Tag Archives: e-mail marketing

How To Work A Room Offline

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“Y’all send him off to a networking event and he’s happier ‘n a tornado in a trailer park,”said Bubba, our rotund branding expert who hails from Georgia.”

150228 How To Work A Room Offline

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“That’s because he is a master at working a room old style, you know, offline, up-close and personal,” I replied. “Rick, our direct marketing friend is a natural. The man can strike up a conversation anywhere there are people—ATM machines, ticket counters, the nine items or less line. I’ve seen him manage to get a stranger to agree to a new business meeting in a rental car line.”

Gail asked, “So why are you called the Networking Ninja, Fletch?”

“It’s not on the video so I’ll tell you. I had to have a name for my product line on Networking when I started speaking back in the 90’s. I liked the alliteration and apparently a lot of meeting planners still like it. This is a presentation I updated for a webinar for a client last fall. Subscribers to my blog and Newsletter can see it here for a short while but then it goes to the store.”

The Takeaway:

  1. Have an objective
  2. Don’t be late
  3. Introduce yourself
  4. Be sincere
  5. Ask for a card
  6. Circulate
  7. Follow up

Jerry Fletcher’s blog recaps conversations with clients, prospects and a group of business development professionals. They discuss what’s new, what’s old, what’s good, bad and ugly plus creative thinking to find what works. Jerry Fletcher is the ringleader and secretary of the dialogue.

 

Jerry has been researching and implementing small business marketing that builds businesses, careers and lives of joy for 25 years as President of Z-axis Marketing, Inc. Learn more at www.JerryFletcher.com

Schedule a personal appearance. Jerry speaks internationally on Networking, Marketing and Contact Relationship Magic. www.NetworkingNinja.com

Marketing In An Age Of Simultaneity

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“It’s morphing again,” Bubba said as he lowered himself into a side chair.

Robot juggler“You are the branding Guru” said Rick,” but sometimes you are more than a little mysterious my friend. What the heck are you talking about?”

“Marketing and ‘bout everythin’ else,” Rob responded.

“So,” Kate said, “does that include sales?”

Rob drawled, “If you can’t run with the big dogs, these days y’all gonna have to stay on the porch.”

“Rob,” I said, “back up and tell us what got you all stirred up.”

“Look around the table,” he said. “Ain’t a one of you that does just one thing anymore.

Rick is a statistical whiz which is why he’s so good at direct marketing. And on top of that he can network his way to new business pitch standing in line at an airport check in counter!

Gail, writes, edits, teaches others to do it and has been an on-air personality and run a couple of ad agencies.

Kate can consult in a boardroom in the morning and go out and make cold calls with a newbie in the afternoon and then make a speech in the evening.

Chris writes code plus drives a digital marketing team that has built a business to twice what it used to be and he dabbles in real estate because he likes the investment opportunities and making houses better.

Fletch has a degree in design but managed ad agencies and PR firms. He’s an expert at positioning, CRM and automated marketing and speaks on three continents on networking. Somehow he explains what Rick does.

And we are not unusual. Like a lot of folks we do all that stuff simultaneously!”

Gail interjected, “So what is bothering you Rob?”

Rob replied, “Used to be y’all could be a writer or a coder or a single whatever. Today to be say a reporter you have to blog, tweet, video the event or the interview, photograph it, edit it and serve it up in multiple forms all of which require some expertise.”

Kate said, “I see what you mean. Most of us have been successful because we can do multiple things reasonably well rather than just a single thing.”

“But it’s more than that,” Chris noted. “That multiple expertise is what used to make us stand out but I think Bubba is saying that it is now the new marketing norm.”

“Y’all got it,” digital dude. “If you’re fixin’ to get into the business or you are ready to break out you’d best be adding some skills that match up with what you do or take it ‘round a corner folks haven’t connected yet.”

Gail said, “I’ll translate:

The Takeaway

Being good at one thing is not good enough anymore. You need to match your primary skill with a couple more that give you more insight and a greater spectrum of bankable capabilities.

 

This blog recaps the luncheon conversations of a group of business development professionals. They discuss what’s new, what’s old, what’s good, bad and ugly plus creative thinking to find what works. Jerry Fletcher is the fictions ringleader and secretary.

