Award-Winning Orange County Signs Maker Martin Neil explains how your Business Signage can transform your brand.

Having an attention-getting sign is critical for any business – no matter the industry.  Your business signage identifies your business and location and it establishes your business image. Your business signage is the core of your brand identity strategy, whether it is proudly mounted on the building, on your booth or display at a trade show, or on your company vehicles.

It’s also the most cost-effective advertising you can do. The Small Business Administration says, “…signs are the most effective, yet least expensive form of advertising for the small business.”  Building signage is often taken for granted, but signs are always on the job, advertising 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

How Improved Business Signage Will Help You Brand Your Company, Communicate with a Highly-Mobile Society & Leverage Your Advertising Efforts.

1   Your business signage is the only indicator that you exist and would like your prospect’s patronage.

2   A frequently-noticed business sign sends your message to more people per dollar invested than any other form of advertising.  For example, if you display a $200 sign for one year at a location where 10,000 cars pass every day, you’ve reached over 3.5 million people (not counting passengers), at a cost per person of less than $.000057. (Less than six hundred-thousandths of a dollar.)  Even a high-end, lighted or monument sign that costs $5000, still reaches those people at a cost of $.0014, or a little over a tenth of a cent each.

3   95% of retail business is location-based. As consumers pass by your place of business, an attractive and effective on-premise sign will leave a positive impression. When the time comes to make a decision or purchase, consumers will be attracted to you.

4   About 40 million Americans move annually to a new home, all needing to buy goods and services, and looking for brands that stand out.

5   Enhanced sign technology allows sign faces to be easily changed to match evolving marketing circumstances.  New developments in lighting, plastics, digital printing resolution, and color profiling mean signs can now achieve the same visual effect as four-color magazine advertising.

6   Your company does not need to be a national franchise with a major advertising budget to “brand” your site with effective signage.  If appropriately designed and placed, your sign can develop top-of-mind awareness of your products and services, no matter the size of your business.

7   Many communities and cities have strict sign codes requiring that signage remains attractive and in harmony with the look and feel of the community, while encouraging business activities.  Advances in sign design and technology means that via signage, your company can communicate more effectively to potential customers in a way that enhances both your site and the community at large.

8   Purchase habits can be influenced with effective signage. Pricing or product information can influence a purchase decision or prompt an unplanned stop, which is critical, since nearly all businesses rely in part on impulse visits.

9   A well-designed sign can provide a positive perception of quality and service and create the image of a leader, even for the smaller business. For the national franchise or chain, on-premise signage reinforces all other media advertising, and maximizes advertising effectiveness at a low cost.

10  By adding your business signage to your car and “wrapping” your company vehicles with striking vinyl, you can generate over 600 visual impressions for every mile driven  At about $0.35 per thousand impressions for a typical vehicle wrap, the cost is almost trivial compared to $3.56 for outdoor advertising or over $20.00 for typical magazine advertising.

About the Author

Orange County Business Signs Specialist Martin Neil contributes value to businesses and non-profit organizations across the United States by increasing their brand awareness with the very best sign solutions. He specializes in custom requirements for commercial building signage, vehicle wraps, office inside signage, trade show displays, promotional banners & flags, and large-size wall graphics. Improve your business signage by going to: http://www.Calibersi.com/Building-Signage.html

Image: thephotoholic / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

We don’t close until the last customer leaves

I co-own a small farm winery just west of Gettysburg, PA, USA. We do our best to instill into our employees the concept that the customer is the ONLY reason that we exist. As such, we state “we don’t close until the last customer leaves”.

We back this up with policies that include:

• No closing of registers while the last customers are present.
• No closing activities are to be performed until that last customer leaves.
• No turning off lights, locking of doors or any activity that would cause the customer to feel rushed.
• Providing the same excellent service to the late comers as was given to the first ones.
• We even open prior to published hours when someone shows up early.

- John G. Kramb, CEO, Adams County Winery

One extra customer a day (arrival at 6pm closing) = 320 additional services a year = $22,000. It’s that simple.

