How Do I Implement New Marketing Ideas?

That's a question I hear regularly at seminars I lead or attend. And it's essential to answer. Because ideas without implementation are nothing but wasted time.

To implement any new marketing idea, ask yourself: "How can I use this to get just one more client, one more sale from a current client, or one more referral?"

By aiming to succeed just once, you force yourself to analyze, plan, and implement that idea.

If you can't profit from a new idea once, either it isn't for you, or you've done it wrong. And until you can make an idea work one time, it won't work 10 or 1,000 times, so you might as well find out early.

But ... if you can make a new idea work just once to grow your business, get happy. Because you may be on the threshold of a major breakthrough.

Here's an example from my own business, to illustrate ...

Back in 2003, I attended a 3-day marketing seminar led by my hero/mentor, Jay Abraham. One of the speakers was Dr. Donald Moine, who talked about sales scripts. I was so impressed with the idea that I bought a book of sales scripts and took them back to my business.

For the unfamiliar, a sales script is your sales presentation, written out ahead of time; use it on the phone or memorize it before meeting a prospect in person. Your sales script should include the most-convincing lines you've ever said, including answers to typical objections, with room for you to customize your answers.

Even Lawrence Olivier used a script. You couldn't tell, because he practiced and internalized the words until they flowed naturally.

The truth is, we all use scripts, even you -- right now. Because we all have responses that we fall back on when talking to prospects. According to Dr. Donald Moine, if you're going to use a script, you might as well create and use a good one.

That was one idea I took from the Jay Abraham seminar to build my business. And I set the bar low. I aimed to use scripts to get just one new client. Which I did, about 2 weeks later ....

A prospect called after reading one of my ads. He sounded excited about going forward. But when I asked for the sale, he replied, "I want to think about it." Ever heard that one before?

Prior to using a sales script, I would have said, "Okay, I'll call you in a day or two to follow up." But those phone calls never got answered and those prospects all went their own way without buying.

This time, consulting my new script book, I replied: "Sometimes two heads are better than one. Why don't we think about it together right now? Tell me what questions you still have."

He then said that he wasn't sure he could afford my services.

Again consulting my script book, I said: "If you could afford it, would you work with me?"

He said yes.

I replied: "Great. We can split the project into 2 installments, 30 days apart, to make it easier on your budget."

"Sounds good," he said. He gave me his credit card info right there on phone. He went on to become a very happy client, who profited a great deal from my work. And I've used sales scripts ever since.

But none of that would have happened had I not tried to get just one new client using that new idea I heard in a seminar.

Fact: Every huge breakthrough in business starts out as a small success -- one more client, one more sale, or one more referral.

To take your success to the next level, ask yourself: "How can I make this new idea a habit (so I easily repeat it) or a system (so it gets done automatically)?"

Your ability to systematically grow your small successes largely determines your fate in business. What are you doing to make this happen?

Resource: If you want to put an end to "feast-or-famine" syndrome in your business, the free Client Cloning Kit can help. Grab your copy here. 

Harvey Mackay Reviews "21 Quick Ways to Get More Clients"

I've been sitting on this letter from Harvey Mackay for 2 months, trying to figure out how to blog about his nice comments about my new book, "21 Quick Ways to Get More Clients."

Still can't think of anything witty, so I'll just share the letter with you ...

Harvey's always been one of my heroes, so this means a lot. Thanks, Harvey!


Bio: Kevin Donlin can help you grow your business and enjoy the breakthrough results your hard work deserves. If you're interested in boosting your revenues and profits, please click here.

10 Reasons to Attend "21 Quick Ways to Get More Clients Fast"

Do you own a small business in the Twin Cities?

If so, here are 10 reasons why you (and your friends in business) should attend my new seminar on Thursday morning, April 21, 2001 in Edina, MN ...

1. Build Your Business 21 Ways.
In two fast-paced hours, you will discover 21 great ways to get more revenue and enjoy more time off in your business, by getting all the new clients you can handle. Any one of these proven marketing methods could increase your revenue by 10%, 25%, or more. How fast could you boost your profits if you use all 21?

2. Get $1,500 in Training for Pennies on the Dollar.
Two weeks after this seminar, I'm getting paid $1,500 to deliver the same marketing material to a Fortune 1000 firm. You will learn exactly what they learn, but for a tiny fraction of the investment!