Jerry has been researching and implementing small business marketing that builds businesses, careers and lives of joy for 20 years as President of Z-axis Marketing, Inc. Learn more at www.JerryFletcher.com

Schedule a personal appearance. Jerry speaks internationally on Networking, Marketing and Contact Relationship Magic. www.NetworkingNinja.com

Fish Bowl Marketing

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Marketing using a Fish Bowl“So the challenge is to think of a least three ways a small business can use a fish bowl in their marketing,” said Rick, our direct marketing principal.

Kate, ever the sales professional, said, “And the prize is?”

“Lunch on me,” Rick said without hesitation.

Rob, our southern fried branding expert said, “Can I get a piece of that virtuosity?

“All are welcome,” said Rick. “What have you got?”

I jumped in, “How about you put a fish bowl on the counter next to your cash register and collect client cards and then send ‘em e-mails for specials?”

Gail, our copywriter said, “That’s a no-brainer but you also need a guest register for those people that don’t have business cards if you really want it to work.”

“Flip it,” said Chris the Digital Director. “Instead of asking people to put a card in, have them take one out … a coupon good on their return works really well.”

Kate suggested, “Work out a deal with a non-competitive store on the other side of town and each of you offer coupons for the other’s store. It’s a cross promotion.”

“Okay,” Rick said, “so far we have:

  • Business card collector
  • Coupon dispenser
  • Cross promotion coupon dispenser

Seems to me those are all kind of the same.”

“But Branding has not yet spoken,” drawled Rob “How about a way to use a fish bowl for a B2B business? Heah’s how that works. What you do is you get a nice glass fish bowl—gotta be glass to work right. And y’all get yourself some of those bags of tiny candy bars from a big box store. Then you walk into the front desk of a target account and you say you would really like to meet with the owner or manager but you only have time today to drop off this bowl which you’ll keep filled with candy by stopping in once a week if that’s okay. Then you pour some candy bars into the bowl from a little height so there’s this pleasant clinking noise.

You leave. And in a week you come back and fill it the same way. Nice clinking noise. You get to know the receptionist a little better and you learn a little more about the company. A question or two is never a problem as you fill the bowl.

After doing that for four to six weeks you should have a solid rapport and be able to ask for an appointment to see the owner and the folks in the company that will use your product or service. You have become known as someone who can be trusted because you clinked candy bars into that fish bowl once every week as you promised.

I know it seems like a lot of time, but I guarantee that dog will hunt. It never fails.”

“Bubba, you are one tough act to follow,” I said. “I know that Rick did a mailing once that used a fishbowl to sell medical practices on having aquariums in their waiting rooms. As I recall, a box arrived with a fish bowl and the next day a delivery person brought a live gold fish. Each time there was a note that talked about tranquility in the office and a request to present some research on how patients responded to aquariums on waiting rooms. A telephone call requesting a meeting with the office manager and the managing doctor followed.

Have you ever noticed how many aquariums there are in doctors and dentists offices?”

The Takeaway:

A simple fish bowl can receive, give, send and intrigue. It’s all in how you look at it.  How do you find a way to see a greater potential?

This blog recaps the luncheon conversations of a group of business development professionals. They discuss what’s new, what’s old, what’s good, bad and ugly plus creative thinking to find what works. Jerry Fletcher is the ringleader and secretary. look into his products at www.Z-axisMarketing.com

Jerry has been researching and implementing small business marketing that builds businesses, careers and lives of joy for 20 years as President of Z-axis Marketing, Inc. Learn more at www.JerryFletcher.com

Schedule a personal appearance. Jerry speaks internationally on Networking, Marketing and Contact Relationship Magic. www.NetworkingNinja.com

Building Blocks of a Successful Sales Pitch

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Building Blocks of Successful Sales Pitch“Martin called me Tuesday to let me know two things:
1. Prototypes of his new product will be available next week.
2. They changed the name of the company based on the suggestion I made for a URL in a planning meeting. Needless to say, I never had that in mind but…”

Rick, our Direct marketing guru, interjected,” Back up. Who is Martin and what is the product and why the name change?”

Kate, Madame sales, said, “And what does all this have to do with a successful sales pitch?”

“I was meeting with Martin and his partner, I replied. “They were updating me on the product development and timing for final prototypes. I asked what they were going to call the product.

