Effortless New Revenue Streams January 28, 2009

There is something I really love about down economies:  businesses really start thinking outside the box.  I’m not talking about the big, layoff kings. Small and medium businesses start taking risks, looking for new opportunities and asking me, “What else can I do to get new business?”   Some business models seem stuck in a cul-du-sac for most.  The question I pose my clients is, “What non-competitive businesses want your clients?”  This is where we find the FREE MONEY – affiliate programs!

Now, it’s well known that I came up through the ranks of corporate partnership programs. I saw first hand how poorly these mega-programs ran.  A very few mega-agents or resellers made all the money and got all the attention. Hell, their executives dictated how the programs were run.  It was as corrupt as a Blagojevich PR campaign. But, a smaller affiliate program run by businesses that have integrity could be your cash cow.  Is there a service you always wanted to offer, but you don’t have the knowledge?  Would products be a great addition to your service offerings?  Or, do you have something others wish THEY can offer?

My Challenge or “Homework”:  We all network or have preferred professionals we send business to and receive from.  What can you offer their clients and how much can you incent them to always send those clients to you?  Do they have something your clients would most certainly buy?  Are they open to a paid referral program?  (No? Send them to me – I’ll nudge them for you.)

Market to Your Potential Sales Staff –  Do not ignore the shift in your target audience.  When you discuss your program or talk to someone about their’s it’s still what’s in it for them.  If you are intending a program of your own, be sure to offer a good incentive and easy access.

Think behind your usual boundaries.  Those who do will find immense opportunities that will propel them well into the prosperity that awaits beyond the downturn.  And, if you share my target audience – small to medium businesses – check out my Affiliate Program.  It’s quite lucrative!  http://www.paulapollock.com/Affiliates.html

Paula Pollock is Director of the Pollock Marketing Group:  helping business owners attract consistent clients with less effort.  To receive her quick-read, weekly marketing tips and her Special Report, “7 Client Attraction Secrets That Will Double Your Income,” CLICK HERE and sign up.  www.paulapollock.com

Soft Sell Marketing Follow Up January 21, 2009

Pull marketing will get prospects “in-the-door”.  Some of these prospects will find your products/services interesting.  And, fewer prospects will be interested enough to sign up for an email, visit your store, or call for more information.  What you do next is critical and can make or break your sale to these last few interested prospects.  Systematically following up in a non-salesy way is the key to this numbers game.

Information Gathering - It’s painfully simple.  Ask some general questions about their needs.  No need to be a silk tongued salesman.  That won’t work.  Better to show genuine concern for your prospect’s questions. Very few people buy without doing at least some research.  If the person appears to be a browser, not ready to commit or yours is a naturally longer cycle, you need some vehicle to gather their contact information so you can continue the process.

Low Risk Offer - Determine something of value to this prospect that costs very little to provide.  It must be something of specific interest to them, not something you are trying to get rid of.  It could be a contest to win something or weekly tips they would want to know.  The trade is that they give you some contact information in return.  “But, people give fake information.  What do I do about them?”  This is the beauty of e-zines or e-newsletters: those who give you phony emails will bounce and you don’t waste another minute with them.  Besides, if they do that they aren’t a prospect you want to spend any time with.

E-newsletters – Although they are more prevalent today, sending a weekly e-newsletter is still a great way to stay top-of-mind for your prospect.  If you have their address, sending a hard-copy newsletter monthly is a great way to stay ahead of your competition.  Either way, if you are including high value content for your prospect your open rates will remain high and you won’t have many opt-outs.  As long as you keep up the weekly mailing, you have a nice follow up system.  Anything less than once a week isn’t worth the effort.

Direct Contact – By far the best scenario is meeting someone and getting that person’s card.  If they express any interest in potentially working with you, ask permission to put them on your e-newsletter so you don’t get a reputation for spamming.  It never fails.  Every time I attend a formal networking meeting where my cards are passed to all the members, someone will inevitably put me on their e-newsletter.  Just because you are in the same room and have my card doesn’t assume I have opted-into your list.  Big no-no.

