Client Magnets Official Blog

Posts Tagged ‘Marketing Strategies’

Let’s imagine for a moment that you’ve found a lead source that produces an abundance of interested, and paying, clients.  That’s marvelous, right?

For now.

But what might happen when that one lead source tanks, evaporates, or otherwise disappears?  You’ve got it:  you’re leadless.

Metaphorically, eating the same food, over and over, day after day, can lead to nutritional imbalance.  Plus, if that food source dies or is plundered, you will starve.

The same principle applies to your business ’ lead sources:  if you rely on one source for sustenance, your business will be left in a vulnerable state.

For instance, if you rely solely on email for getting the word out, you’re putting your business in a disadvantageous position.  Sure, email is a terrific method:  it’s automated, it’s easy to implement, it’s inexpensive, and it can be easier to obtain email addresses than physical addresses and phone numbers.  But, email is only a valuable resource when it’s one of many.

Consider this:

• Email isn’t the only contact method that can be automated.  Post mailings, phone calls, article and report writing, advertising, and marketing can all be automated by delegating these responsibilities to outside sources.

• When delegating lead generation responsibilities, don’t tie yourself down to thinking you must pay for these services.  Contract with interns (who will often work for little or no cost in exchange for the experience), enlist the services of a neighbor with whom you can trade services, bribe nieces and nephews with fun outings in exchange for their envelope-stuffing talents…the possibilities are as endless as your imagination.

• Don’t think in terms of increasing the burden on your already-busy schedule.  Every lead source that you come up with should hold the potential of being automated in the future.  In other words, good fortune isn’t good if it equals more work for you.  Just because something works in small quantities, doesn’t mean that it will work, in the same fashion, in large quantities.

• If you’re just starting out, and have no house contact list, you might want to consider renting a contact list.  But, engage in this method only as a springboard.  Remember that the rental cost will add up quickly, increasing your cost-of-sale significantly.  Soon, you’ll need to explore other options (maybe those opened up through the use of the rental list) to build your own, unique sources.

• Because so much of the world communicates through email, “spam” has come to be viewed as this generation’s junk mail.  A postcard or a handwritten note in a mailbox is not only a 21st Century novelty, it is appreciated and likely to be opened and read.

• Challenge yourself to find more lead sources, instead of finding more leads through existing sources.  Your business will enjoy a steadier flow of leads if you have 100 sources, with 2 leads each, than if you have 2 sources, with 100 leads each.  Think wingspan, not feathers.

• Diversify.  Be creative.  Be willing to explore lead paths that you may have never before considered.  Chances are that your competition hasn’t considered them either.

When thinking about lead generation, it’s important that you remember to think in terms of a buffet.  A single course method can be compared to a one-food diet:  it’s unbalanced and the likelihood of eating it all, quickly, is high.

Diversity in your lead generation will deliver more security, more growth potential, and ultimately, more profit for your business.  So mix it up:  your discriminating taste, and the ultimate health of your business, will give some rave reviews.

Bernadette Doyle created Client Magnets Ltd to help self-employed people solve one of their biggest business problems: attract a steady stream of clients. If you’d like to receive invaluable tips and advice on how to attract clients with ease, register at http://www.clientmagnets.com

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Two business owners compete against one another in the same field.

Business Owner #1 has worked in his niche for 30 years; he has a massive list of contacts; his reputation is impeccable; his clients are among some of the most satisfied in the industry.  His expertise is unmatched.  Word of mouth has been a friend to his business, but his niche is very specialized, which means that his name doesn’t come up at many dinner parties.

Business Owner #2 is relatively new to the industry, also working in the same specialty niche.  She’s still in the process of building her contact list; her clients are largely satisfied, but the verbal buzz hasn’t elevated yet…she’s simply too new.

Which business owner do you think has realized the largest profit in the last 12 months?

Would you be surprised to learn that it’s Business Owner #2?

How could that be?

