How Little Guys Can Find Their Briar Patch And Win At Marketing.

Posted on 2014/09/06 by Jerry Fletcher

“Every small business has to figure out how to market with limited funds and limited time,” said Rob. “The problem is they get all wound around an axle trying to do branding and pushin’ to beat the odds on social media and they wind up just getting tired and feelin’ like Enterprise level operations are gwan to whup on ‘em.”

“Hold it’” I said. I’ll bet not everyone here knows the Brer Rabbit stories, Bubba. That is what you’re talking about, not the Nebula in the Star Trek show, right?”

Rob replied, “I’m talkin’ rabbits not rockets. You see, Brer Rabbit was a ‘Little Guy.’ He used his wits to beat Brer Fox time after time. That is the secret no matter what kind of business you have. Sure there are times when massive amounts of money poured on an opportunity are going to get the Foxes share but a little ingenuity can go a long way to making your business successful.”

Kathy said, “I see where you’re going with this. You want folks to look at the Briar patch as their happy hunting grounds. It’s like telling a cold caller not to go into that high rise looking for business.”

“I’m not familiar with the stories,” Chris said.

“The stories are about a very clever rabbit. I responded. He continuously turned the tables on just about all the other critters in the woods. Even though he was little, his ingenuity kept him alive and well-fed through adventure after adventure. Once when captured by Brer Fox he pleaded not to be eaten saying, ‘Please don’t fling me in that briar patch’ each time the Fox suggested how he might be cooked. The fox flung him. Brer Rabbit laughed and scampered to safety through the home of his youth.”

“Nice summary for a Yankee,” said Rob. “The key thing here is that there are differences between Little Guys and Enterprises. In my view here’s what you can take advantage of:

You don’t make committee decisions. You don’t have to check a bunch of schedules and wait until everyone is available. You can have a meeting in a heartbeat and make a decision before the Foxes, Bears and other big critters can find the conference room.
On the other hand you can use the same sort of scheduling and contact management software to keep track of your team as well as your customers, prospects and suspects. And because you’re operatin’ in your briar patch you know those folks a lot better than someone who is not used to thorny interactions.
You can easily monitor your marketing campaigns in real time and adapt the analytics developed for internet usage by your out-of-the-briar-patch competitors. In simple terms, use your ingenuity and your ability to move quickly to win on your terms. Remember, you need far fewer sales than the enterprises to have a successful business.”

Gail took a sip of iced tea, stirred it and said, “So what you’re saying is that the Little Guys really have an advantage. The combination of ingenuity, decision speed and desire, no, essential need, to know how things are going moment to moment provides an edge, an edge that is the key to winning.”

“Couldn’ta said it better myself,” said Rob.

Do you agree? What other Brer Rabbit differences would you add? Let us know with your comments.

Jerry and the whole menagerie will be back next week. See you in the Briar Patch.

Jerry Fletcher builds trust-based marketing strategies for Little Guys. Small businesses introducing themselves, new products or new services that are taking their business up a notch. Learn more at: www.JerryFletcher.com

Jerry is an international professional speaker and consultant. Learn more at www.NetworkingNinja.com

How To Get Inside A Closed Mind

Posted on 2014/08/30 by Jerry Fletcher

Factual graphics can begin to change closed minds

The saying should be “A graphic with the appropriate caption is worth a thousand words,” I said.

“I thought it was a picture is worth a thousand words,” said Kate.

“The problem is that people keep trying to put information into smaller and smaller bites,” said Gail. I saw some research I passed on to Fletch the other day that showed how to get people to see things your way. The scientists tried three ways to get folks to accept the evidence in the case:

A paragraph of copy that provided facts that were in opposition to the participant’s viewpoint.
The evidence presented as a chart or graph.
Building the self esteem of the test subjects so they are less threatened by the facts.”

Chris said, “I’d bet on the chart. As a Digital Marketing Director I know we can get real traction with graphics. I’ve used infographics to great success. It isn’t always easy and sometimes the facts are hard to pin down, but when you can find a good source it is powerful.”

“The key is what the mind perceives as ‘real’ and therefore more believable, “ I said. If you use the scientific rigor that was applied in this research you have to agree with the findings. Taken alone, the data confirms the old saying.”