When they told me I jumped on it and asked if they had purchased the URL.”

“Good idea,” said Chris our resident digital marketing director. “It can kill you if you can’t use a URL for a product that is the same as the name. If you can, it gives you real advantages. The biggest one is that owning the URL is, in terms of marketing, sometimes more valuable than having a registered trademark.”

“Right,” I agreed. “What happened was that Martin pulled out his smart phone, checked on availability of the URL and bought it in less time than it takes to talk about it. Because the name can easily be put into a catch phrase I suggested how to use it in presentations they have coming up for acquiring more capital for the business. I never thought they would change the name of the company.”

“Could y’all slow down a tinch,” said Rob our branding Guru. I’m gettin’ all tangled up in product names and URLs and Company names and I still don’t have a clue how we gonna get a sales pitch outa this briar patch.”

“Well, Bubba,” I said, I can’t tell you the names because I’ve signed a non-disclosure agreement but I can give you an illustration of how it works. Let’s say your product name is the Real Thing. It’s easy to tell somebody to ‘get the Real Thing.’ I’ve found that anytime you’re doing a presentation where you are trying to sell something it is a good idea to give people a simple summation of what you are asking them to do throughout the presentation. By incorporating the same catch phrase from beginning to end you give the audience a way to remember you and to agree on the action to take.”

Kate said, “You have a point, cowboy, it isn’t subtle but incorporating a repetitive phrase in a presentation particularly to a boardroom full of people can work wonders. But I’ve found it is even more powerful when you combine it with what makes the product unique. I think you call that Positioning, don’t you?”

Gail jumped in saying, “As the writer I have to say that positioning can make my job easier. If I can tell the people that get the greatest good from a product how it uniquely fits into their need or use or occasion it is a lot easier to make the sale in print or video.”

I said, “You’re absolutely right. Sometimes there is a real difference. Other times it is a perceived difference. For instance, do you want your car repaired with replacement or genuine parts? Would you prefer a clone or the real thing? Do you want the one that can sort of do what you want or the one that is optimized? Positioning can give you that advantage in the marketplace.

Bubba said, “And that all stacks up to build a better brand.”

The Takeaway Build a repetitive phrase that incorporates your name and positioning into sales presentations to achieve greater success.

Get a FREE copy of the ABCs of Marketing Without Money TM. Go to www.jerryfletcher.com/Profit.html and we will send you a link to get your copy.

 

This blog recaps the luncheon conversations of a group of business development professionals. They discuss what’s new, what’s old, what’s good, bad and ugly but mostly what works. Jerry Fletcher is the ringleader and the one that writes up their comments.

Jerry has been researching and implementing small business marketing that builds businesses, careers and lives of joy for 20 years as President of Z-axis Marketing, Inc. Learn more at www.JerryFletcher.com

Schedule a personal appearance. Jerry speaks internationally on Networking, Marketing and Contact Relationship Magic. www.NetworkingNinja.com

CRM and a Grain of Sand

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Little things mean a lot in CRM“Little things do mean a lot, ” I said as I took a seat at the Friday lunch gathering and passed out copies of my year end thought starter:

“Take a single grain of sand. It’s the most common element on earth. You can find it on every continent. And not just along the shores. It is at the heart of each computer and just about every permanent structure that serves mankind.

A single grain is virtually invisible…unless it happens to be the mote in your eye.

In that case, that single well-placed speck is the most important thing in your life. That tiny messenger, by being in the right place, can demand all your attention. Nothing else can get your undivided focus until you have removed it.

One small particle can capture if not captivate you.

A handful can demonstrate human nature. Think back to the last time you scooped a handful of sand up and poured it from hand to hand. Wander down memory lane to the beach and cupping your hand to hold as many grains as possible. Remember what happened when you squeezed it. Do you recall how it first squirted and then dribbled out between your fingers and how much less there was when you again cupped your hand?

Customers and prospects, family and friends, staff and employees are all like that handful of sand. The harder you squeeze the less you have. The more you put pressure on them the more they stream away from you.

An open caring relationship keeps more of them with you.

Can there ever be enough? Each of you must make that decision. But the more there are, the greater the risk of losing some through inattention and the vagaries of the winds of time.

