as spammy or unprofessional.  They know that their intentions are good, so as far as they are concerned:

  • It’s OK for them to add you to their mailing list without your consent, because THEY KNOW it’s not spam and that their company is legitimate.
  • It’s OK for them to ask you to recommend them on Linkedin, even though you don’t know them, because THEY KNOW they are decent, honest people.
  • It’s OK for them to send you sales pitches on Facebook, because THEY KNOW that their products really are extra special.
  • It’s OK for them to use Twitter as a broadcast medium, because THEY KNOW that their stuff REALLY IS worth broadcasting.

The key to marketing success, is to understand that your marketing results are based on your actions, rather than your intentions.  People will respond positively, negatively or not at all, based on what you do.  Consequently, when you irritate people by pushing marketing at them, they will typically respond negatively.

The most successfully marketed small businesses, abide by the following 8 words:  Have something worth saying and say it well.

They offer a product or service that provides unique value (so they have something worth saying.)  Then, they use professional marketing, to get their message out correctly and motivate people to buy from them (so they say it well.)

The least successful businesses do the exact opposite.

They offer a similar-ish product or service to their competitors, (so they don’t really have something worth saying.)  Then, they use push marketing techniques like; cold calling, social media broadcasting, unsolicited email marketing etc, which just irritates people (so they don’t say it well.)

Before you send out any piece of marketing, always ask yourself the following question:  “If  someone sent this to me, how would it make me feel about that company and their services?”

We should always hold ourselves up to at least the same level of scrutiny, as we use when evaluating other providers.  Preferably, far, far higher!

How do you feel about pushy marketing or those that broadcast to you, rather than engage you?

Let’s work together and grow your business. To find out more click here!

Just because Bob can, does not mean he should!

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One of the great things about being in business today, is that we can get an idea, write it down, click a mouse button and get it in front of thousands of people in seconds.  Better still, we can reach all these people for little more than the cost of our time.  However, instant communications also present us with a challenge.

The marketing challenge of free, instant communications

Not that long ago, it would cost a small business owner a lot of money, to send a traditional mail shot via the postal service to a few thousand people.  It would take ages to print out all those letters and even the ink was expensive.  Then you had to fold them, stuff them into envelopes and either stick a stamp on each envelope or frank each one.  Because the cost in both time and money was so significant, people thought long and hard about what they wrote and who they sent those letters to.  Every letter needed to count, when you were paying hundreds or maybe thousands for each mail shot!

Today, Bob can write an email during his coffee break and send it to his list, with the click of a mouse button.  It will cost him nothing and take seconds.

As a result of this shift, you and I now find our email inboxes and social media streams, regularly littered with a lot of low value crap, from people like Bob.

Of course, the smartest business owners and marketers out there, are even more focused on the quality of their messages today than they were a decade ago.  They know that in order to stand out in a world full of “Bobs”, their messages have to be professionally crafted.  They also ensure that they only send their messages to people who are interested and who have given them permission to get in touch.

While people like Bob are filling the marketplace with low quality, badly targeted messages and getting added to an ever increasing number of blacklists, the savvy business owners and entrepreneurs are taking a different, less common route.  They are focusing on value first, volume second.  For them, quality comes before quantity.  They send the right message, to the right people. It’s such a simple concept, yet it’s becoming increasingly rare.

Just because there’s little financial cost attached to sending emails or using social media sites, doesn’t mean we won’t end up paying a hefty price for using them ineffectively.  If we get it wrong, we risk simultaneously damaging our reputation and missing out on an avalanche of new business and opportunities.

Let’s work together and grow your business. To find out more click here!

Keep clear!

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One of the primary reasons that so many small business owners miss out on sales, is that their marketing messages lack clarity.  When it comes to sales, clarity is king.  In fact, one of the oldest sayings in the business is:

“A confused mind always says NO!”

In other words, if you ask a prospective client to make a purchasing decision, before they clearly understand your proposal, they will typically say “no”.  That’s why the best salespeople and negotiators always make sure they clearly explain their proposition, in as few words as possible.  They prompt prospective clients to ask them questions, and answer them fully, before asking them to make a decision. The clearer a prospective client is about what you are offering, especially regarding how it will benefit them, the better.

Copy writing and clarity

With written marketing, we also need to ensure that prospective clients can clearly and quickly learn what we do and how it will benefit them.  However, when we look at most small business marketing, we see pretty-much the exact opposite!  It is generally written in a long winded, bloated, pedestrian style, which the reader has usually given up on way before the actual core benefits have even been mentioned.  It usually focuses way too much on how great they are, and way too little on the problems facing the person reading their message.

