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How To Profit From The Recession – Small Business Marketing Tips

By Charlie Cook | July 14, 2008

What do most small business owners do when faced with a recession?
What do they do when buyers are fewer and far between?

Earlier this week I blogged about how to grow your business when times are tough and I know that your instincts may be to do the wrong thing.

The natural tendency is to get scared and cut back on your marketing and hope that the downturn is short lived and you have cash to spend when business picks up.

Is this the right strategy? Is running scared the prudent path to higher profits?

For most businesses, running scared during a market downturn will only guarantee that they will come out at the bottom, when and if the market ever picks up. Builders are a great example.

When it was easy to get a mortgage, builders had buyers lined up ten deep at their door. All they needed was a business card and a yellow page listing to get all the clients they could handle. Here in Connecticut, unless you wanted to build a house of over 6,000 square feet you couldn’t even get a builder to return your calls.

After ten or more years of easy money, the lending landscape has changed and any builder who thinks that waiting this out is the right solution will be out of business in a few years. It could easily be another ten years before interest rates peak and come down stimulating the next building boom.

I know you’re smarter than to think you can just wait out this recession. Smart business owners see recessions as the chance get ahead while others are running scared.

How can you prosper in this recession?
Use this proven small business marketing strategy >>

Even in a downturn you can always find more business than you can handle if you know how to market your business. The real estate market is a good example.

One real estate broker called me from Atlanta where prices are down 7% and monthly sales are down by 20%. Instead of crying about spilt milk or running scared he saw this downturn as a great chance to end up making more.

His reasoning was that, while sales were down, 3,564 homes sold in April. With an average commission of $10,000 all he needed to do was instead of just selling one, sell three per month and he’d be making plenty.

Tough times can be great for business because they winnow out the less than savvy marketers and leave the playing field wide-open for smart people like you. Fewer competitors + smarter marketing = more business for you!

If you act scared or market defensively – you’ll see your sales and profits plummet – and they may never recover.

Instead use your marketing to position yourself as the go to expert, continue to build strong relationships with prospects and generate referrals – you’ll prosper even in this recession and when the economy picks up you’ll find yourself ahead of your competitors.

The choice is yours.

Find out the simple marketing solution I used to make the past six months of this recession my best ever >>

To Your Success,

Charlie
Proven Small Business Marketing Ideas

4 Marketing Ideas to Profit with Email

By Charlie Cook | July 9, 2008

“Email marketing doesn’t work!” People who say this have it wrong. They’re confusing the medium with the message.

You may get dozens if not hundreds of emails each day that are tossed into your bulk mail or spam folder before you even see them. Of those that you do open, sometimes by mistake, most want to sell you stuff that you don’t want or need.

It’s true that a lot of email is pure junk, but before you dismiss email entirely as an effective marketing tool, you should know that for the past year I’ve been using a planned sequence of two emails that result in $15 to 20,000 in sales each time they’re sent out. And you can have the same success.

Here are four ways you can use email to increase your profits by helping more people buy your products and services.

1. Send Email to People That Ask For It
Sending email to people who have never heard of you is almost always a waste of time. They’re not going to open your email, much less read it.

Before people will open and read your emails, you have to prove to them that you can be trusted to provide helpful ideas or information. Then you can politely ask them to give you their contact information and ask their permission to email them. In your first email, double check that they want to hear from you.

The confirmation process described above may seem onerous, but it keeps all of us from being deluged with spam and ensures that the people on your email list want to hear from you and are interested in buying from you.

What’s the fastest way to build your own massive email list? Use this link to get the details about this marketing idea >>

2. Get the Conversation Going
One of the biggest mistakes online marketers make is sending out a barrage of emails that try to sell right away. Send emails like these out and you’ll destroy the trust you’ve been working hard to develop.

Instead, use your marketing emails to demonstrate that you’re the go-to expert in your industry niche. And periodically ask your readers’ relevant questions. Hearing their feedback will let you know what they want and need.

People are much more likely to buy from you when they know you, trust you and feel like they can talk to you.

Ready to find out the secrets to using email to build trust and sales? Start here >>

3. Use Personal Reputation To Increase Sales
Your personal reputation is the sum of every thing your prospect has seen or heard about you and your company. Ideally, your prospects think of you as helpful and interested in them as well as, knowledgeable, up-to-date, trustworthy and reliable.