Think about that picnic on the beach when the breeze picked up. How about the first time you saw a sand dune. Stop now and consider the number of grains that there were in that dune you climbed. Imagine stacking them up to get someone’s attention. What do you see in your mind’s eye? Do you see the dune or the grains? Your business, your career and your life are like that. Each action, every statement as well as any and all your behaviors add to the stack, grain on grain, until people see the combined aspect.

That shifting, wind-sculpted mass is your persona. It’s the face you present to the world, at once ever changing and yet the same. It is your achievements taken together, which are perceived.

You, your career and your company are the sum total of your deeds and those of the folks you draw around you.

You can choose to be a mild irritation blown helter skelter by each passing breeze or
you can add a little water, some lime and cement and have mortar.

Mortar. With it you can lay brick on brick and build strong and straight and tall. Suddenly the world sees you differently. You’re no longer a drifter. You’ve settled. You’re going to make something of this choice you’ve made.

But be wary. You must mix well to make sure the edifice stands. Too little sand or too much and the hold on the bricks crumbles.

Better perhaps to add some chunks of rock to the mix and fill a form with the amazing material the Romans discovered and named.

We call it concrete. It is a reasonable symbol of how a business or a career or a life can be built that will last. One of the Roman’s aqueducts still carries water to Rome centuries after it was built. It was conceived by engineers and constructed by men proud of their craft. It was a joint effort. No single individual could claim all the credit.

Yes, some took more risks than others but all acknowledged it was a group effort.

They, like we, were and are interdependent. Today that interdependence is global. The World Wide Web is allowing more of us to be swept along together than ever before.

The Takeaway:
The grains are accreting.

Some are trying to squeeze profits from them. Others see only the encroaching dunes. This Age of Access is still in flux. Nothing, as yet, is cast in concrete.

Only the sands of time will tell.”

Each week Jerry and his rowdy but experienced crew of business development consultants gather for lunch and a discussion of what works, what doesn’t as well as the good, bad and ugly marketing and sales they have observed during the week. Yes, their conversation will be back next week. Sign up to get your copy of every blog here.

Jerry Fletcher is a Networking Ninja, Marketing Rainmaker and a CRM Magician. Learn how he answers the question “What do you do?” View the video on his home page at www.JerryFletcher.com

View videos of him speaking at www.NetworkingNinja.com

What Is The Best Pick-up Line Online?

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Rick said it again, “A pickle label is the best pick-up line.”

Pickup line on line

Gail, one of three ladies at the table responded, “I love you dearly lad but believe me you need a great deal more. How long have you been married this time?”

She was just the first. All the rest jumped on him with varying degrees of disgust based on their age and their sex.

It fell to me as the oldest guy at the table to ask “What are you really talking about my crazy Direct Marketing friend?”

“Finally,” he said, “A person who is not besotted with carnality. What I meant was that failing all else play to the problem your target has. Label it. Help them understand what you are talking about even if you can’t bring yourself to use socially unacceptable language. Get as close as you can.”

Rob, our branding Bhudda smiled and said, “Now I get it. How many of you know what this headline was for: Within the curve of a woman’s arm…

Gail, copywriter and editor answered, “I don’t remember the product but it was the first underarm deodorant for women.”

“Hold it, I said, “What has that got to do with a pickle label?”

Rick replied, “It is kind of a shorthand way of saying that people will pay more attention to you on line if you tell them what you’re selling or problem you’re solving in their terms.”

Chris, the digital marketing director chimed in, “So what you’re saying is that in Adwords for instance I’m better off to use a headline that Includes the Main Keyword.

“Exactly,” Rick responded, “When your main keyword is in the ad and it matches the search query, the keyword will show up in bold.

Test your way to success.

The Takeaway

Test what you’re doing on line. Start with the pickle label and use that as your base of comparison or control. For instance:

Snoring (the pickle label)

Stop snoring (the benefit pickle label)

Stop Snoring Guaranteed (The benefit pickle label with a guarantee)

There are lots of alternatives but does that make the concept understandable to one and all? Remember, include the pickle label, the keyword that appears in your targets search in order to get your ad clicked on. That is what makes it a great pick up line on line.”