Guess how interested the average reader is in YOU or YOUR business?

Not very!

They came to you because they have a problem.  Every successful product or service is designed to solve some kind of problem.  If your marketing is targeted correctly, the people reading it will be suffering with the problems, which your offering solves.  By clearly explaining how YOU will directly make THEIR situation better, you stand the best possible chance of attracting their custom.  The focus should be on them and how you can help them.

Quick marketing tip

Take a moment to review your written marketing and see how long it takes the reader, to find out exactly how you can help them.  Check your website’s statistics software and note the pages that visitors to your site arrive on the most.  Ensure that your marketing message on those pages is clear and that it gets to the point quickly and without fuss.

Are you marketing with a hammer, an axe or a chainsaw?

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How would you describe the way you market your business?

When I used to speak with marketing students, I would explain the three basic small business marketing approaches like this.

Marketing approach 1: Chopping down a tree with a hammer

Yes, you can chop a tree down with a hammer but it will take days of needless, backbreaking work.  This is what happens when you use the wrong tool for the job.

Most of the small business owners I hear from fit into this category.  Instead of using the correct marketing tools for what they want to achieve, they use the tools they are comfortable with.  They complain about their lack of success, but keep repeating the same old errors.  If you are not getting the results you want from your marketing, stop whatever you are doing and make sure you are using the right tools for what you want to achieve.

Marketing approach 2: Chopping down a tree with an axe

Yes, you can chop a tree down with an axe and instead of it taking you a few days, as it would with a hammer, it might only take you a couple of hours of hard work.  This is what happens when you use a tool that’s designed specifically for what you want to achieve.  It’s massively more efficient.  You get better results, for less effort.

From a marketing perspective, a far smaller group of small business owners fit into this category.  These are the people, who have invested their time refining how they market their business and thus eliminated what didn’t work and embraced what did.  What’s left is a shiny set of effective marketing tools.

Marketing approach 3: Chopping down a tree with a chain saw

You can chop a tree down with a chainsaw in minutes; without even breaking into a sweat.  Like an axe, it’s a tool that’s specially designed for the job.  Unlike the axe, which was designed hundreds of years ago (or more), today’s chainsaws use the very latest technology.  So, not only will the chainsaw do the job, it will do it better, more accurately and  in a fraction of the time.

From a marketing perspective, very few small business owners fit into this category.  These rare people are the ones who have not only discovered some marketing tools that work; they have also discovered the perfect tools for what they want to achieve and the most effective way to use them, so they get the best possible results.  They plan their marketing ahead of time and make far better decisions.

Compare that approach, to the more typical small business owner’s attitude to marketing. Marketing is something these guys do when there’s a problem; like the loss of a major account or the sudden realisation that they are not making any real progress.  So, for example, they might decide to “try a mail shot” and send a poorly written letter (which is essentially a sales pitch) to an out of date list of people, who never asked to be contacted.

They then usually proclaim; “we tried mail shots – they don’t work!”  I’m assuming they are the same people who think “cars don’t work” because they don’t know how to drive! ;)

Most people reading this, will see themselves primarily in one of those three general groups.  The best advice I can give you, is to get yourself into that third group, as quickly as you can!

Get to the point!

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One of the fastest ways to improve the effectiveness of your marketing messages, is to get to the point as soon as possible, in as few words as possible.

For example, I recently helped a new client increase the conversion rate of a page on his website by 450%, after reducing the number of words on that page by 75%.  I have also seen response rates from email marketing soar by over 700%, when rambling copy was changed into a shorter, compelling and more powerful message.

Most of the written marketing I see is at least 50% too long.  This is because amateur copy writers feel they have to include everything in every marketing message they write.  They feel compelled to tell the reader about every benefit of what they do.  They don’t want to miss a thing, so they go into way too much detail.  Thus, what needed to be a brief, focused message with impact, becomes a meandering, diluted message instead.

If you are disappointed by the conversion rates of your written marketing, it might be time to focus more on brevity.  Concentrate on delivering your most powerful points and do it with impact!

Let’s work together and grow your business. To find out more click here!

How to make better marketing decisions

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If you want to make better marketing decisions, you may find today’s post really useful.  It’s all about something I call bad numbers.