If your reputation isn’t solid, people will perceive too much risk when you ask them to buy. If you’ve got a strong reputation, your prospects are much more likely to respond when you suggest a product or service and become clients and customers.

How can you use email to build your brand and your profits? Find out here >>

What can you do if you’re just getting started or have been in business for years but aren’t reaching many buyers with your current email list?

Find another company targeting the same market you’re trying to reach. Let them review your products and then make them an offer that can’t be beat to promote your products or services.

When one of the most famous people in your industry niche tells people to buy your product, you’ll generate five times as many sales as you would trying to make the sale yourself.

4. Listen to Your Readers; They’re Your Buyers
Your marketing emails are going to thousands, if not tens of thousands, prospects. You can’t hear what those prospects say when they get your email, but there is an easy way to find out what they are thinking.

Each time you send an email, check your email tracking stats to see:

# The percentage of people that opened your email,

# Of those people that opened your email, how many followed the links provided in the email,

# How many of those that followed the link made a purchase.

Use this information to improve the results of your next email. For example when I log into my email broadcast service I can see how many people opened each of the html emails I send.

When you have this information you can determine which topics and subject lines to focus on and which to dump. Similarly you can use tracking links in your newsletter to see what percentage of people who read your emails went to your product page and how many of those made a purchase.

With a little bit of simple tracking data in hand you can identify whether to fix your subject line, your email content or your sales page, or all three.

Want to know the secrets to using email to grow your business? I’ve been testing and refining my email and web marketing strategies for almost a decade.

Here’s a shortcut to email marketing success >>

Do these 4 ideas sound too simplistic? 90% of my sales are in response to emails that either I send out or my sales partners send out on my behalf. Using the four email strategies above, you could easily boost your sales by more than you ever imagined.

Want to increase your online profits? Put these ideas to work today to see your website profits soar.

To your success,

Charlie

P.S. – Even if you already have a web site that’s making money, I challenge you to double your profits this summer. I know you can if you use these proven email marketing ideas and techn iques >>

P.P.S. – I’m always amazed at how many people keep doing the same thing over and over when it doesn’t work. I know you’re smarter than that and would rather find out how to use these proven email strategies to grow your business too >>

How to Increase Sales by 500%

By Charlie Cook | June 27, 2008

Sometimes marketing your business can be fun.
One company executive wandered into his testing lab and decided to bring in a film crew to document how his products were tested with a dash of humor.

The result? A series of videos that are getting millions of views on YouTube and have increased sales by 500%.

Take a look at their most popular video >
And then come up with one you can use to market your business and see your sales soar with viral marketing.

– Charlie
Small Business Marketing That Sells

How to Sell More In Any Economy – Small Business Marketing

By Charlie Cook | June 25, 2008

“I just lost my biggest client because of a corporate cost cutting mandate. I was getting 60% of my business from them! What do I do?” – Bob, Minneapolis MN

I hear more and more small business owners worrying about a business slowdown, if they aren’t already feeling the effects of one. Have you ever lost a major client unexpectedly or seen your sales drop over a short period? It can take your business months or even years to recover. How do you keep this from happening, especially in an uncertain economy?

My daughter lives in New York City and works across town from her apartment. Now that it’s June and stays light later, she likes to walk home through Central Park.

When she heads out the door in the morning, she pops a small folding umbrella in her bag. That way in case a passing summer rainstorm catches her in the park, she can stay dry.

Keeping your business from getting drenched and your profits dry also requires planning and preparation.

What’s the secret to growing your business in any economy? Find out >>

Umbrella Marketing
There are always opportunities for small businesses and entrepreneurs – it just takes planning and preparation to create them.

If you lived in a place where afternoon rain showers were common, or if you looked out the window and saw threatening rain clouds, you’d take an umbrella with you when you left the house, too. Here’s how to provide your business with the same protection so you can keep a steady stream of profits coming in.

Want to maintain your profits, even in a downturn? Discover how >>

Here are a few examples:

In May, GM’s sales were down by almost 30%, Toyota’s on the other hand were essentially flat. GM and Toyota are both in the same industry. How is it that one’s sales are down by 30% and the other’s sales are holding steady?