One word:  Marketing

Business Owner #2 invests whatever she can afford to lose in marketing campaigns, while Business Owner #1 simply can’t seem to get past the initial dollar amount of the marketing expenses, and so, simply doesn’t “get the word out”.

As a result, the first business remains steady, but stagnant.  The second soars.

Business Owner #2 possesses a Millionaire Mindset.  Here’s what’s going on inside her head:

• Marketing is an investment.  Even if one campaign costs $4,000 (which is a significant amount of money for her fledging business), she anticipates that just one resulting sale will pay for the ad.

• She views the campaign as an investment in her most valuable commodity – herself.  Because she has completed the research and knows that there’s a noted demand for her product, she purchases each new ad with a faith that can only come from believing in herself and her business.  She thinks, I’m the best investment I’m ever going to make.

• She never invests more than she can afford to lose.  Financially, she only invests what her business can survive without.  Emotionally, she only invests what she can lose and still hold on to a sense of hindsight without depression.

• She doesn’t ruminate over the dollar amount of each marketing endeavor.  Rather, she concentrates on its potential return.  She understands that she’ll realize direct returns, as well as future, residual ones.

• She knows that she’ll never reach millionaire status by pinching pennies.

• She understands that by pulling out her cash and throwing it against the wall of cash that has become frozen in this, a stagnant, economy, she’s multiplying her chances of getting a return.  Unless she spends money, the wall of cash will remain rigid, eliminating a large portion of potential profit.

• Though it was difficult for her to accept the idea of investment versus cost in the beginning, she becomes more willing to spend money with each profitable marketing campaign.  Because of this realization, she has committed to educate her clients about the benefits of marketing, which will contribute to the stimulation of the economy.

Investment and return will never be a chicken and egg debate.  Without investment, there can be no return.  The return will never come first…in fact, it simply won’t come at all.

If you want to find your own millionaire mindset, you must separate yourself from the competition’s aversion to marketing and getting your name out there.

You could spend your disposable income on a new car, or a summer home, or a vacation.  Or…you could invest that cash in a marketing campaign…so you can afford all three.

Bernadette Doyle created Client Magnets Ltd to help self-employed people solve one of their biggest business problems: attract a steady stream of clients. If you’d like to receive invaluable tips and advice on how to attract clients with ease, register at http://www.clientmagnets.com

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Are you struggling to generate more referrals?

Do you offer great products and services to your clients and customers, but they just don’t seem to refer you to their friends
and associates?

On this call, Bernadette is joined by David Frey, who will reveal a simple, proven method for tripling the referrals you’re currently receiving, with very little extra effort.

Be sure to include this call in your calendar and start exploding your business by generating more referrals.

MARKETING* MASTERMIND Call

Tuesday, 5th October, 2010

8:00pm UK Time (3pm EASTERN, 12 noon PACIFIC)

TOPIC:  *Explode Your Business With Referrals*

Click here to register

This call is FREE for my hundreds of Marketing Mastermind and Stepping UP! members. They also get the CD and transcript of this call at no extra charge, plus a tonne of other member benefits – such as access to our online members forum.

Not a member?  Then join the Marketing Mastermind Group today so you can take advantage of this call and all the other member goodies each and every month.

I look forward to “meeting” you on our call.

Best Wishes
Bernadette Doyle
www.clientmagnets.com

PS – Even if you can’t make the call, all Mastermind members receive a FREE CD of the call as well as a digital version of the audio and transcript! Take advantage now.

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Have you ever hosted a free teleseminar (one in which you charge no participation fees), with the intent to sell a product, and you’ve gotten feedback like, “Great content,” or “I learned a lot,” or “You’re really knowledgeable in your field”?

Despite your blush at the flattery, were your sales numbers from the teleseminar lackluster?  Was your conversion rate uninspiring?

It’s not difficult to figure out what may have happened in this situation.  You’ve offered too much valuable information, and didn’t start your teleseminar with the end in mind:  the sale.