3. Free: Signed Copy of my New Book, 21 Quick Ways to Get More Clients!
A free, signed copy has been set aside for you at the seminar, if you're one of the first 15 to register. I hope you claim your copy and use it to grow your business faster!

4. Free: "Conveyor-Belt" Referral System that delivers new clients automatically -- 3 ways.
You'll receive a sure-fire formula to turn your current clients into a sales force, one that sends you qualified leads like clockwork. Your life just got easier!

5. Free: Two "Force Multiplier" marketing tricks, each of which can double your sales.
There's a simple phone call you can make or email you can send. If you do either one every day, you could increase your revenues by 100% -- or more. Which one is right for you?

6. Free: The Simple "Thank You" Marketing Strategy that works wonders, for pennies a day.
Learn how a single, hand-written letter, mailed to one customer, produced a 39,900% return on investment. You can mail the same letter, the same day it is revealed to you.

7. Help the Tsunami Victims in Japan.
10% of all ticket sales will be donated to the Salvation Army and their relief effort in Japan.

8. You Can NOT Make a Mistake, thanks to my money-back guarantee. 
You will love every minute of this learning session, or pay nothing.

9. You Save 50% when you register.
Simply visit the web site below and enter Discount Code: MYBLOG.

10. Your Friends Save 50%, too.
Just give them this web address and Discount Code: MYBLOG by email, LinkedIn, Facebook, phone, etc.!

http://21quickways.eventbrite.com

New Marketing Seminar for Twin Cities Entrepreneurs - April 21, 2011

If you own a small business in the Twin Cities and you want to make sure that 2011 is better than 2010, please watch the video below ...



... then join me on Thursday, April 21, 2011, for my all-new seminar: 21 Quick Ways to Get More Clients Fast.

Special: Save 50% off your registration when you use discount code BLOG.

When you attend, you'll help build your business and you'll help others -- 10% of all ticket sales are being donated to aid victims of the tsunami in Japan (where I used to live).

I hope to see you on April 21!

Not in the TC? You can still grab a copy of my new book, 21 Quick Ways to Get More Clients.

Thank-You Marketing: Ice Breaker and Deal Maker?

I spoke by phone yesterday with a prospect about giving a marketing presentation to his sales force.

Prior to calling, I mailed him the card below, with a hand-written message inside thanking him for agreeing to speak with me ...

When I called, he said, "I've got your thank-you card here on my desk!" Ice broken. Smooth sailing. And we set a date in May for me to speak to his group.

Now.

Did my humorous, pre-call thank-you note make the sale?

No. I had to research my prospect, offer a solution that met his needs, and ask him to book me as a speaker.

Did my humorous, pre-call thank-you note make the prospect smile?

Yes. And by making him smile -- laugh, even -- before our phone call, I ensured that he would be in a good mood and receptive to my message. Which paved the way for a sale.

Food for thought.

FYI: You can buy these cards here.

(More ideas like these in my Free Report, Guaranteed Marketing for Service Business Owners.)

Thank-You Marketing: $1.2-Billion Case Study

I was reminded this morning of what I call "Thank-You Marketing" by Amy Vejar, who told me a story I never knew about Mary Kay Ash ...

... you may know her as the founder of Mary Kay Cosmetics. Her habit was to mail three hand-written thank you notes every night before going to bed. And she taught this same philosophy to her sales force.

Today Mary Kay Cosmetics is a $1.2-billion company, with a sales force in 32 countries.

Those numbers don't lie -- Thank-You Marketing works.

Question: What if you mailed just 3 thank-you notes today -- one to a client, one to a prospect, and one to a referral partner.

And what if you did the same thing tomorrow, and the next day?

If you did this for just one week, what would happen?

Do you think this little ritual might grow your business?

There's no better investment of about $15 and 60 minutes this week than mailing 15 tiny gifts to the ONLY people who can build your business -- your clients, your prospects, and your referral partners.

Now.

Writing and mailing thank-you notes alone won't build your business to the $1.2 billion level. But you'll be thinking and acting exactly like a billion-dollar business when you do ... for less time and money than you probably spend each week on Starbucks or Coke.