Unless you’ve been hiding in a cave for the last 20 years, you knew that oil supplies are dwindling, new sources are harder to tap, and demand from China and other developing countries is growing fast. Gas prices were going to go up. GM’s response was to keep selling their gas guzzling but highly profitable SUVs. Only now that sales have tanked (sorry, bad pun) and they’re shutting factories are they talking about making smaller, fuel efficient cars.

Toyota, on the contrary, has been designing and building fuel efficient cars as well as SUVs for the last decade. They’ve profited on both ends, when gas prices were lower and SUVs were in demand, and now, when gas prices are going up and consumers want better fuel economy.

What kind of business do you want to be running, a GM or a Toyota?

With banks tightening credit, it’s harder and harder to get a loan for that new car you want. Here’s what one car dealer did to keep his sales up; a year or so ago he saw the start of the credit-tightening trend and refocused his marketing on selling used cars. His business doubled in the past twelve months.

Residential real estate sales have dropped by 15 to 50%, depending on location. That took a bite out of one realtor’s income.

Then she noticed that while U.S. buyers were less likely to buy more and more foreign buyers were showing interest thanks to the dropping dollar.

Customers from Canada, Germany, Norway and elsewhere see the dropping value of the dollar as a great real estate investment opportunity. When she target these buyers, her sales shot up.

Do you have a client who provides you with 60% of your sales, like Bob did? What should you do to protect your business? Find the answer here >>

I doubt that I’m the first one to warn you about the problems with building your business around one “gorilla” client. What you should know if that there is a good chance that you’ll lose that client through no fault of your own sometime in the future.

To keep your business growing, you need to pack a small business marketing umbrella. Create a small business marketing plan that keeps new business coming in so that when the economy falters or existing clients sign off, your business keeps growing and you stay dry, comfortable and profitable.

You’ll be amazed at how much more you can make in any economy with a simple umbrella marketing strategy. Get the details here >>

To your success,

Charlie
Providing Proven Small Business Marketing Ideas You Can Use

P.S. It happened to me 3 years ago. I lost one client who had reserved 25% of my coaching time. When a senior VP shut down all consultant spending, my contract went out the window even though it was providing a huge return on investment.

It didn’t make me happy but thanks to a diversified small business marketing strategy my overall sales continued to grow. What to know how I did it? Here’s how >>

P.P.S. A few simple steps can help you grow your business in any economy. If you don’t take them who will? Start here >>

Did You Claim Your Free Small Business Marketing CD

By Charlie Cook | June 19, 2008

Yesterday, I mentioned the free audio CD of the ‘7 Steps to Get More Clients and Grow Your Business’ that I’m giving away.

Please carefully read this next line…

This is NOT some brand new, unproven, bet your hopes you’ll succeed program.

I’ve put this simple wealth building strategy to the test as have my clients and it’s helped bring in millions in revenue. If you’ve ever wanted to discover how to do what you love and be well rewarded for it, this is for you.

I could easily charge $129 for this program but if you claim your copy today, your cost is a big fat zero. Of course you’ll need to pay a small shipping fee.

Yesterday over 200 people requested a copy of this audio CD that details what to do to build your business. Use this URL within the next few minutes and claim your copy before I run out.

Interested? Get your CD >>

I’m giving this marketing program to you, but I can’t say for how long this will last. When my wife heard I was doing this she thought I’d been spending too much time in the sun over the weekend. For the amount I’ve spent on producing it for you I could have bought the whole family the iPhones they want.

So before I regain my senses – grab this life-changing program.

You’ll discover:
* Three things every prospect wants before they’ll become buyers,
* How to walk prospects to the point of the sale,
* What information to give your prospect first to get them interested,
* How to motivate people to stop procrastinating and jump at the chance to buy from you,
* The one thing you need to do to help prospects trust you,
* How to keep your business growing in any economy,
* What you must do if you want to keep growing your profits and at the same time have more free time.

To get this money-making program on CD, you must
claim your copy today >>

To your success,

Charlie
MarketingForSuccess

P.S. If you don’t take action to improve your business and your life, who will? Find out what works and be one of the few that actually do more than just talk about reaching their goals.