When conducting a free teleseminar your main concern should be with the quality of the content…the value of the information that you’re passing on.  But how do you balance sharing great content without giving too much away and losing the sale?

• No one who has registered for your free teleseminar has paid a dime (other than maybe the dial-in fee).  If you give them too much, they will walk away with your valuables, free of charge.  If you give them less information, but offer them an opportunity to learn more and to walk away with something that they’ve deemed valuable, even if there is a cost involved, you will have succeeded in your tele-endeavor.

• Your offer needs to be developed from your opening. Even though the attempt at sales will come at the end of the free teleseminar, you must keep your goal in mind when you utter your first sentence.

• Your sales pitch must seamlessly tie into the rest of the teleseminar.  Delivering a wealth of information and then tacking on a sales pitch at the end rarely works.  Your sales pitch should be less like a birthday surprise and more like the end result of a lengthy birthday celebration preparation.

• Don’t squeeze every bit of valuable information you can think of into your teleseminar.  Instead, work to weave education with sales presentation.  When this is done correctly, you’ll be priming your prospects to buy, but they will view it as free information.  In short, create a monologue that will make purchase seem like the next logical step to your listeners.

• Use your sense of responsibility to your participants to offer them something of value.  Whether your teleseminar is 30 or 60 minutes in length, there’s a good chance that you’ll never be able to cram everything they need to know about your topic into that timeframe.  In fact, if you do try to cram it in, you’ll likely be delivering an incomprehensible mess.  When you offer a chance for them to learn about the rest of the story at the end, you’re delivering value and offering a service.  Often, you can only make the biggest difference in the lives of your customers by offering more than you can give away for free.

The no-fee teleseminar can be a great selling tool.  When people invest 30 or 60 minutes of their time, they’ll naturally want to know about their next step.  When you give them that step, in the form of your product or service, after priming them to want more, they’ll be apt to buy.

So don’t view the free teleseminar as “the cost of doing business.”  Rather, view it as a valuable tool for garnishing your conversion rates, realizing your unique success, and balancing the teleseminar ledger.

Want to learn more about how to make money with your own events? Visit our Event Money Machine Blog. You’ll learn about an amazing Telesummit being held later this month. Tickets to this event are FREE – so join our priority notification list to be the first to know when they become available.

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In most circumstances, your squeeze page (or opt-in page) should be a standalone page. When a visitor clicks on your site, they should have no option other than to sign up for your offer. That is the single, primary purpose of a squeeze page.

This rule applies well to individual clients. But, if you want to capture the attention and the sale of corporate clients, the rules of online pages vary slightly.

While the objective of your page remains the same – getting the opt-in – the approach to that goal is a bit different because your target market is different.

Businesses want more details about the company they are considering giving their business to.  They want to know about you, your methods and your track record when reviewing your proposal and referring colleagues to your page.

Corporations require all the information you can provide to assure them they have done their homework and that you are the best choice to fulfill their need. If you give them nothing but a squeeze page to base their decision on, they will look for someone who tells them more.

To attract corporate clients, your page should include a link to an informational brochure that provides supporting information, lends credibility and gives your business a bit of branding.

These informational pages that you use for selling to businesses may be sites that you don’t publicize to the general public. But, complex sales that involve multiple decision makers require these supporting pages.

The information on these pages should include your testimonials, case studies, and lots and lots of reassurance. Many corporate decisions are based on making improvement to their company while maintaining the status quo. Since that is one of the most important things to your potential clients, your connecting pages should address how your services can work in conjunction with them while enhancing the company’s overall performance.

The wording on these brochure pages is very important. In my Attract Corporate Clients program, I include a special bonus called Inside the Mind of the Corporate Buyer. It’s a resource designed to assist you with finding the best words and language for your web pages.  Presenting your information with well-researched, impacting vocabulary will get you the results you want when selling to corporate.

If corporate clients are your market, make sure you’re giving them more – more information about you, more details about what you can do for them and more assurance that you are the right choice.