(More ideas like these in the Free Report, Guaranteed Marketing for Service Business Owners.)

Hope is Not a Referral Strategy

Last week, I spoke with Julie, who runs a professional service business with 3 employees.

She called me because she wanted to build her business, but didn't know what to do.

I asked, "How do you get most of your new clients now?"

"That's easy," she replied. "Referrals. Almost all of our new clients hear about us from previous clients."

"What are you doing to promote referrals? Do you have a program in place? Do you reward people for sending new clients to you?" I asked. "It's easy to do -- you can offer a cash reward, a discount, or a gift card to anyone who sends you a new client. I've never seen a rewards system fail to work."

"No, I prefer to let referrals happen naturally. I know we provide a good service and I don't want to get into incentivizing people to recommend us," she said.

So let's sum up Julie's situation:

• She wants to grow revenue in her business.
• She knows that referrals are her #1 source of new revenue.
• But she's unwilling to stimulate referrals by rewarding them systematically.

Instead, Julie would rather hope for referrals.

Hope is not a strategy.

Look: It's not your clients' job to remember what business you're in or to send you new business. You have to remind clients, train them how to refer, and reward them for making good referrals.

Your clients are not too stupid to refer others or too greedy to do it regularly without a reward.

Your clients are simply busy and self-interested -- just like you.

Recognize this reality, and you can quickly appreciate the need for a referral rewards system. Then get busy creating one.

(More ideas like these in the Free Report, Guaranteed Marketing for Service Business Owners.)

The Marketing Budget with a Guaranteed ROI

When you buy referrals that lead to sales, your budget should have NO limit.

Why?

Because you’re paying only for results. Unlike ads that may or may not work, when you reward someone for referring a new client, you have a 100% success rate -- a GUARANTEED ROI.

Paying for referrals -- is it the world's best investment? I say, YES.

(More ideas like these in the Free Report, Guaranteed Marketing for Service Business Owners.)

Market Your Service Business Better by Researching Better

Marketing is everything you do to find, get, and keep clients.

In other words, everything you do is marketing, starting with the first words in your next email, sales letter, phone call.

With that in mind, here's an excellent "research as marketing" tip from an Inc. Magazine article: 10 Ways to Support Your Best Customers.

Know the competition

In Inc.'s series of sales tips from the world's toughest customers, Kathy Homeyer, director of supplier diversity for UPS, gave a helpful tip on what not to do. "The biggest no-no is not knowing our competition. People will say, 'I've got this really exciting proposal I want you to look at.' I'll say, 'Go ahead; send it to me.' Then they send it to me by FedEx. It happens every day. Just be smart. Know the company you are pitching to and know their likes and dislikes. You get such brownie points with me when you come in with a UPS envelope and have an account all set up. It's just the little things like that, the icing on the cake."

So true. And so easy to do -- there's this web site called Google. Have you heard of it?

You can find out almost anything you want to know about a prospective client and their competitors by searching News and Blogs, in addition to standard Google searches.

And don't forget LinkedIn.

Whenever I want a callback from a prospect, I research them on LinkedIn (most people are there), find one tidbit on their profile, then send an email like this: "Joe Blow said something important on your LinkedIn profile -- please give me a call 612-555-1212 when you have 5 minutes to discuss!"

(More ideas like these in the Free Report, Guaranteed Marketing for Service Business Owners.)

The Strangest Sales Letter Writing Secret

How to let other people write the headline or other elements of your next sales letter, print ad, or web page. It never fails. And it's 100% free.

(More ideas like these in the Free Report, Guaranteed Marketing for Service Business Owners.)

Stop Waiting for Clients. Start Buying Them

How much do you pay for new clients now?

To find the answer, divide your monthly or annual marketing costs by the number of new clients you get.

Example: If your only advertising is a $500/month Yellow Pages ad, and you get 10 new clients every month, you are buying clients for $50.

Now ...

How much do you pay for new clients via referrals?

Do you pay nothing at all? Or do you pay less than what you spend to buy clients via the Yellow Pages, etc.

If so ... WHY???

Are you afraid it might seem crass to pay for referrals that turn into clients? Nonsense. If your service is any good, you're doing people a favor by working with them as clients.

