What do you do when a potential buyer contacts you … and you discover they’re a tyre-kicker rather than a serious buyer? Most people dismiss them. Some people choose to build a relationship with them. I prefer the latter approach, because someone who’s not a serious buyer today might become one in the future. In the [...]
Have you ever heard of the four Ps of marketing? They are: Product Price Place Promotion You need to offer a customer a product that’s going to solve their problem. You need to price it in a way that reflects its value. You need to sell and market that product in the place those customers hang [...]
There’s a wonderful anecdote about Robert Kiyosaki, the author of Rich Dad, Poor Dad. Kiyosaki once said there’s a reason people like him are called “bestselling authors” rather than “bestwriting authors”. Creating a wonderful product isn’t enough to make sales. You also need to market it. You’ll make more sales of a bad product with good [...]
Every little thing you do and your business does either adds to or subtracts from your reputation. So, every day, you have a chance to improve your reputation, even by just a little bit. That’s why you need to make a point of doing the little things well, and repeatedly, because a good reputation will attract [...]
If you love someone you have to set them free ... and if they return to you, you know they're yours. The same rule applies with marketing. Some small businesses put out aggressive, needy marketing, because they fear that if they don’t hook the customer then and there, they’ll lose that customer forever. A better approach [...]
Here’s a counter-intuitive marketing idea – tell people you don’t want their money. If you’re talking to a potential client and you realise you can’t solve their problem or they’re not suited to working with your business, you should tell them to go elsewhere. Of course, you should refuse their money for ethical reasons. But you [...]
You’d make more sales if more people trusted you, wouldn’t you? But when you meet a new customer, you’re just a stranger, so why would they trust you? That’s why every small business should have a high-value freebie they can offer to sceptical strangers. These freebies should be things that are of low value to you [...]
Want to prove your relevance and expertise? Talk about your customers’ problems. The moment you start talking about your customers’ problems, they’ll be all ears. And the moment you start providing solutions to those problems, you’ll prove your expertise. No, you don’t prove your relevance and expertise by talking about how wonderful you are. You do [...]
Every part of your business sends a message to customers. Your customer service. Your emails. Your phone calls. Your logo. Your website. Your Tweets. It all sends a message, whether positive, negative or neutral. That’s why every little part of your business is a form of marketing. So examine each and every part of your business [...]
Here’s one way to recruit some unpaid marketing representatives. Form a partnership with a non-rival business that has the same customers as yours. For example, if you run a mortgage broking business, a real estate agency would have the same customers but not be in competition with you. If you can convince them to promote your [...]