Rob chimed in, “Don’t y’all just hate it when he says something like that? I mean you know he’s gonna land on that with both feet. But before he does I want to make a point ‘bout branding. A logo type is a kind of graphic and originated so that folks who couldn’t read would be able to find the tradesmen they needed. Today, logos play the same role but the other visuals that accompany any corporate communique have to be consistent with the perception of the company. As malleable as folks would like the public to be, they aren’t. So the thing for everybody to remember is you can trash your image in a heartbeat. Be careful y’all.”

“As I was saying,” I continued. “You have to understand where the person you’re talking to is on the spectrum of belief on the subject. On top of that you need to know when to say more and how to say it. An open mind is searching for data. A closed mind is not. A graphic is a great way to sneak up on a closed mind. It is like having a passkey. You’re in before the alarms can go off. And then you can get on with the persuasion.”

Gail said, “ That is, in essence what the research said. But I agree with Fletch. It is an opening to begin the persuasion. You can’t stop there. If you use a chart it must have a heading that is factual and does not draw conclusions. If it is embedded in an article the tenor of the piece should be one of sharing hard data. If conclusions are drawn it must be closer to the 1000 word level.”

“She’s kinda right.” I said. “All you “Little Guys” take note. Often we cannot get people to read the 1000 words. So write a caption for the graph. Have it open with facts and suggest that there is more information including charts and graphs available if they will just click through. Place graphics at multiple points in the copy. It will get your message read. It will be more persuasive. You’ll convince them to buy.

Let me say that again:

Use a factual headline that engenders curiosity
Make the graphic the major illustration
Put a caption under it to get people reading
Use long copy to persuade
Sprinkle the copy with graphics (and caption)
Stick to the facts
Include a specific call to action ”

Agree or Disagree? Let us know with a comment below.

Jerry and his crew will be back next week talking about what you need to know to build your business.

Jerry Fletcher is a Marketing Consultant and Coach who works with just a few select small businesses, solopreneurs and start-ups at any time. www.JerryFletcher.com

Jerry Speaks and will be making a rare local appearance in Oregon, a presentation for Oregon Horse Country on September 20. www.NetworkingNinja.com

How To Find Your Golden Key To Automated Client Development

Posted on 2014/08/23 by Jerry Fletcher

You were saying, “Little guys need automated marketing, too, just like enterprises.”

“They do,” I replied, “but they don’t have the time or money to use a system built for an enterprise. They need to squeeze as much juice out of the systems they use as they can. The good thing is that entrepreneurs are always trying to find ways to provide a better deal.”

“So what are you recommending?” asked Chris.

“Mo’ importantly brer CRM, are you telling them the whole story? I mean it’s like the difference ‘tween a shovel and a backhoe. Which is better, ‘pends on the size hole you got to dig. So are you tellin’ folks to get the enterprise software and use just part of it or systems built for the little guy that don’t cause as much stress on the wetware?

“Yes,” I answered. “I’m just trying to give the ‘Little Guy’ an edge. But I have to tell you there is a CRM system that is integrated with an inbound marketing solution that I’ve telling people about lately. The neat thing is their support team goes above and beyond to help. I was trying to get the two synced during that hot weather spell where it was over 95 for 3 days. Between my computer being in that heat and what that did to internet connections I thought I would never be able to use Big Contacts and Active Campaigns. The guys at BC ran tests using my database, made a video of it and sent it to me to see what could be done with a decent connection. And they made sure the sync took so I could use AC. (That’s Active Campaign not Air Conditioning).

As I go forward setting up a store on my web site for Marketing Without Money TM and other digital products I’ll be investigating more services that are developed and optimized for small businesses.

What I like about this solution is the simplicity. You can load all your contacts into Big Contacts using a CSV file. You can track them via company and individually by name. You can tag them so it is easy to maintain multiple lists inside your complete list. Those of you that have seen me present CRM Magic know that the list of things I believe are ideal in an integrated system include:

Contact Manager
Calendar
Automated Actions
Regular E-mail
E-mail Marketing (including Mobile)
Auto Responders
Web Landing Pages
Forms Linked to Auto Actions
Easy integration with Social Media

I wrote that list over two years ago when no low-cost, easy to use system was available for the ‘Little Guy’. It’s almost like they were listening.

But don’t take my word for it. Go see for yourself. Here are the links again:”

Big Contacts Active Campaign

Jerry and his mob (I know that’s a bunch of Kangaroos but we’re not down under at the moment) will be back next week. No one ever knows what marketing for small businesses topic will overwhelm their lunch.