Plus, it's not anybody else's job to remember to refer your business to others.

People are more likely to remember to refer you when they stand to gain a reward. This does not mean people are greedy or stupid -- it just means they're busy and selfish, just like you.

The only valid reason not to offer to "buy" clients by paying for referrals is if your clients aren't comfortable profiting by their referral.

So here's the answer, one I learned over 10+ years of paying for referrals: Give them a choice.

Specifically, give people a choice of these three incentives for referring new clients to you:

1. Cash

This incentive appeals to about 40-60% of people, in my experience. It's simple: Offer the highest cash reward you can afford to "buy" a new client -- $20, $50, $1,000. I've happily paid up to $250 for a new client and still come out way ahead in terms of profit.

2. Discount

This appeals to about 30-40% of people, who are not comfortable getting cash back for referrals. Offer to discount their friend's order by the highest amount you can afford, whether it's 20% or even 100% -- a free first order. That can work for you, if your service consistently produces repeat orders from delighted clients.

3. Gift card

After much trial and error, I found about 10% of people don't want cash for themselves and don't want to offer a discount to their friends. But they were very happy to get an Amazon gift card for $25-50 from me. Go figure. But I'm not a psychoanalyst, I'm a businessman. And I had no problem offering this third option.

So: How do you explain this "client buying" referral program to others?

Say this: "I really prefer to help people just like you, so if you found my business helpful and are willing to recommend me to others, I'd like to reward you! For every person you send my way who becomes a client, I'll send you a check for $50, or discount their order by $50, or send you an Amazon gift card for $50 -- your choice!"

This "client buying" budget should have NO limit, by the way.

Because you’re paying only for results. Unlike ads that may or may not work, when you reward someone for sending you a new client, you have a 100% success rate -- a GUARANTEED ROI.

Where else can you find an investment like that?

(More ideas like these in the Free Report, Guaranteed Marketing for Service Business Owners.)

How to Make Your Offer Irresistible

Back when I wrote resumes for a living in the 1990s, I used to have a very easy time selling to people. 

Here's why: I made them an offer they couldn't resist.

That's because every one of my competitors were all saying variations of this: "We guarantee results, or we'll rewrite your resume." Which is like saying: "We'll make you happy or ... we'll keep trying to make you happy."


Meanwhile, I used to say this: "Your resume will get results. Or it's FREE."

That was saying something. It was an offer most people could not resist. Which is how I sold to more people than my competitors (and ended up hiring two of them to work for me, part-time).

So. If you want to sell more of your services to more people, faster and easier, you can do it by making them an offer they can't resist.

To illustrate, here's an offer I recently got in the mail, which I found irresistible:

Background: I own a Saturn. Back when Saturn went out of business, a local Chevrolet firm took over the service contracts from the former Saturn dealer. So I got several letters in the mail, asking me to come in and give the Chevy guys a try.

I ignored every letter.

Because none was half as compelling as the offer above, which has what I call "The 4 Rs of Irresistible Offers." The offer is:

1. Riveting
2. Relevant
3. Realistic
4. Risk-free

1) Riveting. You can't beat 4 free maintenance visits with a stick.

Application: Your offer should be so riveting that clients and prospects will feel like they're ripping you off. I almost feel that way about this offer. Almost.

Because, even though I know there's a cost to them of offering 4 free service visits, once they get me into their building, they can find lots of things wrong with my car to fix above and beyond the free service -- after they win my trust. They will no doubt make money on this long-term ... IF they earn my trust.

2) Relevant. They address me by name and know that I still own the car. Plus, they're a 10-minute drive from my house. So they've demonstrated knowledge of me and my life. This offer is relevant.

Application: How relevant are your offers to your prospects and clients? Are you speaking directly to them and their needs?

3) Realistic. They aren't promising anything incredible -- just a free oil change, tire rotation, and vehicle inspection.

Application: How realistic are your offers? You can actually repel buyers with outlandish offers, like $500 in free gasoline or a free iPad. When in doubt, ask 3-5 clients whose judgment you trust. If they don't roll their eyes, your offer is likely realistic enough to roll out to a bigger audience.

4) Risk-free. Very important. This offer costs me nothing. Sure, I fully expect them to charge me a couple of bucks for tax, etc., but I will still come out ahead.

