Typically, business owners buy advertising in order to get the attention of prospects. Today, I’m proposing you consider an alternative. Instead of buying attention with ads, I’m going to suggest you consider organically attracting attention. I’ll include some examples of how this works, and I’ll explain some of the huge advantages of organically attracting attention. Let’s go. Here’s what we know about small business owners who want to be seen. Some of them pay for ads on Google, Linkedin and Facebook, etc. Others pay to be listed in directories. Then there are those who buy ad space in p ..read more

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com When a business owner is failing to get the sales they need, increased awareness is almost never the issue. Think about it. If all they needed was increased awareness, they could just advertise their product or service correctly. Depending on their advertising budget, they could reach thousands, hundreds of thousands or millions of prospects. And fast. It’s far, far more likely they have a different problem. Most commonly, it’s one or both of the following. It could be that too few people who are aware of (whatever they sell), are motivated enough to buy it ..read more

In business, easy is overrated. It’s easy to meet our customer’s expectations. Easier than exceeding their wildest dreams and giving them a great experience to share with their friends. It’s easy to settle for less than we are capable of. Easier than kicking forward, and growing a business that provides rewards, which will massively increase our quality of life. It’s easy to lower prices or fees in order to be more competitive. Easier than finding ways to vastly increase the value we provide, so our customers are delighted to pay more. Yes, it ..read more

Photo by Ann H on Pexels.com Here’s what we’re told. The key to business success is to give the marketplace what it wants. That sounds easy enough. We ask them what they want. We provide them with what they want, and we do this to the best of our ability. The trickiest part there is step one. That’s because history assures us that people tend not to tell us what they actually want.  Some will tell us what they think we want to hear. Some will tell us what they think makes them look smart. Some will tell us what they think makes them look considerate.  And others will te ..read more

Most of the written marketing I see is at least 75% too long. Overlong marketing lacks impact. It also lacks clarity and totally fails to motivate prospective customers or clients. I want to help you avoid this expensive mistake. And it starts with one of the best-known quotes on the subject. Vigorous, written marketing And it starts with one of the best-known quotes on the subject. Vigorous writing is concise. A sentence should contain no unnecessary words, a paragraph no unnecessary sentences, for the same reason that a drawing should have no unnecessary lines and a machine no unnecessary ..read more

One of the most effective ways to increase sales, is to lower or remove the perceived risk attached to buying from us or hiring us. It’s easy to see why. Let’s face it, we’ve all paid for a faulty product or poor quality service at some time. So today, I’ll share some ideas with you on how to make more sales, using risk reduction and risk reversal tactics. Let’s go. Risk reduction A proven way to reduce the risk, is to offer a free sample of your product or a free trial of your service. Combine that with relevant, recent testimonials from delighted customers to further reduce the perceiv ..read more

Photo by Teuku Fadhil Your pricing is a critically important part of your marketing. And today, I’m going to recommend some of you consider increasing your prices or fees. Here’s why a price increase could be just what you need. Why so low? When your marketing positions your product or service as high-quality, your prospects expect your price to be within that high-quality price range. They expect value for money, and when your price is too low, they begin to question the actual value — why so low? Today, this pricing error will see small businesses everywhere missing out on sales o ..read more

Photo by Karolina Grabowska on Pexels.com There’s a big difference between commanding people’s attention and demanding people’s attention. Allow me to explain. Demanding attention Most small business marketing is based on demanding attention. They send us emails we never asked for. They pester us on social networking sites. They call us in the office when we are busy. They call us at home when we are relaxing with our family and friends. They interrupt our TV, podcasts and radio shows with their sales messages. They pester us at business events. In short, they do everything possible to deman ..read more

Someone asked me why her business needed a story. She thought it was, “a load of trendy nonsense”. When I answered her question, she emailed me back to say it had changed her perception completely. She said it would improve her approach to marketing forever. So today, I decided to share my answer with you. I hope you find it just as useful. Why your business needs a story My answer begins with a quote from advertising legend, David Ogilvy. Ogilvy was the inspiration behind the hit TV show, Mad Men. Here’s what he had to say. “There isn’t any significant difference betwe ..read more

Photo by SevenStorm on Pexels.com A very quick way to improve your results, is to seek out, and deploy, the small things that can have a huge, positive impact on your business. Here are some ideas to quickly get you started. Get connected Every week, set time aside to connect with at least one of your customers or clients. Not to sell them something. Simply to ask how they’re doing and catch up with them. Business relationships become stronger, when they’re based on more than just selling. There’s another huge benefit. Ongoing communication with your customers helps you understand their chall ..read more