- Champe Granger, Owner, Grease Monkey franchises

I was recently traveling abroad on work and was struggling to keep up with my time due to a lot of work the day before leaving , I hadn’t had a hair cut for months and I had to get a hair cut before I could leave because I wasn’t sure if I would have the time to get a hair cut abroad, besides it was important to make a good impression on the client I was going to meet.

It was late in the evening about 7 pm and most salons in the city I live close at 8 pm. I called up the salon where I got a hair cut the last time and they said I couldn’t get an appointment because all their hair stylists had gone home. I went to another salon close to my home and the only stylist there was busy with another client, he said he wouldn’t be able to give me a hair cut because by the time, he finished working with his client, it would be closing time and he does not work beyond closing.

So, I went back home, surfed through an online directory and found another salon close to my home. I knew where this salon was, but I had never been there before. So, I called them and they said ‘no problem’, I could come down and get a hair cut. Once I went there, there were still some customers, I waited for a while and the stylist apologized for the delay. I had no problem with that because he was willing to provide his services even after closing time. I got the hair cut I wanted and the stylist was patient and happy to give me a hair cut even after closing time. He stayed back about 40 minutes beyond closing and was even generous enough to offer me a ride back home.

I am a sucker for great service. This time, the service was quite easily the best service I’ve received in a long time. Thank you Zara Salon, you guys rock.

How working insane hours paid off for this boutique advertising agency

We had designed packaging for a line of products our client was debuting at a trade show in St. Louis, where we’re located. We created incredible prototype packages for every product in the line so the client could have a dazzling shelf set for his customers to see. At 5:30 the night before the trade show opened, our client called in a panic and said, “Can you help me? I really screwed up. It’s my fault and I’m not sure what to do. I forgot to have you make the packaging for one of the products. I’ll pay anything. Can you help?”

We said we could help, naturally. We dove in and went into overdrive. My partner Terri was amazing. I lined up one of our vendors, who has a third shift to generate full color outputs on an emergency basis – as soon as we could get digital files to their shop, they would drop everything.

We sent the die lines for the box to another vendor, to cut templates out of cardboard and have them delivered immediately.

Terri designed like mad, while lined up everyone needed to get the job done.

I called our client back to see when he would need everything – he responded “The show starts at 7:00 a.m.” I guaranteed his prototype would be there on-time. I’d meet him a the convention center loading deck at 6:00 a.m.

Terri worked until 2:00 a.m., handed me the files and I sped to the files to printer for output. There was no time to allow for any mistakes uploading or downloading documents. I handed off the files at 2:15. Color outputs were finished at 4:00 and in our offices at 4:20. The cardboard for the packaging had arrived much earlier and was waiting. Terri trimmed the outputs and affixed them to the cardboard. She finished assembling by using hot glue to seal the packaging. The time was 5:15.

I hosed myself off in the sink as best I could and headed off to meet the client – I was out the door at 5:30. When Tony, our client, walked out of the convention center at 6:00, I was standing there with his prototype. He smiled and simply said, “Thanks. I owe you. You saved my butt.”

As he turned and hurried back inside I wondered if all this work would pay off. Sure, we charged rush for the previous twelve hour sprint. But would all the work pay off? It did. Two weeks later, we got a call with a nice assignment that paid just under $175,000.

- Bill Shelton, President, Left Field Creative

Recently I read a LinkedIn article for small business owners that stated, “You should think of your profile as an online resume.”  I could not disagree more. And, when you are done reading this article, let me know what you think!

Now, while you think whether or not your LinkedIn profile should be regarded as a resume, let me ask you: When was the last time you read an interesting and intriguing resume?

Most resumes tend to be boring and bland.  Now, how is this going to help you attract viewers and prospects? Simple, it can’t.

As a small business owner or a business development executive, you have to start thinking of your profile as a marketing tool and not a resume. Since you have to change your mindset about this, I have developed six distinct reasons why your profile should not look like a resume.

Why You Should Not Think of Your LinkedIn Profile as Your Resume

Reason #1:  A resume is not personal enough.

The goal of LinkedIn is to connect with people and build relationships. The only way you will connect with prospects is to personalize your profile.  To do this you need to tell stories and share information that gives a better scope of:

*  Who you are.
*  What makes you tick.
*  How you can help the prospect.
*  What new and exciting information you have to offer them.