Making offers risk-free by offering a money-back guarantee is one thing I counsel all of my copywriting clients to do.

Sure, you may refund 2-3% of buyers. But if your sales double as a result of your guarantee, do you really care? In other words, would you rather have 100% of $100,000 ... or 95% of $200,000? A risk-free offer can get you that larger figure.

Make your next offer Riveting, Relevant, Realistic, and Risk-free. When you do, you will be making an irresistible offer.

And you will realize this great truth: The whole point of your marketing is to make selling superfluous.

You'll find more ideas like these in my Free Report, Guaranteed Marketing.

80/20 Client Service: The Secret to More Profits and Fewer Headaches

There's a limited number of hours in every day -- 24, to be exact.

That means there isn't time to do everything. There are some things you can't do ... and shouldn't do.

Especially when it comes to the people your business serves -- your clients.

The less time you waste serving the wrong clients -- people who complain about price, are slow to pay, don't appreciate what you do, etc. -- the more time you can invest serving the right clients -- those people who cheerfully pay your fees, appreciate what you do, and refer others like them.

So, stop talking to the wrong clients and start talking to more right clients.

Now. How can you tell who is who? By doing "80/20 Thinking."

As described in the life-changing book by Richard Koch, The 80/20 Principle: The Secret to Achieving More with Less:

To engage in 80/20 Thinking, we must constantly ask ourselves: what is the 20 percent that is leading to 80 percent? What are the vital few inputs or causes, as opposed to the trivial many? Where is the haunting melody being drowned out by the background noise?

Here's what happens when you engage in 80/20 Thinking: You find that a large percentage of your revenue comes from a small percentage of your clients. Implication? These are the right people to be spending more time with!

Examples:

• 85% of your revenue comes from clients within 20 miles of your business.
• 62% of your revenue comes from 3 client segments: appliance repair shops, bookkeepers, and professional speakers.
• 78% of your revenue comes from clients who belong to the Chamber of Commerce.

Important: The actual amount will almost never be exactly 80%, but it will be disproportinately large. Look for any big output coming from a small input.

When I applied 80/20 Thinking to my resume writing service back in 1999, I found that about 70% of revenue came from four kinds of clients: sales, marketing, IT, and management professionals.

And I liked doing business with these clients -- they were smart, didn't complain about price, and they got good results from my service, which led them to refer others.

So guess what? I added a tagline to my business to attract more clients like them. It read as follows: "Specializing in resumes for sales, marketing, IT, and management professionals."

A little thing, right? But it had a big impact. I started getting calls from more of my idea clients -- sales, marketing, IT, and management professionals.

You can, too. But not until you first identify which clients you want to spend more time with.

Now, don't forget -- there's a flip side to clients you love. This would be clients you ... don't love.

Example: If you find 72% of your revenue comes from orthodontists and bookkeepers, but you HATE working with orthodontists and bookkeepers, then STOP working with them and START looking for clients elsewhere.

When I identified the 20% of clients who gave me 80% of my problems, I created an “undesirable” status in my Goldmine database for these unpleasant clients and prospects who were unpleasant to deal with. Those people (from certain industries that shall remain nameless) never heard from me again.

Does this sound cold? Consider: No matter how well you serve clients, about 1-5% will never be happy, no matter what you do.

Then consider: Time isn’t money. Time is everything. Time is all we have each day. So don’t waste yours on people you don't enjoy serving.

80/20 Thinking helped eliminate nearly all my client service headaches in a few weeks, while attracting more ideal clients. My business grew and I had more fun.

80/20 Thinking can work wonders for your client service and your business, too.

(More ideas like these in the Free Report, Guaranteed Marketing for Service Business Owners.)

Fixing Complaints: The 95% ROI and Quick Way to Get New Clients

Fact: Clients who complain are more interested in working with you than clients who say nothing.

Think about it: If you get awful service from a vendor you have no intention of ever using again, you likely won't complain. Instead, you will silently take your business elsewhere.

So do whatever it takes to "save" complaining clients. Because these people secretly want to keep working with you. And because the payoffs can be huge ...

I remember Sharon, a client of my resume service back in 1998. Upon seeing the first draft of my work for her, she said, "Oh, this has problems. I don't like this."