 

The lunch bunch is a group of marketing and sales professionals that meet each Friday. They discuss what’s new, what’s old, what’s good, bad and ugly but mostly what works. Jerry Fletcher is the ringleader and the one that writes up their comments. Sign up to get them all at www.JerryFletcher.com/profit .

Jerry Fletcher has been researching and implementing marketing that builds businesses, careers and lives of joy for over 20 years as President of Z-axis Marketing, Inc. Learn more at www.JerryFletcher.com

Schedule a personal appearance. Jerry speaks internationally on Networking, Marketing and Contact Relationship Magic. www.NetworkingNinja.com

A Nudge Is Not A Call To Action

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Wake up! Call to ActionThanksgiving weekend. The plane was full. He collapsed into an aisle seat pulled his ball cap down over his eyes, lowered the seat back and in seconds was in deep slumber.

When we pushed back from the gate a flight attendant tried to wake him. Three times she nudged his shoulder and said “Sir.”

It didn’t work.

Then she whispered in his ear, “Honey, wake up!”

He startled and came immediately awake.

The ladies of the lunch bunch snickered and the guys looked puzzled.

I said, “It is not an uncommon problem. Sometimes, no matter what we do we can’t seem to get their attention. The answer is in finding the emotional hook that penetrates deep into their psyche.”

“A female voice. An intimate name. A command.” Rick, our Direct Marketing wizard noted. “That, my friends, is one delicious call to action. It works because it operates way below the logical level. It taps into the old brain, the one that causes us to bolt and run at the appearance of danger or to leap up to rescue the maiden.”

“You might could say that stewardess got that fellow’s attention,” said Rob. Rob looks like the Gerber Baby after about 50 years and is our bouncing branding expert. He went on, “Much as I preach at y’all about branding this is one of those areas where I stand in awe of folks like Rick. When you have to make the sale in print or on the air or on-line knowing how this sort of thing works is worth every penny ya’ got to pay for it.”

“Thanks, Bubba,’ said Rick.

“If you two start holding hands I’m going for an ice bucket,” said Kate our sales doyen. “So why did you bring this up Fletch?”

“Because I was trying to figure out how to help an acquaintance in an Agency in China who had noted a sales problem in his operation. He and his sales manager were concerned about the necessity of making a bunch of cold calls and having to generate lists of folks to call on. This is a digital agency that landed a few whales to get started but now those projects are running out and they are discovering that professional service businesses, like agencies, need rainmakers.”

Gail our resident copywriter and editor piped up, “And they need to know how to network to new business.”

I said, “The way you do that in my book is:

  • Go where the money is
  • Sell what they want to buy
  • Do it again.

That works in all businesses not just professional services but the key to get the contract is to find that emotional hook that pushes the new prospect to take action. My acquaintance understands nurturing a market for a client but doing the work got in the way of finding a way to sign up new business. ”

“And the moral to that story, “said Rick, “is that no matter what business you are in the call to action is critical. If you can’t get them to move you have no business. Even in business to business situations an emotional hook performs better than anything else. Always.”

Jerry Fletcher focuses on making the techniques of enterprise level marketing available to entrepreneurs, professionals and small businesses. His consulting website is www.JerryFletcher.com

Jerry speaks professionally on Networking, Marketing and Contact Relationship Magic internationally. His speaking website is: www.NetworkingNinja.com

A Branding Bar Story

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Branding Bar storyTwo guys walk into a bar. Both spot a pretty girl, alone, seated at the bar. One borrows a megaphone approaches her and bellows into her ear, “I’m rich, good looking and I want you to marry me.”

The other simply walks to the bar, orders a drink and the young lady joins him and says “You are intriguing, good looking, possibly rich and I want to marry you.”

That, according to Taylor Graves of Nemo Design, one of the panelists at a National Speakers Association luncheon in Portland on November 13th, is the difference between advertising and branding.

The other panelists were Brian Berger of Everything is on the Record and Matt Watson of Watson Creative. All have won their spurs doing branding work for national and international clients.

My usual Friday lunch bunch loved Taylor’s story, especially Rob, our Brand Guru who we call Bubba because he hails from Georgia.

Bubba, wiping away tears from laughing drawled, “Thas one of the best ways I’ve heard it put in a lot of years. What else did these guys have to say?”