Give them all they need to click submit and select your services.

Want to learn more about attracting Corporate Clients? Read about Bernadette’s new Attract Corporate Clients program: http://www.clientmagnets.com/corporate/

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How To Set Up Your Business So the Media Contacts YOU

Recent studies show that 79% of all major media find their resources and story ideas from blogs and the Internet. So, yes, the major media really will call you… but only if your web presence has instant credibility and the ability to stand out from the crowded pack.

On this call Bernadette is joined by Suzanne Falter-Barns. You’ll learn how to attract calls from some of the biggest media available today, as well as major publisher book deals.

Join us for this call!!

MARKETING* MASTERMIND Call

Tuesday, 31st August, 2010, 8:00pm UK Time (3pm EASTERN, 12 noon PACIFIC)

TOPIC:  *How To Set Up Your Business So the Media Contacts YOU*

This call is FREE for my hundreds of Marketing Mastermind and Stepping UP! members. They also get the CD and transcript of this call at no extra charge, plus a tonne of other member benefits – such as access to our online members forum.

Not a member?  Then join the Marketing Mastermind Group today so you can take advantage of this call and all the other member goodies each and every month.

I look forward to “meeting” you on our call.

Best Wishes

Bernadette Doyle
www.clientmagnets.com

PS – Even if you can’t make the call, all Mastermind members receive a FREE CD of the call as well as a digital version of the audio and transcript! Take advantage now.

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I’m absolutely certain, that as a business owner you are emotionally invested in your business.  Perhaps starting and operating your business was a realization of a lifelong dream.   This amazing dream will certainly inspire and motivate you.  But, did you realize, if you are not prepared, then that same dream can also set you up for emotional injury that can cripple you and drain the life from your vocation.

There’s a good chance that you’ve already felt the downtrodden lows and the exuberant highs that come with being a business owner – but have you polished your ability to pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and push forward after you stumble?  It’s the key to your business success.

I want to share the story of Ken, as a way to illustrate my point:

Ken is highly enthusiastic about his new business.  He’s dreamt of this since he was a boy, and he’s anxious to make his first significant paycheck, doing what he loves.

He rushes into a dynamic marketing campaign, following the leads of some other local businesses that he views as successful.  He sinks a boatload of money into it and waits.

But the marketing campaign is largely ineffective.  It turns out that his target audience isn’t looking where he’s advertising.  He immediately falls into a plummeting, emotional spiral as he dwells on the thousands of dollars that he’s lost.  His emotional low lasts for months.

The failed campaign didn’t hurt Ken financially (he still had plenty of capital with which to operate), but the taste of failure tainted his daily businesses dealings as he fell lower and lower into the emotional dump.

The campaign didn’t have to have the affect Ken assigned to it.  Business people everywhere have tried and failed, but the differences among them lie in their attitudes toward those setbacks. Did they allow the setbacks to attack their emotional wells, draining them of motivation?  Or did they consider the setbacks to be forms of inverted commerce…paid-for experiences in what-not-to-do?

Any failed attempt can be viewed in either of these two ways.  The right way, and the emotionally, financially, and successfully lucrative way to view setbacks is with a positive attitude.  Know that each one teaches you about something that isn’t right for you, or right for the situation in which you used it.  In retrospect, you’ll find that this kind of knowledge is, in fact, priceless (making the money you may have lost seem insignificant).

So, in summary, keep these points in mind when casting off on a new business adventure:

• Study your target audience, their needs, and your offering to make sure your product or service is in line with a definitive need.

• If possible, test your theory or idea first.  You’ll feel better about your effort, even if it fails, if you’ve prepared well.

• Don’t invest more money than your business can afford to lose.

• When you make your move, keep your expectations high, but don’t allow them to be so grandiose that a simple setback can bring your dream crashing down.

• Understand that great business people everywhere have tried and failed in the process of elimination.  You, too, can be great if you understand that not every attempt will be a stellar success.