My reply: "Thanks for letting me know that now. The sooner we fix this the better. Please tell me everything that's bothering you and why."

We then went through her resume, line by line. In the end, she was delighted with the result. And she later referred more than 8 new clients and several thousand dollars in revenue to my business.

That's just one example.

According to CustomerThermometer.com:

Fixing problems turns angry customers into loyal advocates. Jake Poore, who looked after “service recovery” for Disney says “everyone makes mistakes, that’s human.

But how do you solicit those mistakes and rectify them so that the story is now possibly better than if there were no mistake at all?”

He makes the point that customers who go home mad tell their story, whereas those who go home happy tell your story. Often a bad experience that was turned around makes for a happier customer and a better story than a customer who had a good experience in the first place.

According to "Manage Complaints to Enhance Loyalty," an article by John Goodman published in the Feb. 2006 issue of "Quality Progress," solving customer complaints pays you back with a 95% profit for the time and effort invested:

The following are cost-benefit calculations for getting customers to complain and satisfying them. The assumptions are:

• A customer is worth at least $30 in profit over a year’s time.
• The cost of handling a complaint is about $5.
• At least 75% of callers are satisfied.
• To quantify the payoff of soliciting and handling complaints, it’s critical to know the rate of the prevalence of noncomplainants and their loyalty as well as the loyalty of those who complain and are not satisfied.

The calculation for moving a customer with a problem from noncomplainant to satisfied complainant follows:

• Payoff due to improved loyalty. Typically, moving a customer with a problem from noncomplainant to complainant to a satisfied caller raises loyalty by about 30%, meaning, conservatively, handling a customer at a cost of $5 will give you a payoff of (.30 increase in loyalty) x (.75 satisfied) x $30 value = $6.75.

After covering the $5 cost of handling the complaint, your are left with $1.75 profit and or an ROI of 35% ($1.75/$5 cost to handle)

The article goes on to detail the total return-on-investment of 95% from the increased word-of-mouth referrals that result from fixing customer complaints:

If, conservatively, one out of 10 satisfied customers produces a word-of-mouth referral and one new customer worth $30 is won for every 40 who hear good things, then satisfying 10 customers adds $30 in word-of-mouth benefits, or $3 for each customer satisfied (10 customers satisfied times four positive referrals per satisfied customer times one new customer for each 40 hearing positive referrals).

That adds an additional $3 payoff for each customer satisfied, raising the ROI to 95% ($1.75 + $3.00)/$5.00. The preceding calculation is a simple estimate of the impact of positive word of mouth produced by good service on loyalty and profits.

Finally, Southwest Airlines went so far as to hire a Chief Apology Officer, a guy who "spends his 12-hour work days finding out how Southwest disappointed its customers and then firing off homespun letters of apology." Which may explain why Southwest Airlines is the only airline in America with actual fans.

Bottom Line: Do whatever it takes to satisfy complaining clients. See every service problem as a chance for you to triumph. When you do, your happy clients will tell their friends.

A customer service "recovery" can be as valuable as delivering good service the first time. Not that you should cause complaints in order to recover from them -- that's like hitting yourself in the head with a hammer because it feels so good when you stop.

But you never run from complaints. Instead, rush to solve them, then encourage your clients to share their new-found happiness with others.

(More ideas like these in the Free Report, Guaranteed Marketing for Service Business Owners.) 

How to Get More Revenue from Clients and Serve Them Better, Today

Want to make more money in your service business, starting today?

Do this: Offer an upsell.

Simply create a deluxe version of whatever you sell -- raise the price 20-50% and add a higher level of service. When you do, about 20% or more of your clients will choose the higher-price option.

How can you offer a higher level of service to justify a higher price?

• Deliver faster -- offer "emergency" rates for same-day or priority service; ship FedEx Priority Overnight instead of U.S. Mail
  
• Deliver more -- add 20-50% of whatever it is you deliver, like super-sizing a restaurant portion
  
• Deliver better -- offer 2-3 Special Reports to help clients get even faster results with your service

I have never, ever, failed to see an upsell add more money to a bottom line. And, almost always, it's 20% of your clients who will choose the higher-price option.