Make viewers want to learn more about what you and your business can do for them.   Be creative and use all the applications that LinkedIn provides you can show videos, presentations and documents.

Reason #2: Remember LinkedIn is a social human network.

Most resumes lack that human touch that LinkedIn can provide if used correctly.  You need to make your profile interesting and enjoyable to read. You have to keep in mind that if you want others to read it, you should want to read it too.  Here is an excerpt of my summary to give you an idea of what I mean.

With over 80 million professional members in over 200 countries, LinkedIn offers small business owners and internet marketer’s unlimited opportunities to build, and nourish profitable relationships online.

However, out of the 80+ million people on LinkedIn, only a FEW successful companies and internet marketers are using LinkedIn to its’ fullest profit-making potential.

Do you want to know some of my top secrets on how to get more business using LinkedIn? As a Social Media Expert (not a self-proclaimed expert, the New York Times called me that) who specializes in LinkedIn, I’ve uncovered…”14 Underground Secrets to Making Money And Taking Complete and Total Control Of Your Industry and Niche on LinkedIn” Here I reveal mistakes that other LinkedIn experts are making.

Reason #3: The goal of LinkedIn profile is to get people to connect with you so that you can funnel them back to your website.

Your profile is a way to tell prospects what you and your business can do for them. Your LinkedIn profile allows you to show the different areas of your business and then lead prospects to the appropriate webpage to get even more information. The goal of a resume however, is to list accomplishments, achievements and jobs held. It simply lists your job descriptions, past and present.  A resume does not mention the kind of person you are and why someone should connect with you. And, a resume doesn’t allow you to focus on the here and now and what you can provide your potential clients today like your LinkedIn profile should.

Reason #4: Resumes are usually limited to 1-2 pages while a LinkedIn profile is not.

While it’s usually not a good idea to submit a resume that is more than 2 pages long, you don’t have that kind of restriction with an online profile.  You can include more information, more details, more accomplishments, more strengths and more keywords.  The more information you include the more credibility you will gain, the more connected to your prospects you will become. Once you gain their trust, it will become much easier to sell your products, services or even the idea of a joint venture relationship.

Reason #5: A LinkedIn profile enables you to brand yourself much better and much easier than a resume ever could.

Everything from yourself, your company to your products and services can be branded on your profile.  For example, if you are the best at selling widgets, then make sure your profile clearly articulates that – and reinforce your brand throughout the profile. LinkedIn recently added some new sections that will further enhance your ability to sell yourself to potential clients. What resume will allow you to include postings about your publications, certifications or skills.  Those sections usually get edited out due to space.

Now, do you think of your LinkedIn profile as your online resume?

Do you now realize the marketing potential LinkedIn gives you – if only you’d change your mindset?

Great! Now, I invite you to check out what other LinkedIn marketing mistakes you are making and opportunities you are missing. Grab my free special report at: http://www.GetLinkedInHelp.com

LinkedIn Marketing Expert Kristina Jaramillo creates online marketplace opportunities for small business owners who want more website traffic, prospects and profits. Now, with her free special report, you can uncover how you can become “the trusted source for your industry on LinkedIn” fast plus learn how to avoid the top 14 mistakes. Get this information for free at: http://www.GetLinkedInHelp.com

Top 5 Things To Include on Your Marketing Assessment Checklist

Create Your Market Research Checklist and Check it Twice.

For most businesses, December signals the dreaded year-end circus when juggling everything from reconciling the books, preparing taxes, issuing 1099s and W2s is a required act.

And while those are mission-critical tasks, one that should not be overlooked is your marketing assessment checklist.  This marketing assessment checklist should include your overall marketing objectives, what marketing tactics were implemented, who your high-priority target audiences were, what results were generated and the costs associated with each tactic.  As the saying goes you can’t know where you’re going unless you know where you’re coming from.  Understanding the lessons learned from your marketing efforts will prove critical in helping you determine what needs to be optimized or removed from your plan.

Here are 5 key marketing elements you should be sure to add to your list.

1. Who are you?

Knowing who you are and what you stand for is by far, the most important element in any company’s marketing strategy.  Having a clear image that is well communicated and established within your company will serve to make your business development plans more streamlined and targeted.  The creation of your mission, visions and values as well as your purpose is accomplished.

