on marketing, traveling and living…
Marketing
Offline Marketing: Knowing What to Say When Face-To-Face
May 16th
Forget about elevator speeches, your unique selling proposition and all those other pushy blah, blah, blah, me, me, me intros.
No, I’m not about to write another article how or why you should have and use a pre-packaged all about me intro.
After all, no body enjoys doing them and most people don’t like to be ambushed by them.
What I am going to discuss is how losing the sales the attitude and learning to be real will do more for your social reputation than even the best of those salesy me, me, me intros.
Here are 10 key points you will want to remember when it comes to meeting people face-to-face for the first time.
1. Keep it short, really this is no joke “KEEP IT SHORT”.
- People simply don’t have the time to deal with blah, blah, blah or me, me, me.
2. Keep it simple.
- If you want to be remembered then make easy for them to remember you.
3. Make it effortless to share.
- If they can’t say it they won’t share it.
- Word of mouth is critical, the more you say the greater the odds of you being forgotten.
- People really do want to help, people love to be the source of information, but, you have to make it easy for them to talk about you.
Remember, it’s not about you…it’s about them.
4. Be relevant to your target audience.
- Stop acting like everyone is your target audience, they’re not.
- The more people you try to speak to with your message the less you will have to say.
Being vague is a sure fire recipe for being forgotten.
5. Create curiosity.
- One of the easiest ways to engage someone else is to create curiosity with them.
Curious people ask questions.
6. Remember it’s a two way conversation.
- Stop trying to close the deal and give the conversation an opportunity to unfold.
- Be equally curious about the other person, you might be surprised what you can learn by being curious.
- Despite what you may think, you don’t know what everyone needs or wants.
Stop talking and start listening.
7. Create relationships.
- Stop looking at everyone as a deal, give them a break and remove the sales pressure.
- Allow people to be real, allow them to feel welcome even if they aren’t your target audience.
Getting to know people is the first step to creating value.
8. Be relaxed, have fun, share a laugh.
- Humor can be a great way to break the ice.
9. Stop taking yourself so serious.
- People already have enough pressure without dealing with you.
Make it easy for them to know, like and trust you.
10. Size matters.
- The size of your network will directly determine your ultimate worth and influence.
- It’s important that you remember building a network isn’t only about you, and that everyone in your network is not going to be a client.
Bottom-line, give people a break, be real. Being pushy isn’t the way to make it work. Focus on them first and you will eventually get your turn.
One last point; make sure your current clients are lovin what you do, remember they already said yes and they WILL talk.
To your marketing your business,
James the LocalBizGeek
Ten New Approaches For Marketing a Small Business
May 14th
Want some fast, easy ideas for marketing a small business? Here’s a killer list of offline marketing ideas that have been proven to work!
10 Offline Methods For Marketing A Small Business
Write personal thank you letters to every client or prospect you talk with each day.
Go to business networking meetings such as the Chamber of Commerce, BNI, Trade Groups, etc. Be a regular and be a leader for extra visibility and credibility.
Send out a postcard with a special offer for a consultation, discount, or bundled package.
Write articles for magazines, appear as a guest on radio shows, or send out a press release to local media sources.
Write a book and sell it or give it away to qualified prospects.
Give speeches. Polish your skills at Toastmasters and then offer lunch and learn programs to groups like Kiwanis, Rotary, and trade groups or professional associations.
Make a personal call to everyone you’ve done business with in the past year and see how they are doing personally and how you can help them and their business. Then ask for referrals.
Go door knocking or make cold calls to your target market.
Put up pull-tab fliers or leave business cards with local businesses.
Find out who has influence over your target market, or works with many of the same clients, but is not in a competing industry. Take these folks out to lunch and try to find out how you can share more business together. (Example: Dentist and Orthodontist and Oral Surgeon or Real Estate Agent, Mortgage Broker, Title Insurance Company.)
These ideas should get your thoughts cooking in some new directions.
It’s easy for us to get stuck in a run doing the same old thing when it comes to marketing a small business. Sometimes doing the thing that makes you uncomfortable is the best way to break through some self-limiting barriers and get exposure to a whole new group of prospects and networking contacts.
Be creative and be consistent. Give any new marketing approach 6 months to test before you decide it’s not working for you. Often, people need to have several exposures to your message before they decide they are interested in doing business with you.