Allow me to explain!

Bad numbers = Bad data

Imagine you wanted to know what the average small business owner thought about social media.  If you asked that question via a poll on something like Facebook or Twitter, the results would be inaccurate and potentially damaging.

Why?

Because you would not be asking the average small business owner!  You would be asking the average small business owner, who already uses social media.  That group would give a very different response, than you would get from a true, random sample of small business owners.  Any decisions you made based on that data would be based on bad numbers.

Everyone says…

I spoke with a fellow blogger recently, who changed the size of the font he used on his blog, because; “everyone said the font size was too big.” When I checked it out, everyone was actually just 3 people who commented on his blog.  The first person said that he found the font size was a little large, then 2 of their friends said that they thought it was on the large side too.  This guy gets around 300 unique visitors a day, so he based his decision on a flawed group of just 1% of his readership!  After making the change, he immediately saw the average time people spent on his site drop by 15%.  He has now reverted back to the original size font and has regained that 15% again.

Before you make a business decision based on numbers, it’s extremely important that the data you are working with is good.  This means you need to be able to rely on the quality of the data and the size of the data sample, needs to be statistically relevant too.

For example, I spoke with the owner of a new, London based accountancy practice a few years ago.  He told me that his last mail shot provided a zero response rate.  As a result, he said he was no longer going to use mail shots as part of his marketing mix.  I looked at the letter he used, and it was actually pretty good (for a change.)  I then asked where he got the database that he used for the mailing, and it was one of the world’s leading suppliers of databases.

I then asked how many letters he sent.  Here was his reply: “We sent 12 letters out, because we got 12 contact names and addresses for free, to evaluate the database they wanted to sell us.” He was basing his decision that mail shots did not work, on a mailing to just 12 people!

Before you make any decisions with your marketing, make sure you are basing those decisions on good numbers.

Your marketing has a sell by date!

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How up to date is the marketing information you use?  I ask you this, because it’s extremely easy to be working hard implementing ideas or using tools, which are so outdated that they have very little potential to help you achieve the bankable sales results you need.

Marketing basics stay the same, but the tools change

Although the basics of marketing have been around for many years, the tools we use to market products and services change all the time; as does the effectiveness of these tools.  If you are currently basing your marketing on ideas and insights you garnered even 2 or 3 years ago, there’s a very good chance you are missing out on a stack of great opportunities to boost your sales and reduce your marketing costs.

Mail shots and social media marketing

For example; just a few years ago, response rates from direct mail or mail shots, was lower than it is today and some were even writing it off, (pardon the pun).  However, with so much small business marketing now being conducted via email, marketing letters, especially those that have been individually signed, have become a more personal, polished and powerful way to introduce your services to a prospective client or customer.

Most marketing books and programs that are more than 2 years old, totally fail to mention social media as a marketing tool; even though social media is rapidly becoming one of the highest yielding forms of marketing available.

The pace of change these days is such, that marketing books, especially those based around social media marketing, are often out of date within months of being published.  Even books written earlier this year, which included how to market your business using services like Facebook or Twitter, will miss all of the new features added to those services this year.  The same is true of books and courses on commercial blogging.  Yes, many of the basics will be there, but the powerful new features and opportunities will not.

Marketing tip

If you are currently not getting the bankable results you want from your marketing, take a moment to review the information you are using and the assumptions you are making.  Examine the various marketing tactics and marketing tools you are using.  Are they appropriate for the 2nd half of 2010?

2 steps to improve your marketing messages!

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Did you ever hear that old saying; “You can’t keep everybody happy”?  Well, when it comes to marketing messages, you shouldn’t even try!  When you embrace this idea, it can provide a massive boost your sales figures.

It’s all about using a more targeted marketing approach.

Targeted marketing messages

A targeted marketing message consists of 2 equally important components:

  1. The message is sent to a targeted group; those most likely to have a need for whatever you are offering.
  2. The message is composed exclusively, with the people in that target group in mind.  In other words it’s directly relevant to them and their needs.

Marketing to a targeted group

Every day, you will see offers in your mail and your email inbox, from companies offering things you have absolutely no need for.  What do you do with these?  You ignore them!  That’s because no matter how great a product or service is, it will only succeed commercially, if it’s marketed to the right people.

For example, you may have just been offered the best deal ever on a new coffee machine, but if you are not a coffee drinker, that offer is not going to motivate you to buy the coffee machine.  So, make sure that you are speaking, writing and advertising to the right people.