I said, “The format was self intros and credentials and then questions from the audience.”

Kate chimed in, “So, Fletch you got in trouble didn’t you?”

“No, Madame Sales, I did not. These guys knew what they were talking about. Each, in their own way said what Bubba and I have been saying about Branding for years. Let me give you some examples:

The first question from the audience was “How can you create a brand experience with a very limited budget?” (I’ve heard this question before. It is why I teach No Budget Branding TM).

Matt responded, “We put your business on the couch to learn about it. We work on positioning and strategy and business design because Brand is not a logo it is the emotion that comes from the people that intersect with you, your company and products and services.”

Taylor said, “Brand is about who you are, what gets you up in the morning. It has to be true to who you are or it just doesn’t work.”

Brian agreed saying, “You have to be true to yourself. You are the brand. Your success is based on the people you meet and the relationships you build.”

Someone asked, “How do you use Trust in Branding?”

Matt told a story about working with non-profit trying to raise money noting that when the first e-mail request went out to 30, 000 people the landing page had only a still photo and some copy and it generated about 700 sign-ups and contributions. But, the next time they included a video with founders and contributors talking about why they were involved. The responses jumped to 10,000.

As Matt said, “Your Why is the epicenter of your brand. Great photography and video get the story and the image across faster than almost anything else.”

Taylor, an international award winning photographer agreed. He said, “If you haven’t watched Simon Sinek’s video on TED about Why and the Golden Circle, do so. The thing is people want photos and videos to be authentic universal communications. If they are authentic you will generate trust.”

Brian added, “Storytelling is another way to get there. It uses the emotions to overcome clutter and can be passed along without devices.”

Matt agreed and noted that sometimes a small client is better served by concentrating on a very tight segment, spending more per contact than they might ever dream to make each contact an event.”

Rick, our Direct Marketing Maven said, “I know this story, instead of spending a five figure budget for wedding photographer, he convinced him to go to only the 10 top wedding planners in the country with a really classy custom wooden box presentation at a about $100 bucks each and the guy did 5 or 6 times his business, like well into six figures, the next year.”

Yes, I said. “That’s the story. Branding is not advertising. It is not logos. You can’t buy it. It is what prospects and clients think, feel and believe about you, your products and services whether they’ve ever met you or not.”

Jerry Fletcher has been doing the kind of branding these gents believe in for over 40 years. He is a Contact Relationship Magician focused on making the techniques of enterprise level marketing available to small businesses with low or no cash. His consulting website is www.JerryFletcher.com

Jerry speaks professionally on networking, marketing and Contact Relationship Magic across the Americas. His speaking website is: www.NetworkingNinja.com

When Not To Apologize

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Angry man“I was trying to make sure that all the folks that wanted to keep getting my blog and newsletter and other publications about small business marketing would keep on getting them” I said.

“Nothing wrong with that,” said Chris, the Digital Director.

“Yes and no according to one recipient.” I responded.

Chris asked, “What was the problem?”

I replied, “I wouldn’t have known there was one if I didn’t regularly read this fellow’s blog. For him, the personalization went awry. I inferred from his subject and description in a blog the following week plus a follow up comment that I had offended him by getting him to click through from an e-mail sent to hundreds of people that had been personalized with their first names.”

Rob, the smooth talkin’ Johnny Reb branding guru said, “Sounds to me like he took it kinda personal.”

“I’d go along with that, said Kate. In sales terms you got too friendly, too quick.”

Rob, nodded and said, “That can really put a hitch in your git-a-long.”

“All of us preach personalizing our e-mails whether it is sales or marketing or just person to person, I said. But the problem is we don’t know when we make a mistake in an e-mail. This particular e-mail was a test of a new automated marketing system. It went out to 453 people. I found out with the first mailing that people were not sure it was me. They e-mailed me about the concern. One old friend left a lengthy voice mail. Most of them suggested personalizing it if I could.

The second time I sent it to the 327 people who had not responded. The e-mail was longer and personalized and invited anyone that was not sure it was me to call or e-mail for assurance. A few did it. It was the ‘from’ address that bothered them.

So now I’m sending it out a third time to 271 folks. The message will be longer, personalized, explain what I’m doing at greater length, again urge them to contact me if concerned and be totally up front that they are going to a landing page.