2. What are you trying to accomplish?

What are the specific business goals you want to achieve?  Make more money is not the answer – or at least, not stated that way.  Unless you are a non-profit, all businesses want to make money or at best, break even.  You need to push further in your goals and decide exactly how you are going to make money.  You also want to list over what time period these goals should be accomplished.  For example, a goal worthy of making your list would be something like this – Increase profit margins on professional services from 10% to 20% over the 18 months beginning 1^st quarter 2011.  The more specific the better because unless you have specific goals, there is no way for you to determine if your marketing efforts were successful or not.

3. Who are you talking to?

One of the most important elements of any marketing strategy is to first identify your target audience. You must know exactly who you are targeting?  Identifying your target is more than just saying ‘prospective clients’.  You must be able to go deeper and determine age, gender, household income, education, geographic location, lifestyle, attitudes, etc.

When you can pinpoint and profile exactly who you are trying to reach – everything else becomes much easier.  So how do you get this information? You first need to start with your current clients and customers by gathering this data from them in a variety of ways.

Customer satisfaction surveys are a great tool, as they not only give you important feedback about your product and service, it’s a great way to get general data from each client completing the survey. This can be done anonymously via an online survey or on your website.  They can also be done in person via a fill out form in your place of business.  Either way they are great tools that can form the basis of customer data collection.

4. Where do I reach them?

It’s a widely accepted fact that today’s consumers are bombarded with over 3000 messages per day.  So how do you know where the best places are to find them with your specific product or message?  First, you must know where they are likely to be when they are receiving these messages.  This is where a media consumption habit study comes into place.

While on the surface, you may assume that since all of your clients do business with you, then they must all like the same things – but you would be wrong.  You might also assume that since you have so many different types of clients that they all like totally different things – and you would also be wrong.  Take for example, social media networks, you are just as likely to find 20 something females, as you are to find 50 something females, doing everything from uploading to tweeting to commenting.

A media consumption habit study uncovers the ‘wheres’ and ‘hows’ of people’s preferences when it comes to getting information.  Some of the specific areas that are typically included are types of magazines and newspapers read, types of shows and programming watched, types of devices used for viewing e.g. DVR, types radio stations listened to – classic rock or jazz, types of websites visited, types of tasks completed online, various use of social media platforms, etc.  By structuring your media consumption habit study in an engaging and intuitive way will lead to a lot of relevant and rich information to help you determine how to reach your high priority target audience.

5. What do I say to them?

Knowing what messages to communicate to your prospect is easily done when you understand which factors will trigger the desired behavior.  So how do you know what facts will resonate with your target audience?  This can be accomplished via a variety of studies.

One in particular is an attitudes and perception study.  For example, if you are a discount retailer and you want to know what message to communicate other than low price, this type of study will get at some of the other underlying triggers that motivate consumers to action.

So questions about their attitudes to designer brand vs. discount brand might lead to insights that while a consumer does not want to spend a lot on clothing, she wants the perception that she does.  So your message in this case would be something like “Designer looks – without the designer price tag”.

Other insights to be gained from this type of study can also lead to the discovery of what they value most in clothing if pricing was not a factor.  Questions like this will likely yield responses that fit and style are the most important qualities they look for in clothing.  Your resulting message might be “The fit you want at prices you’ll love.”  The net result is to try and develop messaging that appeals to them on an emotional level and then seal the deal with pricing.

These are key tasks that every business owner who wants to have an effective marketing plan should adopt.  Marketing research should hold an equal space at the table as you think about your overall goals and objectives.  There is no room for assumptions in marketing your business.  Leverage the various market research tools to guide you along.  Get the facts, mine the data and develop marketing plans that are targeted and are effective use of your budget.

About the Author

Faith James is a marketing and qualitative research expert with over 18+ years experience.  She has developed marketing and communications programs for Fortune 500 multi-nationals to start-up brands.  She is a Riva-certified researcher and moderator and has conducted a host of research projects for clients ranging from apparel, spirits and wine, food and many more.  She can be reached at 612-205-6526, faith@jamessphere.com twitter:@faithjames

Image: Idea go / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

This is a power point presentation on how to build a brand. Please be patient as the presentation might take a while to download.