A targeted marketing message

Most of the marketing messages we see are very poorly targeted.  The reason this is so common, is that amateur marketers often think that by writing for the widest spread of people possible, they stand the greatest chance of making a sale.

They want to ensure that everyone who reads or listens to their marketing message, will find “something” there that’s interesting.  However, that approach is the exact opposite of what effective, targeted marketing is all about.

Effective, targeted marketing is about getting a directly relevant message in front of a targeted reader / listener / viewer.  It’s about talking to that person, about their needs and what’s happening in their world, and showing how you can help them, with your products or services.

The bottom line here is this: The more compelling, inspiring and motivating your message is, the more successful it will be.

If you would like to see a better return from your current marketing efforts, take a moment to check who you currently market your services to, and also, how targeted your marketing messages are.

It’s all about them!

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Why do so many marketers focus on what THEY want in their marketing messages, rather than the needs of their marketplace?

I was looking through my inbox earlier, and found several emails from people, who have been hounding me for business.  Not only have they been emailing me too frequently, but the tone of their emails is all about them, them, them.  Here’s what I keep seeing, from various people marketing AT me, right now:

  • THEY WANT the opportunity to show me their wonder product.
  • THEY WANT just 10 minutes of my time.
  • THEY WANT to add me to their mailing lists.
  • THEY WANT me to call them before Friday, when THEIR sale ends.

Guess what?  The marketplace does not care what THEY WANT!

It’s all about the customer

One of the golden rules of effective sales and marketing, is that it needs to be customer focused.  We need to look for ways to help our prospective clients or customers, using our products or services as part of that solution.  As a wise man once told me;

“To a guy with severe toothache, who is in constant pain and has not slept in 2 days, the pain of that toothache is more relevant than the news that scores of people perished in a disaster on the other side of the world.”

The more relevant something feels to us, the more inclined we are to give it our attention.  This is just as true with marketing.  A well targeted marketing message, which focuses on helping the reader improve their situation, is far more powerful, than a self-focused sales pitch.

Let’s work together and grow your business. To find out more click here!

Some signs to help you to the top!

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This post is designed to help you advance further, faster – by helping you spot some warning signs, before they become a major issue.  You know what’s great about this?  When you spot a warning sign and act on it correctly, it is transformed from a warning sign, to a highly positive leap forward in your business!

Warning signs and flashing lights

I was prompted to write this post, after a conversation with a friend, who had been ignoring a warning light in his car.  He checked the handbook and thought that as it seemed like a very minor fault, that he would leave it “for a while.”  Fast forward 3 months and his car was broken down with a major engine problem!  Apparently, has he heeded the warning light, he would have been able to avoid all this, with a small fix and for a very small fee.

The problem with the warning signs in business, is that they don’t come with flashing lights, like those in our cars.  This means a lot of people miss them while they are still tiny problems – Then, like the car story above, they end up with a much bigger, costlier challenge on their hands.

From a marketing perspective, here are some early(ish) warning signs that are easy to miss:

  • Too large a percentage of your income is from too small a percentage of your customer base.
  • Too few enquiries from your direct marketing.
  • Your turnover or revenue figure has been static for more than 3 quarters or it has started contracting.
  • Not enough targeted people visiting your website or blog – and little sign of an improvement.
  • Your attrition rate is high.  Your attrition rate, is the rate at which you lose clients or repeat customers.
  • Not enough sales or marketing enquiries from your website or blog.
  • Too few referrals generally – But ESPECIALLY if you are not getting regular referrals from existing customers.
  • A low conversion rate, when dealing with sales leads.

All of the challenges listed above are far easier to resolve, the quicker you take action.  If you recognise one or more of those challenges in your business right now, don’t panic!  With the right help, all of them are relatively easy to resolve.

I suggest three possible courses of action – depending on your resources:

  1. Speak with a marketing professional.  Pick someone you trust or if you don’t already know someone, ask a friend or business contact who THEY use for marketing.  Most marketing professionals will be able to tell you very quickly if they can help and what’s likely to be involved in time and fees.
  2. If you have a lot of marketing knowledge yourself, but have not been using it for whatever reason, get into action!  List the challenges in order of importance and put a strategy together to turn it around.  The key thing here is to get started.
  3. If you don’t have the resources to pay for professional help and you are not an experienced marketer either, check out this post, which lists lots of free information and over 140 marketing ideas and answers.  Also, use the search box on the right hand side of this post and search for other marketing tips and advice.  There are hundreds of pages of answers here and thousands of ideas – all free.