The only real obstacle to this profit-building tactic is in your head: You probably think your business is "different" and your clients won't have any use for a deluxe version.

News Flash: You are not your clients.

And the surest way to under-serve your market and leave money on the table is to have contempt for a new marketing idea like this prior to investigating it for yourself.

Don't be contemptuous of new ideas. Try them. Starting with this one: Offer an upsell.

One More Way to Eavesdrop on Your Prospects and Find Hot Buttons

I've written about how to "eavesdrop" on your prospects and learn to uncover the "hot buttons" that make them buy more from you, here and here.

Today, I'll give you one more way to do it: Read their book reviews on Amazon.

Just like blogs, most of your prospects read books. And many book readers also post reviews on Amazon. Start reading these reviews. Now! Because they are another goldmine of hot buttons for you to exploit.

Below is an example book review, for the book Guerrilla Marketing for Job Hunters 2.0 ...

 

See those parts highlighted in red?

“A Swiss Army Knife for the Job Seeker” is a potentially brilliant headline for an ad, one I never would have that of. What ideas are your prospects posting in their Amazon reviews?

And the underlined sentence about LinkedIn could easily be turned into a bullet point for a sales letter, like this:

• Are you on LinkedIn? You may think you’re using all the tools available, but are you? If recruiters and headhunters aren’t calling, you’re probably making this simple mistake (see page 87).

Get the idea? You can make the cash register ring like a Salvation Army bell when you find and push the right hot buttons.

But you’ll never uncover them until you start reading your prospects’ email, the comments they post on blogs, and the book reviews they post on Amazon.

Best part: Those hot buttons are out there, right now, waiting for you to find them. You or any good copywriter can do it.

(More ideas like these in the Free Report, Guaranteed Marketing for Service Business Owners.) 

How to Improve Your Marketing with the "Colonoscopy" Point of View

Did you know that serving your clients is just like giving them a colonoscopy?

Let me explain ...

At a seminar I attended in August 2010, marketing author and thinker Seth Godin said something profound, which I wrote down (lucky you!). He said this: “People judge their entire colonoscopy experience based on what they remember from the last 30 seconds.”

In other words, last impressions make lasting impressions.

And here’s what it means for your service business ...

The last time I took my car for a tune-up to one auto dealer, he did a good job that was fairly priced. But I never went back.

Why?

Because he spilled a full bottle of STP gas treatment on the front seat, cleaned it up poorly, then apologized half-heartedly -- and only after I confronted him about it. That’s the part of the experience I remembered.

Action Step: Take a long look at the final “30 seconds” of whatever you do for your clients.

Are you leaving the best lasting impression? If not, fix it. Fast. If you don’t, your clients’ last contact with you may be their … last contact with you.

Bio: Kevin Donlin can help you grow your business and enjoy the breakthrough results your hard work deserves. If you're interested in boosting your revenues and profits, please click here.

Another Way to Eavesdrop on Your Prospects and Find their Hot Buttons

Yesterday I wrote that you can eavesdrop on your prospects and uncover their hot buttons, by reading their email.

Today, here's another "sneaky" (and legal!) way to do the same thing ...

It's simple: Read their comments on blogs.

Every prospect for every service or product probably reads at least one blog. Many folks read dozens of them. And each of these blogs has something you should know about, something that can uncover just as many hot buttons as reading your prospects’ email.

The comments section.

Forget the blog postings themselves. The comments that your prospects leave on the blogs they read are a goldmine of information, providing plenty of hot buttons for you to push in the marketing materials you write.

Here’s an example. The blog Six Minutes is devoted to helping readers become a better public speaker

And here’s a screen capture showing some of the many hundreds of reader comments on this blog. See any potential hot buttons?

If I were marketing a product to speakers, I might say,

Has this ever happened to you? You’ve visualized your speech. You’ve practiced every word. You’re ready to go. But you arrive at the seminar location and -- disaster! Your computer won’t boot up. And the event planner thought that YOU would bring the flip chart. You’re scheduled to go on in only 30 minutes. What do you do?

That’s just a made-up example, but it took me less than 3 minutes to write. I just picked one set of hot buttons – missing or malfunctioning equipment – from one set of blog comments to create a powerful opening to a sales letter.