Uncovering The Mystery Behind Market Research.

What is market research?

Market research is the practice of digging for, and uncovering ‘truth’, about any given topic, geographic location or target audience.  Market research explores and probes, digging further to unearth the ‘why’s and ‘hows’.  Simply put, market research is the process of discovery.

Why do companies need to do market research?

Companies must do market research because, as a colleague of mine once said, marketing without doing research is pure hearsay.  Some might even go as far as calling marketing without research, heresy.

How effective is market research?

Market research is as effective as the methodology and the researcher involved.  Those who are consummate professionals and are respectful of the process of uncovering truth, rather than leading to confirm a pre-supposed hypothesis, will lead the marketing team to a place of opportunity for designing, developing and manufacturing a product that fits the needs of the marketplace, which ultimately leads to consumer demand and ultimately increased market-share.

What are the different types of market research?

There are a variety of market research methodologies with new thoughts and ideas of different ways of getting at the truth – Most people are familiar with focus groups where 6-8 individuals are recruited to share discussions on a topic for typically 90 mins.

The research team, and often clients, will watch from the back room and suggest additional areas for the moderator to probe.  Other methodologies include everything from one-to-one (IDI) interviews, researcher-guided shopalongs, self-guided shopsalongs with a small pocket video camera, surveys, on-going panel participation, in-home ethnographic studies such as a “closet-audit” where a researcher goes on a journey through a respondent’s closet to understand the whys and the hows of the clothing present, attitudes to fashion, shopping, etc.

What are the processes involved in doing market research?

There are several steps and those can further be broken out into additional steps, but in general the process looks like this:  Client/Marketer makes a decision to conduct market research, a research firm/advertising agency planning department etc., is hired on to manage the process and field the research.  First and most important next step is identifying the research goals/objectives.

It is important to get this step right, because as we researchers in the industry like to say, ‘garbage in – garbage out’.  At this time the research team is beginning to make their recommendations on the methodology that will be used, in order to get the best outcome and meet the research objectives.  Once the objectives are set, the research team develops a screener to identify the ideal respondents for the study, the client must sign-off, and agree to this document.  At this time, the research team would have also suggested an incentive fee that is intended to act as payment for the respondent ‘s time for participating in the study.

The research team typically, then hires a recruiting to firm to fill the responsibility of getting the agreed upon respondents, in the right place/market at the right time.  The research team, then drafts the discussion guide and sends to the client for input.  Once completed the discussion guide is then distributed to all concerned.  With confirmation that the recruiting has been completed, the moderator/researcher goes into the field and begins the research process.  At the completion of the research, a top-line or summary report is created by the researcher and presented to the clients, often times accompanied with edited video clips from the field.

How long does market research take?

This varies.  Some research projects are in the field for just a weekend, while others can be in the field for months.  The scope of the project and goals will impact the length of time.

What is the cost of doing market research?

Again, here, costs vary based on the methodology.  You can conduct a 10-person self-guided qualitative shopping study for $12,000 or conduct a 5-market, 60 hour- 1 hour guided retail clothing shopalongs for $25,000 and still yet an in-home ethnographic food study across 5 markets for $60,000.

How often should market research be done?

Some research projects are done annually or twice annually in the case of a brand tracking study where it’s fielded to get a handle on the overall brand impression, awareness, likely to continue to do business, refer etc. etc.  Any of a variety of questions that the marketer wants to keep track of can be included in a tracking study.  Research should always be done when there is a new product to be developed, a new line being introduced, etc.

Anything else you’d like to add?

Market research should and must hold a seat at the corporate table for any company.  Research is the platform that allows the consumer’s voice to be heard and as researchers, we compile, tabulate and synthesize that voice so that it is clear and understood by the marketers.  By listening to the voice of the consumer, marketers increase their opportunity to get it right the first time.

