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Power Networking Tips
July 6, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Look for “Listening Opportunities”
“Business breakfasts” or other networking type events can be a great opportunity for you to meet new people and make contact with potential business partners and customers – If you know the right way to interact with people, that is.
A common mistake is to fall into the trap of thinking that you have talk about yourself first.
Instead of doing that, here’s an approach that I used when I networked at a meeting of corporate business leaders and owners. You can easily adapt it for your own situation.
As you can probably imagine there is a lot of “nervous energy” and “anxiety” flowing when people are trying to put themselves in the best light possible telling each other about their services.
However, doing that can actually produce poor results. With everyone wanting to get their “say” in – most people are not listening!
So what to do if you find yourself in a similar situation? Simple! Turn your telling into a “Listening Opportunity” and…
Stop Telling (Selling) and Start Discovering
Stop the unproductive idea of talking about yourself, and instead ask about them and listen and respond to what they have to say.
Doing so keeps you calm while you quickly qualify people as to whether there is any value talking with them later on. There is no faster way to increase your bottom line as well!
Here’s how it worked for me and what I found was a great “ice breaker”.
In a light hearted way I asked the question after introducing myself…
“So how can I help you?!!”
Usually the reply that came back with a grin was…
“I don’t know! How can you help me?”
Too which I would respond with a smile…
“I don’t know either, though we can soon find out… what kind of business are you in?”
Once I had established that I was talking with the right person in terms of what I had to offer, I then went on to ask these types of questions…
“What do you find are your greatest challenges in the area of your sales or sales people?”
“Do you ever feel you or your sales people could be more effective but not sure how?”
“Are you satisfied with the results your sales people are getting for you?
“What sort of challenges do you face with selling your products/services?”
“How is that affecting you?”
“Does that also possible affect you in the area of (describe a knock-on effect)”
“Have you done anything, or are you doing anything to resolve these challenges?”
“How did that work out?”
“What did you feel worked/didn’t work?”
“If you could do it all over again, would you do it differently?”
“Have you thought about what you think the problem might be?”
“What if the reason you’re only doing marginally better when you took that course of action, is because the cause of your problem might not be what you think it is… what if it was because of something else? Have you ever thought about that?”
Of course, adapt these questions to fit your own situation.
I let them talk and all I did was listen, ask them to expand on the answers they gave and ask more questions.
At the right time I would then make a short statement followed by a question…
“The reason I’m asking is… (customizing how what I do could help this person) and if this is something of interest to you, perhaps I could give you a call tomorrow to explore further about whether we might be able to do something together… would that be OK for you?”
The answer was always “Yes” because we were talking about something that was important to them.
It was Fast and Precise
Each “listening opportunity” took no more than 2- 4 minutes, after which I moved on to the next “listening opportunity“.
The world is full of opportunities when you rethink the way you think, question conventional wisdom and do things differently!
The key to creating a “Listening Opportunity” I described is knowing how to ask the right types of questions at the right time. This isn’t hard, but you do need to shift your thinking a little.
Chapter 10 of my book “How to Sell Network Marketing Without Fear, Anxiety or Losing Your Friends!” is titled “The Art Of Asking Questions” and reveals the secrets to using this approach to help you achieve your goals quickly and easily.
Subsequent chapters go further and illustrate how to use questions in practice and in a range of different circumstances.
Have a peaceful and prosperous…
Best Selling Author of “How to Sell Network Marketing Without Fear, Anxiety or Losing Your Friends!“ - Selling from the Soul. Ancient Wisdoms. Modern Practice.
Want to get rid of all the techniques, systems and gimmicks simply by changing the way you think and the way you act on what you think? Choose one of the many convenient options on the right hand side of this newsletter. Or click here www.NaturalSelling.com
Women in Networking….Helping Business Women in Lake County, IL.
e-brochures
July 6, 2011 By Leave a Comment
If your company has ever printed a brochure, you know the time and cost involved–as well as the potential waste. I’ve seen many businesses spend hundreds or thousands of dollars on a brochure, only to have boxes of them cluttering their closets years later. If this sounds familiar, you’ll certainly appreciate the many benefits of e-brochures. An e-brochure is pretty much what it sounds like–a brochure that can be distributed, delivered and viewed via the internet. Like printed brochures, e-brochures feature photos, graphics, copy and your logo. However unlike printed brochures, e-brochures can be sent as e-mail attachments, incorporated on a website or burned onto a self-playing CD. There’s no question that e-brochures represent a new and highly cost-effective way of branding.