Low-Hanging Fruit - People that express interest should be added  to a regular follow-up list.  One day each week, spend time following up with some of your prospects.  Spread them out over time and continue to stay in touch. Just checking back will keep you in a professional light with them and over time you will close more of this business.  Keep track of the clients you convert and start watching your statistics.  Pretty soon, you will know that your average prospect takes X weeks to close or needs to be contacted X times before signing.

Selling cycles are lengthening across all industries in this economy and signs don’t show much change in 2009.  Stay on top of the interested parties.  People are still buying; still in need.  Be sure you are there when they’re ready.

Paula Pollock is Director of the Pollock Marketing Group:  helping business owners attract consistent clients with less effort.  To receive her quick-read, weekly marketing tips and her Special Report, “7 Client Attraction Secrets That Will Double Your Income,” CLICK HERE and sign up. www.paulapollock.com

Golf for Business – A Woman’s Perspective January 15, 2009

I’ve been playing golf since I was 7. I grew up at one of those country clubs where men were the members and their wives had few rights. Women and junior golfers had about the same tee priority. In two words – it sucked.

Now I’m an adult, belong to my own country club and have equal rights on the course. However, I find in business networking on the golf course there is still a major divide. I find that men aren’t as enthusiastic to play business golf with a woman sponsor and tend to feel uncomfortable. Where men can have a limited relationship prior to golfing, it appears to grow deeper from one round. With women, it doesn’t deepen much.

I think it has to do with cigars and dirty jokes. When a women is present, the guys always seem to feel stifled. The only benefit I find to business golf is to deepen an established relationship. Once someone is a client and I take them to play at my club, they are usually fans for a long time. Not to mention, my game still surprises some men. “Wow, you are pretty good.” (They usually stop themselves before saying…”for a girl,” but it’s there. No big – been hearing that since I was 10.)

I think the very best place for women to expand their network playing golf is in group or charity tournaments if they have game. If you you never hit the green in regulation you should find another option. For whatever double standard there is, men can hack all over the course, throw clubs, etc. but if a woman misses two shots in a row someone will get impatient. Remember, you are trying to network and make a good impression. Don’t put yourself out there just to have people remember you as the loud, bad golfer.

But Ladies, there is an underused option available to not playing. The area where men are at a disadvantage in these events is at the sponsor tables. If you can’t play well, sponsor a hole but make sure you can be at that hole doing something interesting: closest to the pin (be the one out there measuring), drive a cart around and sell raffle tickets, sell beer at a hole way out of beer-cart range, sell mulligans on the water holes, etc. You get to stay put, not golf and still network with each group in a small setting! It’s almost better than playing.

Seriously, I’ve spent years on the course. I absolutely love to play with fun golfers – male and female – that aren’t too competitive or learning on the fly. I play with the local ladies every week and will compete on our inter-club team. If you have a charity tournament where I can play, drink a beer, win a prize and network – be sure to call. I am available, if you can handle the cynicism and possibly being beat by a girl!

Paula Pollock is Director of the Pollock Marketing Group:  helping business owners attract consistent clients with less effort.  To receive her quick-read, weekly marketing tips and her Special Report, “7 Client Attraction Secrets That Will Double Your Income,” CLICK HERE and sign up. www.paulapollock.com

The Jim Jones Approach to Online Conversion January 14, 2009

It’s pretty well known that your website has only a few seconds to prove to your visitor whether they are in the right place.  If you have captured the right client and they decide to stay a while, you need to use “The Jim Jones Approach” to convert them. The key is to know your audience inside out (see my post on Personas) because if you aren’t thinking the way they are, not only will they not convert you’re going to lose them completely.