• If you do experience a setback, get your heart out of it and insert some brainpower:  “How can I use this experience to increase my chances for success next time?”

Ken’s money wasn’t lost.  It was simply invested in a learning experience that would come back to him from a different direction.  But, unfortunately, because he couldn’t view his setback in this light, that money (and the experience) was lost forever.

Remember to set goals for yourself, but never give those goals the responsibility of holding up your entire business (or your emotional state).  Know that you will experience setbacks, but with emotional resilience, you’ll be able to view them for what they really are:  set-ups for success!

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Have you ever opted-in to receive a newsletter, or to establish an account on a website, and you receive an e-mail asking you to confirm your subscription or your request for a new account?  This is known as a double opt-in, and it’s law, according to the CAN-SPAM Act of 2003.

This law is meant to protect consumers from deceptive marketing, unwanted pornography, and to give subscribers a clear path to opt-out of any subscription.  But what does it mean for you, the business owner at the other end of the law?  It means that if a potential client or subscriber shows intent to sign on for your offer, you must receive confirmation from them before you may proceed.

On the downside, this law whittles away at your opt-in list because many people will not respond to your email requesting them to click to confirm.  Often, they’re wary of emails asking them to click on an unknown (or forgotten) link, due to well-meaning, but fear-inducing, warnings about viruses, malware, spyware, and other internet predator ploys.

On the upside, those people who take the time to respond to your opt-in request are genuinely interested in your product or your service.  They will contribute to the overall high quality of your list with promising purchase potential.

So, how can you increase the number of people who respond to your request for confirmation?

• Offer an incentive that they can’t refuse when you send your double opt-in email. Offer a free bonus, a savings coupon, or a membership discount if they confirm their opt-in.

• If you have their phone number, contact the prospect to remind him or her to click and confirm.

• If you collected physical addresses at the time your prospects expressed interest (maybe you gathered business cards at a seminar or conference), use the physical addresses to send personal cards or notes reminding them to confirm their opt-in.  You can help to keep your correspondence out of the garbage by:

- Handwriting the address on the envelope:  it looks more personal, and much less like marketing material.  It works…just ask master direct mailing professionals.

- Using a real postage stamp:  not a metered stamp.

- Writing a personal note on the back that makes opening the envelope irresistible:  something like, “Here’s the information you requested,” should do the trick.

- Using a white or colored envelope instead of a manila one:  it has a greater chance of making it to a recipient’s read pile.

- Crafting your postal correspondence with the care that comes with believing that this will be your only chance to elicit a response:  Gary Halbert, a master copyrighter, would recommend that you treat each piece of written copy as if your life, and the life of your family, depended on a response to it.  You probably have only one chance to make a good impression.

Contacting prospects via standard post is more effective than it once was, simply because the definition of junk mail has moved from the mailbox to the inbox.  Spam has become a bigger pain than a mailbox full of confetti material, so a handwritten letter or card can seem like a breath of fresh mail – one worth opening.

Work to build your list of opted-in contacts, and you’ll multiply your revenue building opportunities.  But remember; be prepared to step outside of the email box to get those opt-ins.

In conclusion, do your absolute best to capture those subscription confirmations with incentives and a variety of contact methods that would please our friends at the FTC.  And once you build your list, know that you’ll have quality contacts who have raised their hands high, dubbing themselves as promising prospects with very deliberate purchasing intentions.

Bernadette Doyle specializes in helping entrepreneurs attract a steady stream of ideal clients. If you want to get clients calling you instead of you calling them, sign up for her free weekly e-zine at http://www.clientmagnets.com

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When you meet someone for the first time, you have a chance to make a real connection, or you can just pass on your name and be forgotten. Successful relationship-building requires more than just handing out business cards. To build long-lasting, solid and mutually-beneficial relationships, a little homework and a little thoughtfulness goes a long way. Here are my tips for making an impression that brings lasting results …

Research the People You’re Meeting

If you’re meeting someone in particular, research the person or people you’re meeting. Lots of resources exist that can give you both professional and personal reference material. The Web is a source of myriad information, with things like company websites, personal bios, work histories, resumes, portfolios; depending on who you’re meeting, you may be able to find a wide range of information about your contact.