Consulting: www.JerryFletcher.com

Speaking: www.NetworkingNinja.com

How Enterprise Solutions Can Be Adapted For Small Businesses

Posted on 2014/08/16 by Jerry Fletcher

Sometimes the top selling software solutions are dead wrong for the “Little Guy,” I said.

“But, Fletch,” Kate said, smiling, “The secret is that sometimes you just have to use part of it, not all of it to get your money’s worth.”

“You’re right,” I said, “That is one of the things I found out working with Kamind, my client that literally wrote the book on implementing Office 365. It was developed for really big companies but priced so that even small businesses or solopreneurs can afford it. Having the suite of office software that Microsoft offers available all the time including all the updates is why most folks look at signing up.”

“But that is only the sprig of mint on that mint julep,” Rob drawled. “I checked it out when you told me about it and there is a great deal more. You can have up to five machines in an individual network and all of them are sync’d. In otha’ words the e-mail comes into all of them and if you delete it on one it deletes on all. Even a solo can use that!”

Rick, our Direct Marketing pro said, “But wait, there’s more.”

He was pelted with dinner rolls.

After regaining his composure, he went on, “There’s all kinds of stuff built into it for collaboration so if you have work teams in your small business you can use SharePoint to keep everyone connected and all the files up to date. Or you can use Lync to have a meeting on-line with high–def video and audio screen sharing. The pricing is a steal compared to what you’d have to put out just upgrading the office suite alone.”

“You guys sound like a commercial,” I said. I agree that’s one where the value is unquestionable. Even if you only use a tenth of what is there the price is right. But I was thinking more of CRM systems. I recently took a look at the top 10 systems according to the industry magazine. Every single one of them was so ‘robust’ an untrained person would not know where to begin to implement it. The run of the mill sales person would find it ‘daunting and not very helpful’ while the marketing staff would need weeks of training to begin to build, implement and analyze campaigns.”

“So what is the small business to do?” Gail asked.

“We ‘Little Guys’ have to understand the strategic importance of what the enterprises are doing and put those parts that make sense to work for us. We need to seek out products that are a little simpler but capable of handling the tactical implementations we can afford both in terms of time and money. In the last week I’ve found myself sharing the solutions I’ve found with a distributor, an application development company, an association, a high-tech entrepreneur, a non-profit and a retailer.”

“Does that have anything to do with the product line you are working on?” Kate asked. “I know you consult on contact management and develop the campaigns used by companies from solos up to enterprises to sell their products and services. Is it different when you have to deal with the infra-structure as well?”
“Yes,” I said, “But that part of this discussion is going to have to wait until next week, I’ve go to dash.”

Jerry Fletcher, Networking Ninja, Marketing Rainmaker and Contact Relationship Magician is an International Professional Speaker and Marketing Consultant. This former Ad Agency CEO, PR agency founder and World Class Direct Marketing Agency COO crafts Trust-based marketing to build businesses, careers and lives of joy.

Consulting: www.Z-axisMarketing.com Speaking: www.NetworkingNinja.com

Marketing is Using Single Sale Secrets to Convince Multitudes to Buy

Posted on 2014/08/09 by Jerry Fletcher

“Most of the presentation was like looking for a light switch in the woods.” I answered Gail. “What every entrepreneur needs to understand is that to be successful their product or service needs to appeal to the multitudes but the only way to be sure that will happen is to understand why the single sale closes.“

Rob drawled, “let me get this heah straight…a light switch in the woods you say. Either they or you are confused.”

“Yes and yes,” I said. “I was speaking about Contact Relationship Management to a group of young entrepreneurs. Their expectation was that a CRM system should go from initial contact to final sale…seamlessly.”

Chris asked, “So what did you do?”

“I remembered what Kate said last week: Marketing is multitudes. Sales is Singles.

That seemed to get through to them. I used these examples:

You’re sitting in an audience at a conference and the speaker tells a story about a signature act –an action taken by Johnny, a young grocery bagger that kept people in the line he was working even when the store manager opened several other registers. Afterward you ask the speaker for advice on how to apply this marketing principle in your shop. She tells you the Signature Act is not marketing, it is sales. It can have a marketing impact but it is meant to make a difference one on one.” More? See the article in Resources on my consulting web site and search Signature Acts on this Blog

Marketing is multitudes, Sales is Singles.

Then I went interactive. I said: Those of you that would like to have more money to build your business, please stand up. The whole audience was on their feet. Then: If you’re willing to accept a loan from family and friends, please stay on your feet. About 10% sat down. Followed by: If you’re willing to give up stock in the company to family and friends for funding, remain standing. About 80% stayed on their feet. How many of you are willing to work with venture capitalists? Fewer than half remained standing. And last, how many of you are willing to give up control of your company for funding? Only a scattered few were still on their feet.