Path To Sale -  Each product and service in your arsenal has a totally unique path to sale.  Even if you sell an product identical to your competition, your visitor has unique needs that brought them to you. Having a solid understanding of this draw is extremely important to a positive outcome.  If you do have direct competitors, study their public sales vehicles:  websites, seminars, stores, etc.  You need to know their sales process in order to find ways to improve yours.  Knowing why people buy, when they do and how long it takes before they actually do will help create the flowchart for your sales process.

Lead Them To the Kool-Aid®:  You rarely catch a client at the perfect moment where they are willing to buy on the spot.  Depending on the complexity of your sale, you may need layered conversion goals for each prospect.  E.g.  The buyer of a luxury yacht will probably require many touch-points and a series of smaller conversions before they convert to purchase.  Where as someone buying golf balls will have fewer steps before they buy.  

Buy/Not Buy – To eliminate the buy/not buy issue you need to give them options depending on their position along the sales path.  Some prospects want passive information and others want to talk with someone.  Having options for your prospect at each step of the process is one way to keep them engaged.  

Other Friction Points - The prospect has stayed on your site for a minute or two (a pretty decent achievement, btw) and has further questions or concerns.  Your job is to determine what those are in advance, answer them quickly and get the prospect back on the path to conversion. Google Analytics is a goldmine for figuring where you’re losing them. Use it.  It’s free, though it does have a learning curve for most people.

Oh Yeah!  You have converted:  they have signed up for newsletters, a free trial, made an appointment or purchased.  Whatever you do, don’t stop using the conversion approaches.  You should always be moving them closer to drinking your Kool-Aid® (purchasing) and then ordering another round for all their friends (referrals)!  

Paula Pollock is Director of the Pollock Marketing Group:  helping business owners attract consistent clients with less effort.  To receive her quick-read, weekly marketing tips and her Special Report, “7 Client Attraction Secrets That Will Double Your Income,” CLICK HERE and sign up. www.paulapollock.com

Unexpected Guests and Rush Client Jobs January 7, 2009

Out of the blue, some family members decided last week to visit us this week and I found myself thinking of the business similarities of unexpected guests and rush client jobs. I’m sure you have them too, family members/clients that expect you to drop everything because they absolutely-must-have-it-today-or-they’ll-die. What can be done about them to save your sanity and business?

Family is harder because you can’t ”fire” them. They usually keep coming back and in the case of in-laws it’s best to keep your mouth shut. So, let’s look at client rush orders and perhaps a clue will present itself.

The type of client that needs a rush order can fall into two basic categories: legitimate and disorganized. The legitimate emergencies pop up out of no where. If you have time to accommodate the rush, this client will be happy to pay any rush fee you impose and will probably become a client for life because you bailed them out.

The disorganized is the client who is often late for meetings, wastes too much time with non-business things during business hours, delegates without direction, kills messengers and could possibly be on your demon client list, but you haven’t had the courage to fire them. This is your opportunity to correct behavior and possibly turn this person into an ideal client.  First, you double the rush charge for them. Tell them you are swamped and will need to work extra hours (probably true) to accommodate them. If they are a repeat offender, tell them that this is the last time you will accept a rush job from them. Explain that your other clients are very organized and manage to plan their needs around your delivery schedules. If they are client you really want to keep regardless of their behavior, keep increasing their rush rate until it’s so cost prohibitive they go away on their own.

Set Boundaries:  Often in down economies, businesses tend to wave their client boundaries for fear that client will leave.  The down times don’t last forever and when they’re over, you may have a full client base of high maintenance prima donnas.  Determine right now what you will and won’t do.  Put it into a policy document on your website or somewhere you can direct clients who ask.  You will look professional and solid as if you respect your boundaries, so will your clients.

As for your MIL, I can only suggest not to bathe the dog and encourage him to sleep in the guest room with her.  Next time, she’ll consider a hotel or plan ahead.

Paula Pollock is Director of the Pollock Marketing Group:  helping business owners attract consistent clients with less effort.  To receive her quick-read, weekly marketing tips and her Special Report, “7 Client Attraction Secrets That Will Double Your Income,” CLICK HERE and sign up. www.paulapollock.com