I will not apologize for asking them to sign up.

Why? Asked Kate.

“His blog made it painfully clear that he felt he had been tricked because he was taken to a sign up page. But he never indicated how that sign up could be done without some sort of landing page to capture his sign up, add him to the lists involved and otherwise put him into an automated marketing system. He never contacted me about his concern.

Over the two e-mails, 26 people that wanted to sign up but wanted to be sure it was me, made contact. Of those, 24 signed up. The two that didn’t are just too busy for more e-mail but wanted to be sure that they would remain in my personal contact list.

I won’t apologize because he could have made no comment and assured the same action. He is off the list and won’t be invited back.”

Chris said, “Harsh.”

Kate looked over her glasses at him and said, “I know Fletch wants to keep every customer forever but I also know he is pragmatic. It wasn’t inappropriate personalization in this case. It worked. The guy clicked through and then was unhappy. And if he feels all that up close and personal why didn’t he get in touch? Situations like this, you cut your losses and move on.”

Jerry Fletcher has had his share of successes and surprises in Automated Marketing. That is the source of his expertise. Clients have been known to say that “he starts where the software stops.” Sign up on the landing page in question: jerryfletcher.com/profit.html

Jerry speaks professionally on three continents. His speaking web site is www.NetworkingNinja.com

How To Shape A Marketing Mindset

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Karen and I were chatting over coffee the other day and I realized that not every small business operator is in a sales or marketing mode at all times.

Woman developing marketing mindsetChris, young but wise in all things digital asked, “What do you mean?”

“She was telling me about speaking at an industry event and how it had gone.”

Kate interjected, “And she got no sales and no leads, am I right?”

“Yes, Madam Sales, you have put your finger on the problem. What would you recommend?”

Kate took a sip of ice tea and said, “It’s a matter of mindset. You need to decide what the single most important outcome needs to be for you on any day in any situation.”

Rick said, “That’s one thing we do when we build a direct marketing campaign. We try to anticipate what a prospect might do and provide ways to overcome objections, pull them back to considering our solution and give them some reason to buy in. Is that what you mean?”

“Sounds like you have to do it for life,” said Chris.

“Yes and no,” I said. “My friend Karen was unhappy. The first thing I asked her was what she expected to get out of it. She hadn’t thought about it! Then I got her to think through what she would have done differently if she had thought it through. Here’s what she came up with:

  1. Figure out just what you’d like to get from the overall situation and this piece of it.
  2. Act on it. Do what will get you to your goal without damaging the relationship.
  3. Do it again situation by situation.

I call it being true to your mission. When you know why you are in business all you have to do is look at a task or decision and if it keeps you on mission it is the right thing to do. It is the marketing mindset that will make you successful.

“Sounds like branding to me,” said Rob. “Y’all can’t know every situation your brand is going to get into but you do know what you want it to stand for with the folks that are rubbin’ up against it. That doesn’t change so long as you’re true to what they believe you to be. But if you go kiting off in all directions or you don’t pay attention to being just one thing you’re gonna’ get ditched and that ain’t pretty!”

“You’re right Bubba,” said Kate. The difficulty is going from the way most people operate almost on remote control to a focus on what is happening in the moment and putting all their cognitive capabilities into play to get to the goal set. “

“That isn’t easy”, I said.

“And it can’t be done overnight,” Gail, our resident writer joined in. That old saw about it taking at least 30 days to change a habit is true and when you’re dealing with a behavior like this the recidivism rate is over the top.”

“Didn’t I just say it isn’t easy.” I asked.

“Not as eloquently,” said Bubba.

Kate said, “If you want to act intentionally ask yourself one question as you begin any task: Why am I doing this? If you don’t have an answer, you are coasting. Stop.

Re-read what Karen came up with. Take a little time to think through what your mission in life is. You have a mission, don’t you?”

 

Our Mission: Deliver the marketing knowledge that makes it possible for the “Little Guys” to go it alone… successfully. Learn more at: www.JerryFletcher.com

Jerry has spoken professionally on three continents. His hard-earned expertise is in three business development specialties: Personal Networking, Marketing and Contact Relationship “Magic”. Jerry’s speaking site is: www.NetworkingNinja.com