While traditional, printed brochures remain the industry standard, and many customers still expect them, e-brochures are quickly gaining popularity due to these unique selling points:
Cost effectiveness–No more guessing numbers for your print run, then winding up with too few or too many brochures. The cost of an e-brochure is fixed, whether you send out one or one million of them. Fees are based on the number of pages and any extra “bells and whistles” like video or audio. What’s more, digital distribution means you omit postage costs.
Interactivity–This can greatly boost the overall impact of your message by engaging your audience. Viewers can turn the interactive pages, view video or listen to audio with a simple click of their mouse. Better yet, they can immediately place orders or request more information by clicking on embedded links.
Customization options–E-brochures let you to target your messages to specific audiences, increasing the likelihood they’ll buy from you. Such market segmentation is much harder with printed collateral.
Easy to update and edit–You can quickly and efficiently customize your message, target your market and adapt to changes in the marketplace without re-printing a single page. Nor do you need to reprint your brochure if your offerings or price points change. Updating your e-brochure “template” is a simple and affordable editing job.
Unlimited distribution–The ability to e-mail your brochure means you can immediately and affordably respond to requests for information from anyone at any time. In fact you can instantly send your brochure to prospects around the globe and create a viral effect–one potential customer can forward it to other potential customers, which in turn can forward it to more customers and so on, at no cost to you.
Access to additional information–Your audience can quickly browse through content, zoom in on items, and print pages, all from the convenience of their home or office. You can also include a homepage link for customers who want to learn more about your business.
Tracking–With traditional printed materials, it is extremely difficult to track your ROI. Not so with e-brochures. You can track how many times your e-brochure is downloaded as well as how many orders you received from its distribution.
Environmentally friendly–Obviously, no trees are involved in the creation of an e-brochure. You won’t need any storage boxes to house extra brochures, either.
Makes your company look smart and innovative–Having an e-brochure gives the distinct impression that you’re ahead of the curve and well-positioned for the future. Customers like to do business with savvy companies who literally think outside the box.
John Williams is president and founder of LogoYes.com, the world’s first and largest DIY logo website. In his 25 years in advertising, he has created brand standards for Fortune 100 companies like Mitsubishi and won numerous international awards for his design work.
How to use a telephone properly
June 1, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Phone answering skills are critical for businesses.
The telephone is still most business’s primary point of contact with customers. And the way you answer your company’s phone will form your customer’s first impression of your business. These phone answering tips will ensure that callers know they’re dealing with a winning business:
1) Answer all incoming phone calls before the third ring.
2) When you answer the phone, be warm and enthusiastic. Your voice at the end of the telephone line is sometimes the only impression of your company a caller will get.
3) When answering the phone, welcome callers courteously and identify yourself and your organization. Say, for instance, “Good morning. Cypress Technologies. Susan
speaking. How may I help you?” No one should ever have to ask if they’ve reached such and such a business.
4) Enunciate clearly, keep your voice volume moderate, and speak slowly and clearly when answering the phone, so your caller can understand you easily.
5) Control your language when answering the phone. Don’t use slang or jargon. Instead of saying, “OK”, or “No problem”, for instance, say “Certainly”, “Very well”, or “All right”. If you’re a person who uses fillers when you speak, such as “uh huh”, “um”, or phrases such as “like” or “you know”, train yourself carefully not to use these when you speak on the phone.
6) Train your voice and vocabulary to be positive when phone answering, even on a “down” day. For example, rather than saying, “I don’t know”, say, “Let me find out about that for you.”
7) Take telephone messages completely and accurately. If there’s something you don’t understand or can’t spell, such as a person’s surname, ask the caller to repeat it or spell it for you. Then make sure the message gets to the intended recipient.
8) Answer all your calls within one business day. I can’t emphasize this one enough. Remember the early bird? The early caller can get the contract, the sale, the problem solved… and reinforce the favorable impression of your business that you want to circulate.
9) Always ask the caller if it’s all right to put her on hold when answering the phone, and don’t leave people on hold. Provide callers on hold with progress reports every 30 to 45 seconds. Offer them choices if possible, such as “That line is still busy. Will you continue to hold or should I have ________ call you back?”