Bottom line: Whatever your current marketing challenges are, they can be 100% resolved with the right action.  You can achieve amazing results and see the kind of rewards that make all your hard work worth while – so long as you do the right things, correctly.

Go for it

As we approach the second half of the year, this is a GREAT time to renew your focus and start kicking the butt of your sales targets for 2010.  Go for it!

Let’s work together and grow your business. To find out more click here!

Say it like you MEAN it!

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Have you ever noticed how powerful it is, when someone talks to you about something they are passionate about?  It makes a massive difference to the effectiveness of their message and the energy created can be really infectious.

So, why do so many business owners totally fail to inject REAL passion into their communications with people?

Marketing and passion

Whether you are speaking with people, recording a message or writing about your product or service, you should be doing it with passion.  After all, how the heck do you expect other people to be interested in you or your business, if you don’t sound like you are?

I decided to write this post, after watching a video presentation on a guys website, where the guy sounded half asleep.  There was no energy or passion when he spoke.  He talked about his services, like he was reading a shopping list.

Marketing and motivation

Equally, I read copy every day on websites and blogs, which is supposed to motivate the reader to take action – Yet the copy is pedestrian and lacks impact.

The bottom line: If you want to compel people to take action; to buy from you, call you, email you or click a link – you need to inspire them to do so. You need to motivate your site visitors, so they go from being a reader (passive) to a being a participant (active).

Just because you CAN does not mean you SHOULD!

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Have you ever wondered why there’s so much poor quality, ineffective marketing out there?

The answer is simple: Many DIY marketers do things purely because they can, rather than because they should!

  • Just because they can subscribe you to their newsletter list without your permission, they do.
  • Just because they can leave a spammy comment on your blog, they do.
  • Just because they can cold call you and launch into a sales pitch with no respect for your time, they do.
  • Just because they can send you a link to their wonder product via Twitter, they do.
  • Just because they can attend a local networking event filled with people trying to sell and no one looking to buy, they do.
  • Just because they can send you poorly targeted, poorly written emails or marketing letters, they do.

Business owners intent on handling their own marketing will often seriously damage their reputation, purely out of ignorance.  They don’t add you to those lists, cold call you or bore the crap out of you at networking events etc to deliberately make you angry.  It’s simply that they have no idea what they should be doing or how to do it correctly.

I genuinely cringe when I see the way some people use marketing tools.  I often wonder if these people use the same approach when their computer needs repairing – Attacking it with a soldering iron in the hope that if they solder enough things together, something might just work.

Here’s a tip for anyone intent on handling their own marketing

Make sure that before you do anything, you run it past these 2 questions.  Then, ONLY proceed if the answer to both of these questions is a definite “yes”.

  1. Do I know for certain that the marketing I am about to use, is correct for what I want to achieve?
  2. Do I know exactly how to use this form of marketing, in order to get the result I want?

It’s all too easy for small business owners to damage their reputation and waste time, energy and money by doing the wrong things – or doing the right things, but doing them incorrectly.

So, what if you can’t answer those questions or are just plain tired of watching your business spin it’s wheels?

If you want to finally start making real progress and real money, (remember, like you promised yourself when you started out?) then there are two options left open to you.  You can either start investing all the time and money required to master small business marketing, or you can get the answers you need from someone who already has them.

Over 180 marketing and business development ideas!

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marketing ideas, business development, ideas, marketing

Here you go: Access to over 180 220 ideas and answers to help you with your marketing and business development – all in one post!

21 Powerful habits behind successful business owners.

10 examples to make your business massively more valuable.

5 Quick and easy wins for your business.

21 Tips to build a better business.

7 Naked truths about marketing.

4 Proven ways to quickly attract more sales and enquiries.

10 Ways to create unstoppable momentum for your business.

3 Things you absolutely must know, before marketing your business.

7 Habits of the most influential leaders.

25 Reasons to write a business blog.

12 Things every business owner needs to know.

10 Inspiring reasons to get things done.

10 Reasons your business isn’t growing… and how to fix it.

7 Proven ideas to attract more sales or client enquiries.

5 Power tips to keep your business growing.

7 Motivating tips to help you get things done.

6 Ideas to make clients fall in love with your business.

10 Amazing ways to get people talking about your business.

3 Critical steps for a profitable, successful business.

15 Proven ideas to help you grow your business.

7 Ways to improve your sales results… right now.

10 Facts about your business that will make you feel totally inspired.

4 Ways to attract more client leads or sales from your website.

7 Ways to make your marketing more powerful.

Tip: If you found this useful, you can get my latest ideas delivered direct to your inbox, for free, right here.