About the Author

Faith James is Chief Brand Development Officer at JCPR and has over 18+ years in the marketing, advertising and research industry.  She is a Riva trained and certified moderator and has conducted a host of research project for clients ranging from apparel, cognac, technology, food and many more. She can be reached at 612-205-6526 or faith@jcprinc.com

Image: Michal Marcol / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

With the strong emergence of social media in the internet marketing world, every Tom, Dick and Harry has come out saying they are social media experts. They are feeding on the desires of entrepreneurs who do not have time to dedicate to developing their social media presence effectively. If you do not ask the right questions you may wind up spending thousands of dollars and get no results.  That’s why I created this guide to help you choose the best social media consultant for your company.

5 Questions You Must Ask Before You Hire Your Next Social Media Consultant

1.  When engaging in social media marketing will you keep my targeted audience in mind?

Most social media companies will focus on making the connection. They do not care whatsoever who that connection is.  What good is having thousands of connections if they do not become prospects, new clients, referral sources or possible JV partners.

When I help my LinkedIn clients, I focus on their target audience. I research each individual potential connection to see if they could be a future prospect, referral source or joint venture opportunity.  I focus on the quality of the connection, not the quantity because my clients do not care how many people I connect with them. They care more about how much money they are making from LinkedIn and their social media efforts.

2. Do you create a system to take the online conversation offline?

Many consultants do not take the most crucial step of any online social media connection — They fail to take the online conversation offline. If you think you are going to sell high-end products and services just by having a social media presence, then I have a Brooklyn Bridge to sell you.

You need to have a system in place that consistently gets your website and information in front of your prospects. You need to engage with them on many levels. And, you need to find ways that you can get them to take the next step in your relationship – and have a phone conversation with you.

3. How engaged are you in social media conversations?

Anyone can post content to groups – a five year old can even do that if you show them how. If your social media consultant does not understand direct response copywriting techniques that encourages conversation, then it’s time to move on.

If your social media consultant does not regularly monitor the conversations that’s happening online every day, then move on. The person you choose to handle your social media needs to know how to assess the conversations and find ways you can contribute. I spend time every day, scanning the LinkedIn Q & A boards and the different groups that my clients belong to. I look for opportunities that my clients can add value. I look for ways to spark healthy debates. That’s what effective social media marketing is all about.

4. When focusing on social media profiles do you focus strictly on keyword optimization and being found first for you niche?

If you go to LinkedIn and do a search on internet marketing, you will see the number one person has only 145 connections and the number 2 person has 154 connections.  Now internet marketing is a popular key phrase. In fact, the search gets 487,100 results for that phrase.

So imagine how many people check out their profiles. One has to wonder why they get so few connections.  It is because the person who handles their profile forgot, if you want to create a connection, you need to have prospect focused copy within the profile. You cannot just have it stuffed with keywords.  Your profile has to show me why I want to connect or do business with you.

5. How can you ensure that my social media messaging stays consistent with my branding?

One of my clients, Adam Hommey, Founder of Help My Website Sell, started to create content that dealt with how to work effectively with your website team.  How does that relate to a brand that is heavily focused on increasing website conversions?

Most companies would have distributed his article on their social networks without any concern. But I pushed backed and told him that this did not match his brand and this should not be sent out.  I asked him point blank, how does this relate to website conversions and how will this persuade legal firms, management consulting firms and corporation (his target audience) to want to connect with him?  You need someone who will keep your brand in check and work to reinforce it through social media.

By asking these 5 questions, you will avoid the mistake of hiring the wrong social media consultant or company. For additional social media help, I invite you to go to http://www.GetLinkedInHelp.com and check out my free LinkedIn special report revealing the 14 mistakes that most businesses make.

About the Author:

LinkedIn Expert Kristina Jaramillo creates online marketplace opportunities for entrepreneurs who want more website traffic, prospects and profits. Now, with her free special report, you can uncover how you can become “the trusted source for your industry on LinkedIn” and along with easy ways to gain more connections fast by avoiding the top 14 mistakes. Get this information for free at: http://www.GetLinkedInHelp.com

Image: jscreationzs / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

The drive to be authentic is a cornerstone in branding. When you make a promise to your customers, it is important that you follow through on that promise and deliver. I would also add that over delivering is an even better effort to embrace.

Branding touches each stakeholder in unique ways. All the experiences shared come together resulting in a perception of your brand. That perception – if all goes well, should be one that is positive and powerful. Getting it done right is imperative.