10) Don’t use a speaker phone unless absolutely necessary. Speaker phones give the caller the impression that you’re not fully concentrating on his call, and make him think that his call isn’t private. The only time to use a speaker phone is when you need more than one person to be in on the conversation at your end.
11) If you use an answering machine to answer calls when you can’t, make sure that you have a professional message recorded, that does the same thing as tip # 3, and gives callers any other pertinent information before it records their messages. Update your answering machine message as needed. For instance, if your business is going to be closed for a holiday, update your recorded answering machine message to say so and to say when your business will reopen.
12) Train everyone else who answers the phone to answer the same way, including other family members if you’re running a home-based business. Check on how your business’s phone is being answered by calling in and seeing if the phone is being answered in a professional manner. If they don’t pass the test, go over this telephone answering tips list with them
Marketing Your Website
May 25, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Make Your Website Famous
Marketing your site on and offline can be just as important as marketing your actual product or service.
The question used to be, Do you have a website?
Now, the more relevant question is, How do you market your website? It truly isn’t a “Build it and they will come” scenario.
If people don’t know about your website, they can’t visit–and learn about what you have to offer. That’s why marketing your website online and offline is just as important as marketing your product or service.
Promoting your site can be simpler than you think. Here are some suggestions:
Offline Marketing
- Many website owners forget about the offline options for marketing. But you need to make yourself visible in the places your target market lives and that means the offline world as well.
- All marketing communication materials should emphasize your URL and entice readers to visit your site. This includes business cards, letterhead, envelopes, brochures, flyers, folders and newsletters.
- Print your web address boldly on the front side of direct mail postcards. Sometimes simply printing your URL in a large, attention-getting style will cause the recipient to turn the postcard over and read the other information you want to share with them.
- You can issue a press release announcing anything new or newsworthy on your site. Maybe you’re offering a free report, a free e-course or a unique approach to the marketplace that the media will be interested in.
- On-hold messages are now very popular for directing people to a website, especially with phone systems that use automatic attendants. But live attendants can direct people to your website, too. Make sure they know what information is available and relevant for the caller.
- If you ever get the opportunity to be interviewed on the radio, make sure you find ways to drop your URL. You can say things like, “On my website, www.market-for-profits.com, I offer free marketing articles and products for sale to help grow businesses.” Don’t just say, “On my website …” without mentioning the URL. This applies to any interviews you might do with a reporter, editor or producer.
- Some publications will ask you to write a guest column or a feature article related to your expertise. At the end of the column or article they’ll usually let you include a few sentences related to your experience and ways to contact you. Obviously mention your website and e-mail there.
- Advertising specialties are great ways to distribute your web address. They include key chains, coffee mugs, mouse pads, pens and pencils, as well as any apparel that might carry your logo or identity.
- You can also promote your URL offline with the following: fax cover sheets, vehicles, billboards, license plate frames, Yellow Page ads, other printed ads, T-shirts, and golf balls and bags.
Online Marketing
- Online marketing should be done in conjunction with the offline marketing mentioned above. Here are some ideas to get you started:
- Even though people are at your site, mention it often within the text of your web copy. This will reinforce it in the readers’ minds and help with search engine optimization.
- Mention your website or include it in your signature for all news group, discussion group or forum postings.
- Ask your fusion marketing partners, board members, advisors or other business partners to mention your website on their sites.
- Use online press releases and articles just like the offline method mentioned above.
- Pay-per-click marketing
- Banner advertising on your site, as well as other related sites that your target market visits
- Online directories
- E-mail signatures
Be creative with both your offline and online marketing. Sometimes the best marketing comes from the wild, crazy, extreme or unique ideas that your competition hasn’t thought of. Remember the guy who auctioned off his forehead as advertising space for a URL, or the pregnant lady who offered her pronounced stomach for URL placement for a Super Bowl ad website? Now that’s guerrilla marketing.
Al Lautenslager is the “Guerrilla Marketing” coach at Entrepreneur.com and is an award-winning marketing and PR consultant and direct-mail promotion specialist. He’s also the principal of Market For Profits, a Chicago-based marketing consulting firm. His two latest books, Guerrilla Marketing in 30 Days and The Ultimate Guide to Direct Marketing