Get the 7 Steps Get More Clients and Grow Your
Business at >>

The Secret Key to Small Business Marketing Success

By Charlie Cook | June 17, 2008

Every day I get emails from people who’ve read the free report, ‘7 Steps to Get More Clients and Grow Your Business’ and they tell me it is life-changing, people like you have said it’s incredibly helpful and they’re already using it to grow their business.

But there’s one catch, a hidden flaw, in this PDF version of this small business marketing report…

Not everybody wants to take the time to print it out and they may not find the time to read it, either.

I have to admit that I’ve got a folder on my desk of over 50 free reports I’ve signed up for myself but haven’t read yet, even though I know they could help me.

Reading about a new idea can be great. As much as I love books, I learn more and I retain more when I also hear ideas explained. Hearing advice explained makes it twice as easy to understand, and twice as likely you’ll put it to use to grow your business. Which is why I’m giving away the audio CD version of the ‘7 Steps to Get More Clients and Grow Your Business’ for FREE.

Interested? Claim your free CD right away >>

I know that you’re busy and have a lot of things going on already, but did you know that the average person “wastes” as many as 2 or more hours each day commuting to work?

If you’re one of them, you could be using this time to learn the seven key small business marketing steps to take to grow your business. Listen to them on CD, listen again if you need to or load the CD onto your mp3 player.

I’ve finally recorded ‘The 7 Steps to Get More Clients and Grow Your Business’. And I want to give it to you at my expense, no strings attached >>

That’s right, I’m giving this marketing program to you for FREE, if you claim your copy today. I’ll charge you only for shipping and handling.

No catches.

No tricks.

You may have downloaded the PDF file of this free small business marketing program, but I want to give you the CD, too, to make it even easier for you to implement these essential 7 steps to success.

Claim your free CD right away >>

To get this life-changing report, you must claim your copy right
now!

Go here >>

To your success,

Charlie

P.S. The FREE CD, ‘7 Steps to Get More Clients and Grow Your Business’ reveals what you need to do to put your business on the track to success. It’s an amazingly simple and powerful formula you can use to make it to the top.

Get it today >>

P.S.S. Obviously I can’t keep giving away these CDs for free forever and I’ve only got a limited supply to give away. Once this stock runs out, we’ll be forced to put your name on our “stand-by” list. So don’t hesitate.

Claim your FREE CD here >>

To listen to the podcast online, use this link >>

The Web Marketing Secret 85 of 90 Website Owners Don’t Know

By Charlie Cook | June 16, 2008

What’s the one web marketing disaster that happens every day?

It happens to almost every website owner dozens, if not hundreds, of times a day.

A visitor clicks to your site. They take a look at your home page and then they leave without so much as an email or phone call to you.

If you have a top search engine position, this may happen hundreds of times a day. If you’re using pay-per-click advertising, this happens as often as you can afford to pay for it.

In the first case, you’ve probably invested a lot of hard work into achieving a top search engine ranking and in the second, a lot of money in advertising. The result? You’re losing money or barely breaking even on your web site investment.

Most business owners with well-planned sites get hundreds, or even thousands, of interested prospects visiting their sites each week and then – nothing. Your prospects don’t come back and they don’t buy from you in spite of all your efforts.

“What’s going on?” you ask yourself, as you try to make sense of all these lost opportunities to generate a lead or a sale. “What did I do wrong? Aren’t people interested in my products and services?”

It just doesn’t compute. You know that your existing customers are happy, so why don’t more people contact you and buy from your website? Find the answer here >>

For most business owners, the problem has nothing to do with you. You provide top quality products and services, don’t you!?

Yet, something happened when your prospect visited your website and left without a word. And this, more likely than not, is what that something was…

One of three things could have happened when your prospect landed on your site to make them leave without contacting you or buying from you.

1. They were looking for something different.
Your site sells jewelry and they were looking for dog treats. Unless the copy on your site has nothing to do with what you sell and the keywords you’re using for your pay-per-click ads are totally wrong – this is highly unlikely which brings me to…

2. Your prospects only had a passing interest.
When they saw your site they lost interest in looking for a solution to their problem. While anything can happen, most people are much more dogged about finding answers.