 

Get your marketing emails opened!

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This post is all about email marketing; specifically, how to get your email marketing opened!

The reason I am focusing on getting your marketing emails opened, is that no matter how great your marketing message or offer is, unless people actually open it and read it, it’s not going to generate the results you want.

How to get your emails opened

So, how do you quickly determine the best way to get your marketing emails opened?  Simple: You keep copies of the marketing emails, which you have opened and you ask your contacts to do the same.

Then, you look at them and see what lessons you can apply to your own marketing!

Is this the best way to ensure your email’s get read? No!  The best way is to hire a proven expert.  Is this an effective way for a keen, small business owner to improve his or her email marketing results? Yep!

Email marketing clues

Once you have looked at the marketing emails that either you or your buddies have opened, you need to start looking for clues.  By the way, it would be particularly useful, if you could get existing customers to let you know the kind of marketing emails THEY have opened, as they are the same profile of people that you want to target.

Here are just a few of the clues, which you may find when you examine those successful emails:

  • The email was sent to you, from someone you know and trust.
  • The email came from a person or company, which you remember subscribing to.
  • The subject line contained the correct spelling of your name.
  • The subject line contained the name of a person or business that you know personally or professionally.
  • The subject line contained a question that got you curious.
  • The subject line contained a bold statement, which grabbed your attention.

Many great marketing opportunities are missed by small businesses, simply because their emails never get opened or read.  The sender often thinks the message or the offer was unattractive, when the reality is that too few people actually saw it.  Don’t let this happen to you!  Email marketing is one of the most effective and cost effective marketing tools on the planet – So long as you use it correctly.

If you have any email marketing tips you would like to share, please do so by leaving a comment below.

Let’s work together and grow your business. To find out more click here!

32 Questions to kick-start your business!

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Would you call yourself a creative person?

Creativity plays a big part in the development of any successful business.  In fact, your ability to creatively solve problems and spot opportunities will to a large part, determine just how far you and your business will go.

In my experience, one of the best ways to kick-start our creativity, is to ask ourselves questions, which lead us to creatively search for answers and new ideas.  So, here are 32 questions, designed to help you think creatively about the development of your business.  Remember to share them with anyone in your network, who you think might find them useful, using the links below!

  1. What additional, valuable products or services can I offer to my existing clients or customers (herein called clients)?  This is the fastest way to generate a massively profitable boost to your revenue and profits.
  2. Am I fully utilising technology in my business?  Are there processes that I could streamline, which would give me more time to deal personally with my clients and prospective clients?
  3. How can I improve the way I deliver my services?
  4. Do I take time out, to thank people as often as I should?
  5. What new markets could use my products or services?
  6. How can I improve the quality of my products or services, so that they are of even more value to existing and prospective clients?
  7. Am I associating with the right kind of people, for what I want to achieve?
  8. What three things could I do, which would improve the visibility of my business?
  9. How can I reach 500% more prospective clients with my marketing message?
  10. How can I make my day-to-day work more fun?  This is really important!
  11. What’s the best way for me to encourage more people, to recommend me to their contacts?
  12. Is my marketing focused enough?
  13. How can I improve my time management?
  14. Do I take action on the ideas I generate, so they have a chance to make a real difference?
  15. Should I be thinking about doing some kind of joint venture with another, high quality company?
  16. Am I limiting the development of my business, by not investing in professional help in the areas where I am weakest?  If so, which area do I need to invest in first?
  17. How often do I ask my clients for their feedback, regarding the service they receive from me and what additional services they would like me to offer?
  18. When was the last time I sat down and studied my marketing goals?  If you have not got any written, measurable, specific marketing goals, stop reading this and write some down right now!
  19. Is it possible that my services look too similar to my competitors?  Most service providers look way too alike, so the marketplace uses their fees as a way to judge their value.
  20. If my services do look too similar to my competitors, how can I differentiate myself, so that I have something uniquely valuable to bring to the marketplace?
  21. Do I get enough leads and enquiries via my website or blog? If not, how can I increase this, so my site becomes a lead generating machine for my business?
  22. When was the last time a client sent me a “thank you” note?  If this has not happened for a while, it might suggest that you have not exceeded their expectations lately!
  23. Who would make a good endorsed relationship partner for me?
  24. Do I attract enough word of mouth referrals?  If not, what is this telling me?
  25. How aware am I, of my client’s problems and challenges?  You need to know what’s happening in your client’s world, if you want to be able to really help them.
  26. Do I have a shallow a network, spread over a wide area – Or a deeper, more meaningful one?
  27. How many other websites or blogs link to my website or blog?  This is important, as inlinks account for the massive majority of your search engine optimization (SEO)
  28. Am I working to a marketing strategy or am I simply doing tactical marketing?
  29. Just how good is my customer service?  Remember, you don’t compare yourself to what your competitors offer – But to the finest level of service you can possibly offer.
  30. Do I still have the same passion for my business that I used to have?  If the answer to this is yes, get passionate again!
  31. How many of the people I network with on Twitter, have I actually spoken to or met?
  32. Are my online marketing activities producing bankable results, or just a ton of meaningless, social media numbers?  If you have the friends, followers and fans but not the bankable results, you might want to review your strategy.
  33. Do I exceed people’s expectations?

