Dear Marketer,
Do your sales and profits need a large boost now? Would you like to get more “bang” for your marketing bucks? Would you like to get more qualified leads … then convert
more of your leads into customers?
Of course you would!
This little booklet gives you 11 simple, but powerful strategies you can use right now to do all that and more!
We’re confident that the more of these strategies you can successfully implement in your business, the more you will see a significant increase in your sales and profits.
And these strategies are just a small example of the many proven techniques we use each and every day to help our clients all over the world exceed all their marketing goals.
I know you’re probably swamped. Why not let us do the work for you? We’ll custom develop and execute the Exceptional Marketing Solutions your company needs to increase sales and profits fast!
Call me personally to discuss the possibilities. There’s no cost, no obligation and no such thing as a silly question. I look forward to hearing from you soon.
Profitably yours,
Mike Pavlish
Chairman, CEO
1. BE SPECIFIC
Use specifics whenever you can. It makes advertising credible, real and work like crazy! Here’s a perfect example.
The first sales letter I wrote back in 1978 was for a firm that sold a computerized liquor control unit. Instead of leaving drinks to the guess-work of a bartender, this product poured exactly 1-ounce shots every time.
Their previous sales letter headline was about as general as you can get: “New Computer Liquor Control Unit”. No wonder this sales letter pulled less than 1% response.
I changed the headline to give specific benefits the target market of bar owners wanted: “Now, save $120 a day from liquor over-pours & free shots … for only $4.23 a
day!”
Notice the specifics and benefits in this new headline: Not just savings, but $120 a day savings. Eliminating over-pours and free shots was a specific concern bar keepers could relate to. $4.23 was the actual cost per day to lease the machine.
Result: Just by changing the headline to my new one with specific benefits, the exact
same sales letter generated 500% more responses than the one with the old headline.
2. EMAIL SUBJECT LINES
If you’re like me, you get dozens … even hundreds of emails every day. And so do your prospects. People don’t have the time or energy to think about your clever subject line. So you have about 1 nano-second to make your case, or your message is headed straight for the trash.
What’s even worse, disreputable emailers have become particularly adept at tricking recipients into opening emails with these types of subject lines. So if your email even vaguely resembles one of these, people will begin to associate your name and your company with trickery and trash. Who can afford that kind of reputation?
Fortunately, there is a better way. Here’s a recent example.
I received an email from an ezine I signed up for on Internet Marketing. The subject line of the email read: “Mike – did you miss it?”
I deleted it without even opening it. I knew who it was from, but even if I didn’t, I was staring at over 100 emails in my inbox. I don’t have the time or interest to care if and what I missed. I’m busy. I’m overloaded.
A direct benefit headline would have worked much better. I would have opened it if it said something with a direct benefit like, “Mike – low cost qualified leads from the hottest new search engine.”
If I need leads, I’ll open it because it promises a value and something “new”. If I don’t need leads, no amount of trickery in the subject line will make me respond. Instead, any trickery will only leave me with negative feelings about your company and will REDUCE the chances I’ll ever do business with you when I do need what you’re selling.
Bottom Line: Don’t rely on curiosity-based subject lines to get your emails opened.
Curiosity may sometimes work, but direct benefits are always better.
3. BLOGS CAN BACKFIRE
An old friend called me recently. His company has been successfully selling health supplements and products to consumers for more than 40 years.
Like all growing companies, my friend wants his company to take advantage of all the latest technologies. So he assigned a young copywriter to write a daily blog for his company.
“Mike, our business dropped by about 25% since we started this blog,” he confided.
When I reviewed his blog, the problem was obvious. Instead of consistently providing relevant, helpful information, the blog was full of “filler”.
Having to sort through all the garbage was frustrating and wasted the readers’ valuable time. So instead of being the positive public relations service it was intended to be, it negatively impacted the company’s reputation and sales.
The lesson here is not that blogs are bad. The lesson is that whether it’s a blog, web site, or newsletter, make sure ALL your customer communications are complete and well done.
4. TALKING WEBSITE SELLS MORE
A virtual talking salesperson on your website is cool, fun – and it can increase your website sales by 50% or more. This service starts around $10 a month.
5. WHY YOU SHOULD NOT LET YOUR SALESPEOPLE FOLLOW UP SALES LEADS
Have you ever wondered why, after spending thousands of dollars to exhibit at a trade show or advertise in a trade publication, you just don’t seem to be getting more sales?
The problem may be found in a place you would least suspect. Here’s a personal
example.
I recently attended a trade show. I scanned my name tag and/or left my business card with 24 different exhibiting companies requesting that they follow-up with me.
Fast forward one month. I’ve received 4 phone calls, 2 emails, and 2 mailings. That’s it.
Only 8 of the 24 companies in whose products or services I was interested even bothered to contact me once. And forget about any follow up contacts.
So what’s the problem? Sales people.
It’s not that sales people are bad. It’s that they are … people. And that means they sometimes forget things and lose things. And unfortunately, they can get lazy. They naturally gravitate only to the leads that look best to them, and focus on existing customers.
So how do you get more bang for you prospecting dollars? Simple.
Implement an AUTOMATED, multi-channel, multi-contact follow-up program for ALL leads. It’s the only way to make sure each and every lead is thoroughly followed up in a timely and consistent manner that will result in more sales.
Bottom Line: Stop trusting your sales force to do a thorough follow-up on leads. If
you don’t have an automated follow-up program, you’re leaving money on the table.
6. STOP WASTING MY TIME!
I recently spent three days doing some web research in the market of one of our clients. I was trying to find out what’s new, what’s working, what’s not working, etc.
99% of the time I spent was a waste! Why?