Dropping the ball with your brand can at times be detrimental to growing your business. There are no do-overs in branding. Once you make that miss-step it’s there for all to see. You’ve got to play that ball where it lies. Are you up to the challenge branding demands? You better be because your competition would love to define your brand for you.

Coming back from a bad play is a very time-consuming and expensive exercise. Some companies never fully recover. They carry the stink of that ball still. It is for this very reason, that you must not manage your brand lightly. Staying on top of your game will help to ensure that your brand benefits from the long AND short game. 10 situations to watch out for include:

• Reducing service to increase the bottom line
• Failing to recognize the loyalty customers exhibit
• Identifying weaknesses and conquering them
• Be sure that your brand image reflects your current culture
• Keeping stakeholders abreast of your moves
• Rewarding great behavior of staff
• Failing to address bad PR directly
• Don’t bad mouth the competition no matter how tempting
• Ignoring the consistency of your brand image
• Making sure that stakeholders all understand your brand promise

This is your one chance to step up to your brand, keeping you eye on the ball and smacking it to the green. And in this case that green is money Baby!

About the Author

Ed Roach is popularly called the “Branding Guy”. He is involved in Brand Positioning Strategies for Small Businesses. He can be reached at ed@thebrandingexperts.ca, www.TheBrandingExperts.ca or his blog at www.TheBrandCorral.com

Image: Francesco Marino / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

You may have a Business Marketing Plan, but do you have a Personal Marketing Plan?

How does your market perceive your business?  How does your market perceive you?  How would you like them to perceive your business, and you? What are you doing about it?

Keep in mind that your market is what makes your living. You have to react to their needs and desires.

So how are you positioned in your market?  Are you getting the respect you deserve or are you just like the rest of them?  In order to stand out of the crowd you have to create you own personal marketing program. I am not talking about the marketing program created by or for your organization, I am talking about a personal marketing program – one built by you for you.

One of the greatest opportunities we have in business, and in sales, is to develop our reputation and to build our network.  Some of us are even paid to do just that.

With or without a sale, each and every day we are building, or destroying, our reputation and our network. The key is to build that reputation and network through a personal marketing program.

People buy from people, particularly people they like.  A personal marketing program will separate you from everyone else.  You can position yourself as the leader in the field with the most credibility and respect, if you are willing to go the extra mile.  The extra mile is simply giving more of your expertise in a manner that is valued.

An entrepreneur wonders "How do I define my market?"

But first take the time to define your market;  Who are they, what do they look like, where are they located, what are their problems, their needs and desires?   Describe your ideal prospect – Profile them.  What are their likes and dislikes?  How do you market to them?  How do you meet them?  How do you start and maintain a relationship?

Your marketing department probably already asked the above questions, but you need to answer them for yourself based on your knowledge.  You are the product or service now and you need your own marketing program.  People buy whatever you have to sell because of who you are.

How will you position yourself in the market place – your territory or your accounts?

There are some simple and obvious ways to position yourself for success in your personal marketing program.  For example, you can identify the associations that your market gets involved in and you too can get actively involved in a leadership or executive role within that association.  I have even gone as far as being a founding president of an association chapter.

If it is credibility that you need, consider writing a newsletter, articles or tip sheets for local newspapers or magazines on a regular basis or share your expertise through public speaking.  I do both of these on a regular basis.

I have articles that have been published worldwide with my photo and contact information.  In addition, every time I speak I get more leads for speaking, sales training and education materials.  The more articles that I write and the more I speak, the more I sell.  Think of what would happen to your sales if you publicly shared your information in a passionate and sincere way.

The objective behind your personal marketing plan is to position yourself as an expert in your field.  As someone who is known, recognized and networked.

With a good personal marketing plan you will be referred and chased through word of mouth as opposed to chasing.  But you must also keep your network in mind and continuously recognize and reward them for their positive behaviour.  You should even create a win-win referral system as part of your plan.

About the author

Bob Urichuck is a certified social entrepreneur, a catalyst for constant improvement and a cultivator of human potential.Visit www.BobU.com to download your complimentary White Paper “The New Economy of Buyers, Why Traditional and Consultative Selling Methods No Longer Work”Sales Velocity. Your Bottom Line. Our Passion.