“All of you,” I said, “want money.” “Only a few will sell out. Each group responded to the key element for them. Each group can be approached with the promise that works for them. But every sale is singular. it is reached between you and your benefactor. There are no enmasse sales.

Marketing is multitudes. Sales is Singles

Part of the difficulty is that there are so few people that understand both traditional and digital marketing plus the age–old myopia and fear regarding sales. Well it leads to this kind of confusion.”

Kate piped up. “Fear of sales?” she asked.

“Yes,” I said. Entrepreneurs find themselves having to sell every step of the way. They have to sell their ideas to get others to join them and then they have to find the money to keep the vision alive and they find themselves having to convince alpha and beta testers. They would prefer to turn the business development, the marketing and sales of the company, over to someone else. But the customer, whether it is the banker or the buyer, wants to speak to them.”

What every entrepreneur needs to understand is that to be successful their product needs to appeal to the multitudes but the only way to be sure that will happen is to understand why the single sale closes.”

www.JerryFletcher.com is where you’ll find way too much information about Jerry’s consulting services and experience. Sign up for The Whole Enchilada there.

www.NetworkingNinja is Jerry’s Professional Speaking web site. Keynotes, Workshops Rates, Dates as well as audio and video samples.

Branding and Your Name

Posted on 2014/08/02 by Jerry Fletcher

“Fletch,” Gail asked, “Why did you change the name of your blog?

“Well,” I said, “somebody did notice!”

Chris said, “I know without him telling me…at least part of it is SEO.”

“You’re right.” I said. “It was called Jerry Fletcher’s Dialogue Blog before because it captured the essence of these Friday lunch conversations. But the name didn’t cover what the blog is about, the information being conveyed and the reason I do it in the first place.”

“I notice you kept your name in it” said Rob.

“That I did my friend,” I replied. I remember a discussion we had a while back where you pointed out that in any professional service business the ones that are remembered are a person’s name along with the service they offer. Some of the examples you used were Ogilvy and Mather Advertising and Frank Gehry, the architect who designed the Guggenhaim and the new Disney Theatre and Regis Mckenna the PR Genius in the early days of Apple. You pointed out that even the most creative name for a company didn’t make much difference because if it became successful they would start asking for the founder or key guy or gal by name. ”

Rob looked thoughtful and then said, “Thas still true today. Human nature doesn’t change all that much in a few short years. It I’s a good thing for any entrepreneur or small business owner to know that customers and prospects remember your name combined with what you do. Y’all are your brand whether you like it or not.”

Kate said, “And right there is why he changed the rest of the name. Jerry Fletcher’s Secrets of Small Business Marketing gets at what he does. He is all about working with small businesses, what he calls the little guys to take on the enterprises and win or simply operate profitably below their radar.”

“Give the lady a perceptivity prize,” I said. “I’ve dedicated the last 20 odd years to figuring out what I can steal from the big guys, the enterprise level companies, and put to use for the little guys. I’ve worked in both arenas so I know how to morph a strategy or tactic from both directions.”

“For instance?” Rick asked.

“The hook in 30-Second Marketing TM.” I said. It always starts with your name, then the phrase that makes you memorable. Like a CPA that identifies himself by his name and the phrase ‘they call me Captain Crunch’ as his hook. A little word play sets him apart from a lot of other number crunchers and bean counters.

Or how about on-line marketing for small retailers. A couple ladies started a cupcake shop nearby. When I spoke about on-line marketing for the local chamber they asked how much advice they could get for a few cupcakes. I introduced them to Fish Bowl Marketing. I told them to put a fishbowl next to the cash register and start collecting business cards. Then they started e-mailing a weekly flavors calendar and offering a coupon for a second cupcake free when you brought a friend in on your birthday.

Then they taught me a lesson. Because so many of their customers were women who did not work they put out a register for them to sign up. They collected e-mail, birthday and text address because that is what that segment of their customers wanted them to know. That is a simple but effective secret for small retailers I can pass along.

So yes, the newly named blog will provide practical advice for little guys, Secrets of Small Business Marketing, but still do it in the form of a dialogue”

Let us know if this blog helps you.