What’s the web marketing secret to that will get your prospects to come back? Find the answer here >>

Most people will search for hours online until they find what they want, which brings me to the third and most likely reason your prospects left without contacting you…

3. Your site didn’t show them what they wanted to see.
The key information they were searching for was missing entirely or wasn’t readily available. Or your site may not have given them information in the order they were expecting. Prospects are picky that way.

If you want your prospect to stay on your website, contact you and buy from you, you need to know:

– What your prospects want to read at the top of your homepage.

– How to get them to contact you before they leave your site and forget about you.

– How to lay out your web page to get your prospects to take action and buy from you.

– The common design mistakes that will send your prospects packing.

When you know this and build your site around the information your prospects want, you can easily convert up to 20% of all the visitors to your site into qualified prospects and up to 10% into clients and customers.

Let me ask you something. Who built your website?

Most business owners are way too busy to master the technology to build their sites themselves. They hire web designers and programmers. Sounds like a good idea.

Unfortunately, hardly any web designers know how to create sites that sell, either!

Let me repeat that. Web designers don’t know how to build a site that sells.

Most web designers know nothing about converting prospects into customers, which after all is what your site is supposed to do. If they had any formal training it was in design or programming, not in generating leads or sales or in how to make a profit with your site.

It’s not that some web designers aren’t creative and smart but without the right copy or a clear plan you’re asking them to do something that they don’t know how to do. It’d be like hiring a carpenter and telling him to build your dream house but not bothering to give him the plans for the foundation or layout of the house.

Want to make a profit with your web site? Discover what works >>

Leaving your site up and hoping your response rate will change and you’ll start raking in the sales is a waste of time, too. The truth is that you can be successful online if you have great products and services and if you know what works to get prospects to contact you and buy from you.

Ready to find out how make your site sell? Get the web marketing details here >>

Charlie
Web Marketing Ideas that Sell

To listen to the podcast online, use this link >>

The Small Business Marketing Secret to Getting Referrals

By Charlie Cook | June 10, 2008

“I get most of my new business from referrals.”

Every small business owner and marketer wants to be able to say these 9 words. When you can say this, it means you aren’t struggling to increase leads or frustrated with trying to convince prospects to buy from you.

When it’s true, your clients and business associates are doing your marketing for you.

When a prospect is referred to you, they’re relying on someone else, another client or a supplier to vouch for you and your products and your services. Your credibility and the value you provide is already established.

And this is a big relief because I don’t know anybody who truly enjoys having to prove themselves to prospects.

Typically you’ll convert 5 to 7 times as many referred prospects to clients. Let me repeat that; typically, you’ll convert 5 to 7 times as many prospects that come to you through referrals. Referrals make it a lot easier to be highly profitable.

For most small business owners and sales people the occasional referral drops out of the sky like a pleasant surprise. Don’t you love it when a new client is sent your way pre-sold and ready to buy? Everyone does!

If you like getting referrals so much, and they are so profitable, what are you doing to generate more? For most business owners and sales people the answer is… nothing.

What can you do to generate a steady stream of referrals so you can grow your business by leaps and bounds?

Want to know what works? Use this link >>

The 2 Marketing Secrets to Generating Referrals
The simple truth is that generating more referrals is as easy as
growing grass.

Recently my wife and I decided to do something about our sorry-looking lawn. We had done only the bare minimum of maintenance for several years. Last fall we surveyed the weeds and bare patches and decided we wanted to actually grow some grass.

After pulling out the weeds, what was left was pretty ugly. The first step was to spread grass seed. The next was to make sure it was watered twice a day. Without regular watering, as you know the seed would just dry up and blow away.

Here in Connecticut, rain is a random event. If we relied on nature there was a good chance the seed wouldn’t germinate and we’d be left with patches of dirt instead.

The solution? We cranked up the automatic sprinkler system. If you have one you know you can set it to water your lawn twice a day as we did. Now a few weeks later, the seed has sprouted and our lawn has filled completely filled in and looks great.

Want to fill in your sales with referrals so you can increase your profits? Get the details here >>

Generating a steady stream of referrals is the same as growing grass. Here’s the small business marketing ideas you need:

1. Prepare the Seed
To generate more referrals, plant the seeds with your best salespeople. Give your existing clients, suppliers and sales partners the marketing materials they need to promote you so they can spread the word.