OK – What would you add to this list?

What would you add to this list, as a question that might help get people thinking creatively about the development of their business?  Please leave your suggestions below!

Let’s work together and grow your business. To find out more click here!

How focused are your marketing messages?

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That’s an important question for you to consider.

Why?

Because the more focused your marketing messages are, the more effective they will be and the more business they will generate for you.

Here’s what we know:

  • A focused marketing message speaks directly to the reader (viewer or listener), in a language they understand. It connects with them at a far deeper level than a poorly targeted message.
  • A focused marketing message makes the reader feel as if you knew exactly what they needed. This makes you relevant to them, which is extremely powerful.
  • A focused marketing message captures the reader’s attention. This is of huge value to you today, when people’s attention has never been so scattered.
  • A focused marketing messages has the power to motivate people to take action… to buy from you, call you, email you or visit you.
  • A focused marketing message has the power to inspire and compel the reader in a way that vague messages can’t.

Review your written marketing. Look for opportunities to make it more focused, so that it’s only relevant to your ideal profile of client. Be less inclusive. Talk directly to them.

Business is all about people and people really notice, when you’re speaking directly to them, in their language, about what matters to them!

10 ways to get massively more sales leads!

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more sales leads, get more sales, marketing

Sales leads or enquiries are an essential part of the marketing process.  After all, a steady flow of good quality sales leads, when acted upon correctly, can lead to a regular stream of lucrative business and allow business owners to plan ahead with confidence.

This brief post contains 10 powerful lead generation ideas, which you can add to your marketing arsenal. Why bother with so many lead generation options?more sales leads, get more sales Many small business owners make the mistake of relying too heavily on just 1 or 2 sources of leads. The problem with that approach, is that if one of those lead sources slows down or stops delivering, you are in BIG trouble!  It’s far better to develop a wide spread of inbound, sales lead opportunities.

So, let’s get started!

Sales Leads via Word of mouth

If you want to get the marketplace talking about you to their friends, give them something to talk about!

The golden rule of generating leads via word of mouth, is that you need to be remarkable if you want people to remark on you!

Sales Leads via Email marketing

This is easily one of the most powerful forms of lead generation I have ever used.  For very little cost, a professionally copy written email marketing campaign can generate a steady supply of high quality, targeted sales leads for your business.  Don’t do like most small business owners and use amateur marketing copy, but it doesn’t work.

Sales leads via Twitter

I have personally generated well over £100,000 for my business, directly via leads I attracted via Twitter.  Sadly, I have met just a tiny number of people, who use Twitter correctly as a form of lead / business generation.

Here’s a tip: Be selective and don’t just follow every person and every trend you see!

Sales Leads via Tele Marketing

Whilst I do not recommend you try this yourself, you might want to consider using a professional telemarketing company as a source of lead generation.  This works better in some industries and countries than others, so look before you leap.

Tip:  One thing telemarketing companies have in common is that they’re very good at selling what they do to their target market [you]. They’re not always so effective when it comes to generating leads for their clients.  So, before you consider hiring a telemarketing company, check out their references.  Talk to their clients if possible.

Sales Leads via Networking

I choose to do all my networking online these days.  Whether you choose online or offline networking, the key is to network with the right kind of people.