Customize Your Sales Training Program According To The Needs Of Your Organization. Check Out Our Sales Training Program. Click Here To Learn More.

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Sales is the Life Line to Your Bottom Line in Today’s New Economy of Buyers?

You must appreciate that sales revenue is the life line to your bottom line.  Without buyers, there are no sales. Without sales, there are no revenues. The world revolves around sales, but more importantly, it now needs to revolve around buyers.  Buyers are everywhere.  What are you doing to help them buy?

The economy brought on a shift from selling during the boom times to attracting, engaging and empowering the new economy of buyers to buy.

Traditional and consultative sales methods no longer work.  The sales cycle is longer than need be and the margins are dropping.

Buyers have been educated by sales people regarding all imaginable sales techniques.  Unfortunately, salespeople don’t even realize they have lost control.

Sales people also need to change the way they are selling.  The traditional dog-and-pony show, or feature and benefit dump will no longer work.

Clients, in today’s new economy, are looking for salespeople who bring them value.  They want sales people who take the time to truly understand a client’s business and needs.

Clients appreciate salespeople who ask pertinent questions and listen intently, at the same time as demonstrating genuine concern for the client instead of themselves.  Clients respect salespeople who are in it for the long term relationship and not simply for the money.

To succeed in the new economy of buyers, you need to do the opposite of selling. You need to attract, engage and empower buyers to buy.

“Keep doing what you have always done and you will get what you have always gotten.”

Most strategic planning emphasizes a target to increase sales and to up the bottom line.  Sales and Sales Management skill sets must keep pace with the new economy of buyers in this high-tech, global society.

This is probably one reason why Sales Training is so prevalent on the Internet, at public seminars including in-house customized programs.

Another reason is sales training offers Management and individual sales professionals a high return on investment. For example, where else could you invest $1 with a realistic expectation of a $10 or more return in revenue?

If you, as a Corporate Executive, entrepreneur or professional salesperson are considering sales training, ensure it is a “buyer focused” sales training system supporting today‘s new economy of buyers.

Once you understand how buyers buy and how they control the sales process, you will want to change how you conduct your sales.  Buyers follow a system, and salespeople must do the same.  You must integrate a selling system that attracts, engages, and empowers the buyer to buy, not one that sells to the buyer.

A buyer focused selling system will maximize time and provide measurable results.   You will enable buyer attraction, engagement, and qualification.  Once the prospect is qualified, you will have the control to empower the buyer to buy, increase the velocity of your selling cycle, increase your margins and revenues, and ultimately, up your bottom line.

It is crucial to your overall success to begin with a strong foundation that will adequately support the productive behaviours within the Selling System.

A brand new positive and proactive attitude will certainly attract more buyers.

Changing your ineffective behaviours or habits into defined daily disciplines and efficient habits will provide you with more focused targeting. The result will be a better return on time invested (R.O.T.I.).

A buyer focused selling system requires organizations to be committed to doing what is “right” and demonstrating the appropriate behaviours on an ongoing basis.  This includes tracking and analyzing behaviours to increase call-to-close ratios, or if necessary, turning away business. It also means being ethical and acting with integrity even when it’s easy or tempting not to.

Buyer Focused Sales training and Sales Management Training training in today’s new economy will contribute more to your bottom line than any other activity.

All sales professionals, entrepreneurs or Corporate Executives must remember that sales revenue is the life line to up your bottom line.   Without buyers, there are no sales. Without sales, there are no revenues. The world revolves around sales, but more importantly, it now needs to revolve around buyers.  Buyers are everywhere.  What are you doing to help them buy?

About the author

Bob Urichuck is a certified social entrepreneur, a catalyst for constant improvement and a cultivator of human potential. Visit www.BobU.com to download your complimentary White Paper “The New Economy of Buyers, Why Traditional and Consultative Selling Methods No Longer Work” Sales Velocity. Your Bottom Line. Our Passion.

Check Out Our Sales Training Programs. Click here to learn more!

Image: Francesco Marino / FreeDigitalPhotos.net