This can be as simple as giving them the words to use to describe your business. A concise statement (8 to 12 words) of the problems you solve and the benefits of your products and services will help them spread the word. They can easily explain the value of contacting you to people they know.

You could go beyond just sharing your marketing message and produce a client-focused brochure that paints a clear picture of the situations you help people with and details the benefits of your services.

Or write and share articles that entertain and educate, and help prospects see you as the go-to expert.

And you could make sure that all of this information is readily accessible on your web site, so that existing clients can point people to your site.

In sum, if you want to generate more referrals, give your network of referral partners the right small business marketing tools to promote you.

2. Make It Rain Every Day
The second marketing secret to generating referrals is to make the process less random. We needed the automatic sprinklers to make our grass grow; you need an automated system for following up with your referral partners.

Stay in touch on a regular basis so they know what to do and when to do it. I schedule a call every month with each of my super affiliates, and then ask them to commit to a schedule of mailings and activities they can to do that will send referrals my way.

As a result, I can’t say that 100% of my business comes from referrals, but over 50% does. You can do the same by applying these two simple strategies.

Ready to discover the rest of the secrets to growing your profits that most business owners and marketers will never know or apply? Find out how to reach and exceed your business goals >>

Charlie
Revealing the Small Business Marketing Ideas Used By Self-Made Millionaires

Creating A Small Business Marketing Map

By Charlie Cook | June 9, 2008

Ever get lost and wish you had a map or GPS to show you where to go?

Many years ago, I set out on a backpacking trip with a group of friends in the Cascade Mountains north of Seattle. I’d never been to the Cascades in Washington before, but my good friend Bart had grown up hiking in the region and was confident he could guide us.

Before we left the trail head, Bart glanced at his guidebook and made a few notes on the back on an envelope. We didn’t take the guidebook or Bart’s map. After all, we didn’t want to carry the extra three or four ounces of weight. We headed out into 505,000 acres of wilderness with just a few casual notes.

The first day we followed a clear trail and had no problems. The second day, we headed off on our own, following Bart’s scribbles. We climbed one mountain and started down to the valley floor below.

On paper, this had looked easy. Of course, the scrap of paper Bart had to guide us didn’t show the huge snowfield that we had to slide down, mostly out of control, much less the 200-foot cliff at the end of it.

I’ve done a few really stupid things in my life. Hanging onto a cliff with a fully loaded 40-pound backpack, no way down and no clear way to get back up was one of them.

Despite our youthful enthusiasm and determination, we had to painstakingly pick our way back up the cliff, retrace our steps up the snowfield, which was more ice than snow, and go back the way we’d come. We never did make it down to our destination in the valley and ended up cutting our trip short.

We never were totally lost, but we sure didn’t know how to get where we wanted to go.

Don’t put your prospects in this situation. Show them the quickest path to becoming a customer.

Want to make sure your prospects never get lost? Use this link to find out how >>

If prospects visit your site and it isn’t clear where to go first, second and third, they’ll leave without getting what they want. Without a clear map of what to read first, second and third, and a clear sequence of steps to take, they’re going to get lost. And they won’t have to backtrack to get out — they’ll click away in a matter of seconds.

Let me ask you a couple of questions about your business and your online marketing.

Did you consult a guidebook and use a map before you built your web site to ensure that it would work?

Does the organization of the copy and design elements on your site function like a map to make it insanely easy for prospects to know what to do on your site?

Heading out into the wilderness with just a few notes and no map was a dumb mistake that almost cost me my life, and it’s one I haven’t made again.

Want to avoid the number one mistake 99 out of 100 web site owners make? Find out what to do and what not to do >>

Most web site owners make the same mistake with their web sites with the result that they hardly generate any leads or sales. They build site pages that don’t guide prospects to become buyers. Then they leave the pages up there and wonder why nothing changes.

This is the lemming approach to web marketing. Just because most people do it, doesn’t make it right. And I know you don’t want to keep using this failed approach.

You want to know what actually works to generate online sales. You want to discover how to funnel prospects to your site, grab their attention, keep them reading and get them to contact you and buy from you.

Whether you use a web designer or build your web pages yourself, it pays to know how your site should work. If you don’t, who will?

Don’t expect your web designers to puzzle this out for you. They don’t know the answer, either.