You can do this, too, when you read the comments on the blogs your prospects read. They will tell you, in their own words, what's really bothering them.

When you know what these "hot buttons" are, you can sell more stuff to people, more easily -- because you'll be using their own words to sell them. Powerful stuff.

(More ideas like these in the Free Report, Guaranteed Marketing for Service Business Owners.)

How to Eavesdrop on Prospects and Uncover Their Hot Buttons

First, what are hot buttons and why do you want to uncover them?

Definition: A hot button is the reason that causes people to buy whatever you’re trying to sell them. It’s the itch they want to scratch. The craving they want to fulfill.

In golf, for example, men may say they want to shave 5 strokes off their game, or hit more fairways in regulation. But if you try to sell golf clubs or lessons that appeal to those motives, you likely won’t meet with huge success.

Why?

Because the unspoken hot button for most male golfers is this: They want to slam their tee shots 350 yards straight down the fairway, causing the other three guys in their foursome to doubt their own masculinity, while turning 9 shades of green with envy.

Is this rational? Logical? Who cares. It’s reality.

That’s why you see so many ads for golf clubs that claim to deliver the goods in terms of yards off the tee. The advertisers of “Big Betsy” or “Biggest Bertha” drivers are almost comical in the way they try to outdo each other’s claims for distance. Yet, they sell. Like hotcakes.

Now. Back to your prospect.

Usually, your prospect will never tell you what their hot buttons are. And why should they? When you uncover them, you can push them at will – and your prospects to open their wallets, almost unconsciously.

So hot buttons are important.

Would you like to know three ways to uncover them? Without your prospects’ knowledge or cooperation?

First, promise that you’re selling a service or product that is 100% legal and ethical. Because I can’t let this information fall into the wrong hands.

Promise? Pinky swear? Good.

Here’s how to eavesdrop on prospects and uncover hot buttons: Read their email!

No, no -- not like that.

This is easier than hacking into somebody’s computer and reading their Outlook emails. Also more ethical.

First, look at this opening of a very successful web page sales letter I wrote last year ...

See those bullet points?

Each one addresses a different problem my readers want fixed. These are hot buttons.

Every prospect reading this sales letter has one or more of those problems. When they see their problem in the first three lines of the letter, they nod their head in agreement. They think I am talking to them, because I am talking to them! I have pushed a hot button -- I have reminded them of an itch they want to scratch.

Here’s the key: I learned about each of these hot buttons simply by reading the emails my prospects had sent me during the months before I wrote this sales letter.

Yes, it took a few hours of research to read, organize, collate, and prioritize the problems my prospects wrote about in their emails. But after I did the research by doing the reading, I had a very valuable set of hot buttons, written in the language of my prospects.

You can do this, too.

Today, from this moment on, start saving and organizing every email you get from a prospect or client. Any questions about your service or product, any questions about what problems people have, what you do, how you do it.

Those emails contain nuggets of gold, in the form of hot buttons.

You can use then to improve every sales letter, web page, or print ad you write. But you have to be on the lookout for them -- and make sure you address them squarely in all your written marketing materials.

(More ideas like these in the Free Report, Guaranteed Marketing for Service Business Owners.) 

The Quickest Way to Get More Sales

Three Girl Scouts want to sell me some cookies.

Which one will make the quickest sale?

The third one, of course.

Why?

Because the easiest person to sell to is someone who knows you, trusts you, and wants you to do well.

That's why all Girl Scouts selling cookies (or any kids selling anything), always start with their own family, then hit the next-door neighbors, before venturing out to sell to strangers.

In your business, you probably can't make a living selling to family.

But you can make a very good living selling to people who know you, trust you, and want you to do well.

Who are these incredibly valuable people?

Your current clients. The people who have purchased from you before, already know and trust your business, and want you to do well (so you can stay in business and keep making their life better.)

When you have happy clients, you have a receptive audience to everything you may want to sell in the future.

Finding new and better ways to serve your clients, so that they favor you with repeat sales, may not be as easy as selling cookies to your daddy. But it beats the heck out of cold calling or prospecting, which we all dread anyway. Why put yourself through it?

So ... the quickest way to get more sales is to sell new things to old clients.
 
(More ideas like these in the Free Report, Guaranteed Marketing for Service Business Owners.)