If the Web doesn’t yield any useful information, you could check with the company where your contact works, to see if they have any marketing information containing professional info about your contact. You could also check periodicals, such as magazine stories, newspaper articles or professional interviews. Depending on how public the person is that you’re meeting, you may be able to find everything from the name of a spouse to the first place he or she worked out of college.

Use the information you find when you meet your contact. Talk about common interests, such as being dog owners, adoptive parents, yachters; whatever common bond you can form with your contact can help you form a good relationship. Ask about things near and dear to the person’s heart – not just business talk – and you’re well on your way to forming a real connection.

Ask Questions and Show Genuine Interest

Get to know people to form real connections. Ask questions about everything; not just their professional life, but their personal interests and family life, too. The more you can show that you understand, know and really “get” the person, the better your relationship will be, and the more business opportunities you’re likely to gain. Be a real person to your connections, too – if your new business partner volunteers information about his wife, talk about your wife. The more personal you can make your relationships with people, the better your long-term success with those relationships will be.

Have Fun Making Connections With All People

Everyone can have fun building good relationships – all you have to do is be genuinely interested in people. Enjoy getting to know your business colleagues, or even that woman you met on the street the other day. Forming connections with people can help in all aspects of your life, and even random connections can help your business in unexpected ways. You never know when someone will refer a key contact; an affiliate who may have great products for your prospects, or a business or distributor that could make your product a high-demand success!

Don’t just see people as stepping stones to a better business. Form real, legitimate connections by getting to know people, and I promise good business will naturally follow.

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The thank you page is one of the most overlooked places of real estate on the web.

That quote, from one of my mentors, Yanik Silver, speaks volumes. There is so much opportunity to promote more business and further your relationship with a new client on your thank-you page.

That client has just indicated that they trust you by opting in to your offer. Signing up to your list is a sign that they want to hear more from you.   Don’t let them leave wanting; offer them even more before they click off your thank-you page.

When developing your thank you page, think about what you can do to increase your client’s involvement. Marketing research has shown that the more people are involved, the more likely they are to buy – again.

That’s one reason companies hand out scratch-off cards with prizes or discounts hidden beneath the ink. It’s called an involvement device. When someone physically has to do something, it increases their involvement, which increases response and increases conversion.

The content on your thank you page needs to be relevant to your target market. Think about what you want them to do next, where you want them redirected to, and if there’s an opportunity to make them another offer.

There are several key ways you can accomplish this.

•    Make another offer. While letting the client know you’re glad they signed up, also let them know about another offering. Make a special offer. Offer a special prize or a special bonus that new clients will receive, but only if they sign up there and then.   Remember to use language that encourages action.  For example, “This is the only time you will see this offer. It’s for new subscribers only and you won’t have access to it again.”

•    Ask for more information. Once a new prospect joins your list, ask them to describe their biggest problem. You can then direct them to other offers you may have to help with the problem, or develop that new offering if you don’t have one.

•     Create a “tell a friend” campaign. Invite people to tell three friends about your offering in exchange for a special bonus. “Congratulations. Your place on the call is reserved. But just before we continue I would like to offer you this free gift……..”

Everyone who opts in helps you spread the word to other people. This will make a massive difference to your opt-ins and really help to increase your list. You can automate this process using Viral Friend Generator software.

When saying “thank you”, the key is to include only one of these options on your page. Either attempt an additional sale by making another offer, ask new clients for more information, or create a tell-a-friend page.

Any one of these options added to your thank-you page will start increasing your sales immediately.

Bernadette Doyle specializes in helping entrepreneurs attract a steady stream of ideal clients. If you want to get clients calling you instead of you calling them, sign up for her free weekly e-zine at http://www.clientmagnets.com

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