Take responsibility for your own success.

If I’d wanted to avoid getting lost, I could have taken responsibility for taking a map myself. If I had, I would have seen the cliff and plotted a better route.

To make your site work, you need to do the same. Take responsibility for its success.

Discover how to create a web site that sells. Get the answers here >>

– Charlie
Small Business Marketing That Sells

What’s Missing From Your Small Business Marketing?

By Charlie Cook | June 3, 2008

What’s the Once Thing 35 out of 40 Businesses Forget to Do That Kills The Sale?

“I’m having trouble selling my hearing aids even though I discount them 30%. Should I sell it for even less?” — George R., MI

Why Prospects Don’t Buy

Ever wonder why your prospects aren’t buying?

You know the situation. You’ve got a qualified prospect on the phone or you’re meeting with them in person and they’ve agreed that your product or services are the perfect fit. Then you mention the price, and they don’t bite. They tell you that they want to think about it or they need to talk to X or they just flat out tell you its too expensive.

You could offer them a discount but is that the right thing to do or are you just shooting yourself in the foot.

When a prospect who needs your product or service walks away and doesn’t buy, typically it’s not price that’s the problem. And if your prospect isn’t buying, lowering the price won’t guarantee the sale.

Why Price Isn’t The Problem

Typically when your prospect doesn’t buy or objects to price, the real problem is that they don’t understand the value of your products or services. And it’s not their fault; it’s the fault of your small business marketing. Whether you sell consulting services, hand tools, hearing aids or chicken legs, the price you can charge is based on your prospect’s perception of its value to them.

Want your marketing to sell more? Go here >>

Don’t Make This Mistake

Want to avoid losing clients? Here’s an example of what not to do.

Last year I was planning a family reunion at a charming old inn in the Berkshires in Massachusetts. As part of the festivities, I wanted to organize a light breakfast buffet for the 50 or so relatives attending. The inn quoted me a price of $29 per person, without giving me any information about what was included. When I got the quote I was shocked. It was much more than I’d anticipated, and I decided to drop the whole idea.

What was the fatal mistake the Inn made?

Without a clear understanding of what I was going to get for $29 per head, I had no means of determining whether it was worth the money. I didn’t know whether the $29 per person charge included just a cup of coffee and a donut or a full buffet breakfast with a chef on hand to cook custom omelets.

Either way, the inn lost an opportunity to feed us another meal and profit from the presence of our large group.

When your prospects object to price or just leave without buying, it’s a signal that your marketing isn’t doing its job. You’re not giving your prospects the information they need to understand what your products or services can do for them. As a result, they don’t buy from you.

Want to discover the secret to overcoming prospects’ objections? Go here >>

How to Increase Sales

Want to avoid objections to price, sell to more people and even raise your prices?

Since the price a prospect is willing to pay for your products and services is directly related to their understanding of its value to them, then the higher the perceived value, the more you can charge.

One of my clients, Janice, was working way too hard at bringing new clients to her phone coaching business. She helps clients eliminate anxiety and replace it with self-confidence so they can be more productive in their work and lives. She had dozens of prospects, but when she quoted her fees, too many prospects opted not to sign up.

When I asked her to describe the things she does for her clients and the benefits of her services, she gave me a lot of information and many examples of her successes. Then I asked her how much of this information her prospects knew. Very little, she said. Whoops!

I find that most small business marketing managers and owners I’ve talked to make the same mistake. They have a great product or service but neglect help their prospects fully understand the value.

What’s the best way to define value so prospects become buyers? Go here >>

Define Value In Terms Of What Your Prospects Want

The solution was simple. I showed Janice how to structure her sales conversations and how to ask the right questions to get her prospects talking about their goals and needs. This sets the stage so that when she explains the services she provides, it’s clear that they are the perfect solution to her prospects’ problems.

The result? Instead of lowering her prices to get more business, Janice increased her fees. Within a week she was making 50% more money.

Wouldn’t you like to have prospects eager to pay the prices you charge? Sound impossible? It isn’t.

When your prospects fully understand of how much better off they’ll be or how much more successful they’ll be with your products and services, more people will want to work with you and buy from you and they’ll happily pay more to do so.

Interested in closing more sales? Go here >>

Charlie
Proven Small Business Marketing