Form associations with people who either have a need for your services or access to people, with a need for your services.  Let them know what you do and the kind of people you work with, so they know who to recommend you to. This will greatly increase the volume and quality of leads you get.

Tip:  Not all contacts are created equal.  Yes, as human beings we are all of equal value.  However, when it comes to business, some people are far more influential than others.  Seek out the influential.

Sales Leads via Mail shots

Mail shots, (sometimes called direct marketing) has become an increasingly powerful way to generate leads.  With more and more marketing moving online, a hand signed letter from a fellow businessperson these days REALLY catches the reader’s attention.

Sales Leads via your Website or blog

Your site should be a lead generating machine for your business.  Jim’s Marketing Blog attracts over 100 emails a day, many of which come from prospective clients or customers.  Your website should be doing the same.

Tip:  Make it easy for people to contact you.  Publish your phone number and email address.  If you use a contact form, just ask for their name, email address and message.  You don’t need anything else to begin with and every extra piece of info you ask for, massively lowers your conversion rates!

Sales Leads via Joint Ventures and Endorsed Relationships

To find out about Joint Ventures and Endorsed Relationships click the appropriate link!

Sales Leads via Newsletters

Newsletters are a great way to generate leads.  I have found that a well written newsletter, which resonates with your audience, is a very effective way to position yourself as the person with the answers, to their problems.  Then, when they decide to get professional help with their problem, you are already the natural choice.

Focus on providing useful information, not sales pitches.  Too many newsletters are glorified ads, with little genuinely valuable information, which is the exact opposite of what you should be doing.  The most successful newsletters are focused on the needs of the reader.  Be useful and let them know you’re there to help them if they have a problem.

Sales Leads via Advertising

The right message, placed in the correct advertising vehicle, can produce fast, measurable results.  The reason so many small business owners claim advertising doesn’t work, is that they use amateur copy and put it in the wrong place.  Advertising works!  It works extremely well.  However, an uninspiring message sent to the wrong people, at the wrong time, doesn’t work (how could it?)  If you are thinking of advertising and you have tried before and found it didn’t work, either get a professional in… or leave it!  You can waste a lot of money with ineffective advertising.

Obviously, there are far, far more proven ways to generate leads, than can be covered in a blog post.  However, I hope those above have got you thinking about investing in some new lead generating activities.

What are Joint Ventures and how do they work?

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Joint Ventures, often known simply as JV’s, can be an extremely effective way to generate new business.  This is probably why so many of you asked me for information on Joint Ventures, when I asked you for your marketing questions recently.

The following is a brief explanation of what JV’s are and how they work.

Joint Ventures explained

I’m sure there are a few different definitions of the term Joint Venture, but it’s actually pretty straight forward.  It’s simply a way for 2 or more parties to market their services more effectively.  This usually means reducing the cost of one’s marketing, increasing the reach of one’s marketing or both.  Here’s a common example:

2 or more companies can put a mail shot together, where a piece of marketing from each company is included in the envelope.  The cost of the mailing is usually shared between both companies.  This is most effective, when YOUR marketing piece is being sent to THEIR mailing list.  You should then reciprocate, by offering THEM the same opportunity with YOUR mailing list.  This form of cross marketing can be extremely powerful, if you pick the right JV partner.

Joint Ventures and potential hazards

There are a few things you need to consider, before investing in a Joint Venture.  These include:

  • Never do a JV with someone you don’t know or have not thoroughly researched.  This week alone, I have seen someone on Twitter, openly recommending a well-known con artist to her clients and friends!  Whilst this was not a JV, it is an example of how easy it is to align one’s reputation, with someone that can seriously damage their own good name.
  • Find a Joint Venture partner, who is in a complimentary but non-conflicting industry to your own.  For instance, an accountant could offer my marketing services to her contacts and I could offer the accountant’s services to my contacts.  That’s because neither of us offer a service, which might take business from the other.
  • The most successful JV’s are mutually beneficial.  As with any deal, it’s really important that both parties benefit equally.  If you find that you’re the one getting all the new business and not the other person, there’s no incentive for them to continue.If this happens, consider offering the other person a commission or reward for anything you generate. Keep it balanced and everyone benefits!

Joint Ventures can be a useful way to reduce your marketing costs and get your message in front of a stack of new, prospective clients or customers.

However, in my next post, I am going to show you something that’s more powerful than a JV and which can help you generate amazing results very, very quickly!