99% of what I read was what I call “fluff”. Fluff is non-specific, very basic, very ordinary, and very general or “teaser” information that does not really tell you anything of value at all.
“Fluff” is becoming more and more of a problem because most search engine optimization rankings are based in part on having a lot of content on a website. It’s become very tempting to increase content just to improve your search engine rankings.
Don’t fall into the trap of filling your pages with fluff. You run the risk of alienating any legitimate contacts you make. I know when I read this garbage, it makes me NOT want to do business with your company.
Hint to businesses and marketers: If your content is not kick-butt helpful information,
do not put it up on your website.
7. YOUR BUSINESS PROPOSAL SHOULD BE SALES ORIENTED!
You worked hard. You made your sales pitch. Now you’ve been asked to provide a price quote. Phew! Sales phase over, right? WRONG!
Your price quote/proposal may be the last chance you have to “sell” your products and services. And what better time to make a final sales pitch than when you KNOW the customer is ready to make his buying decision!
Plus, think about it. Do you ever buy from the very first source you find? I’ll bet very rarely, if ever. At least not before you have a chance to compare against several other
vendors.
I know that when I put my “buying” hat on, I usually get at least 3 different proposals before making any significant purchase for my marketing agency. And just about everyone I know does the same thing.
Yet, almost everybody sends out a plain, dry price quote that includes no reminders for your prospect of the benefits he will enjoy as your customer.
If you start to use your quote/proposal as the vital marketing/sales tool it can be, you’ll see your sales skyrocket.
Think of all the things you can use your quote/proposal to tell your customer:
– All the ways his job will be easier when he chooses your company,
– Detailed reminder of all the benefits of your product/service,
– Reinforcing what a sound value your product/service is,
– Share success stories from other customers to reinforce what a good decision he will make,
– Remind him of your guarantee policy to ease any last minute fears.
The key is to think like the buyer and what he wants; not like the marketer and what
you want.
8. GET TO THE POINT IMMEDIATELY – OR YOUR PROSPECT IS GONE
You have maybe 3 seconds to capture my attention with a benefit I want. Sometimes even less. If you fail to do this, I’m gone and you’ve wasted your marketing money trying to reach me.
You don’t have time for “wind up” opening sentences. No “corporate-tease” wording. Forget about being cute. And don’t tell me about your company. I don’t care.
It’s all about WIIFM. What’s In It For ME? And that means benefits. This is what every reader of every one of your marketing messages is thinking to themselves, either consciously or unconsciously.
But when you really look at the communications from most companies, it’s as if they’re afraid to point out the benefits of their products/services. Oh you’ll see lots of “cute” advertising ideas, lots of “cleverness”, and lots of impressive graphics. But very few customer benefits.
So if you want an immediate boost in sales and profits, try giving your customers what they really want: benefits. And do it quickly. Your success depends on it.
9. THE MISSING KEY TO MARKETING SUCCESS
Besides benefits, excitement is the single most important ingredient missing from most marketing messages today.
Too often companies find themselves so boxed-in by legal requirements, by familiarity, by time pressures and other problems that they forget why they’re in business in the first place. They forget that they have an exciting product/service that I may want to buy.
This lack of excitement shows in their advertising … and in their lackluster sales.
But if you get me excited about your offering, I’m many times more likely to buy it!
If I see you are excited, your words will make me excited! Excitement leads to desire
which leads to action!
We proved this by studying our firms most successful marketing messages over the past 25 years. The one thing all these huge winners had was excitement!
Get to believe in the product you’re marketing — then get me fired up about it — and I’ll
buy!
10. TELL YOUR CLIENTS/PROSPECTS TO BUDGET YOUR PRODUCTS AND SERVICES FOR PURCHASE IN 2020 NOW
Do you ever prefer to do things the hard way? Of course not. Neither do your customers and prospects.
So make their lives easier, and at the same time lock in easy sales. Approach your customers and prospects NOW about including your product/service in next year’s budget.
Set up a multi-channeled communication using email reminders for everyone on your list. And make personal phone calls to your best clients and prospects. You’ll help your clients with solid budget numbers. And you’ll lock in next year sales before your competitors can even get a foot in the door.
The key is to do it now. You want to make sure you’re on the top of the list BEFORE year-end budgets are due.
11. DIFFERENTIATION IS KEY
I recently heard a radio commercial for a company that does that same thing as E-Bay Auto, which is online listing and selling of automobiles.
Their commercial had one driver yelling to another driver over busy traffic noise about the details of his car for sale. It said that you won’t have any of this hassle when you use their service.
That may be true. But the #1 service, Ebay Auto, offers exactly the same thing. Why would I even think of using this new, unknown company when I know that Ebay Auto has many times the amount of online exposure and I’m already happy with them and have an account?
This company missed the point and wasted valuable advertising dollars. This upstart company failed to point out the specific customer benefits that differentiate them from the competition – and make them a better choice. This company didn’t give me one single reason why I should use them instead.
What could they have featured that would make 10 times more people interested in their service? There are many possibilities. They could offer: a lower sales commission, higher income buyers, escrow service, shipping/delivery of your car, a guaranteed sale, or many other things. The key is to identify whatever benefits they can offer that the competition does not and SHOUT them to the masses.
Bottom Line: you must come up with CUSTOMER BENEFITS that differentiate you from your competition … and you make these prominent in all your marketing communications.
Need control-beating copywriting?
Need killer space ads?
Need your web site to really take off?
Need marketing strategies that boost sales and profits?
Call Mike Pavlish TODAY at 330-963-0330 for a no-obligation consultation.
Let us show you how we can help your sales and profits soar! But hurry … our schedule is filling up fast!