Jerry Fletcher is a master of business development. Learn how he can help your business grow at www.JerryFletcher.com

Jerry speaks professionally. Recommend him to an association or organization that small business members. Learn more at www.NetworkingNinja.com

Is The Marketing And Sales Funnel Dead?

Posted on 2014/07/26 by Jerry Fletcher

Kate looked up as Fletch came in late and said “who rained on your parade?” You look like you could chew nails.”

“You guys know that I can’t stand stupidity especially in print or blogs supposedly by experts. I suffered through a column in a trade publication today that said Marketing and Sales Funnels are dead.”

Kate’s eyes narrowed. Our sales expert asked, “How and where did the sales funnel die?”

“This guy says that the notion that people go through an orderly process to purchase anything, a marketing/sales funnel, is no longer valid as new technologies have enabled people to behave differently than they did just a few years ago. He claims that people used to make buys based on the information doled out to them by the company.”

Rob drawled, “Sounds to me like he’s not too connected to the reality of the past. Just because developing a brand was easier in the days of Mad Men as there was less media available doesn’t mean that consumers accepted only what they were told ‘bout any product. Shucks, companies with huge budgets got their hats handed to them regularly. Two of the best examples both happened to the same company. It took GM years to stop trying to get people to say Chevrolet instead of Chevy. Same thing happened with their top notch truck engine. Back then they wanted folks to call it a Gee Emm. People called it a Jimmy and that’s what it is today.”

“I agree, Bubba,” I said. “He casually threw away research that has been confirmed regularly since the 50’s. He consigned basic cognitive research to the scrap heap without a scrap of evidence. He referenced the model that cites Awareness, Preference, Trial, Repeat and Satisfaction and said it no longer applies because of the internet and easy availability of information.

I agree that things have changed. But that doesn’t mean the model is wrong and more importantly it doesn’t mean that sales people are no longer important.”

Chris waded in, “But you have to admit that it is a different world when you can check a competitor’s price when you’re in a store. You have to go along with providing more information to anyone that wants it. I’ve watched you build inbound marketing campaigns and you’re like one of Bubba’s bassets on a scent to get at all the objections and concerns so you can answer them. You work in the real world, so what is your problem?”

“The fact is the writer was dead wrong,” I answered. People still go through the same phases. They start with awareness. They can’t want anything if they don’t know about it. And if there are options they are going to prefer one over another. That is human nature. If the price is low for them they will try the product and repurchase it if it proves satisfying. If it is expensive to them or a business purchase they may spend a little more time gathering information. And that’s where the new technology can really be handy.”

“Hold it,” Kate said. “Go back to that sales people are no longer important nonsense.”

“Yeah, that got me, too,” I said. “He implied that with big data and some minimal skills that marketing could easily close the sale and turn the customer into a raving fan. I will bet your lunch tab that this guy has never been a sales person and never worked with high value products. Marketing can find crowds of ideal customers and can deliver messages to them that get them into a process, a marketing and sales funnel, but marketing cannot respond to the individual and marketing can’t close every sale.”

Kate said, “Marketing is Multitudes. Sales is Singles.”

What do you think? Are the classic models dead or are they morphing as technology changes? Let us know your thoughts.

Jerry Fletcher is an old timer who has matched his skills to the changing world of marketing. Learn about his performance-based pragmatic approach at www.JerryFletcher.com

If you’d like to hear him speak, you can learn more at www.NetworkingNinja.com

Do Your E-mail Numbers Add Up?

Posted on 2014/06/14 by Jerry Fletcher

Chris, back from vacation and full of energy flopped into a seat and said, “The latest data on e-mail could prove to be confusing.”

“How’s that” Digital Developer? I asked.

“What baffling bit of analytics is making you cranky,” asked Rick.

“Since you guys are so happy to see me I’m going to make this a test:
Which should you optimize for words or pictures?”

Rob jumped in saying, “We live in a visually oriented society. So usually I’d go with pictures. But I know the powah o’ words so I figure he’s runnin’ one on us and I’ll go that way.

Gail said, “I’ll go with words because that’s my stock in trade but I know how valuable the right photo can be.”

I said, “I’ve seen the research so I can safely say, it depends.”

Kate snorted and said, “Both of you quit hedging and tell us.”

Chris said, “It really does depend. When you survey the population about two thirds of people say they prefer mostly images. But when you look at click through rates every picture you add lowers the rate.”

Kate asked, “Is it different between men and women?”

Chris replied, “Men prefer text, women mostly images but either way it is nearly a 50/50 proposition.”

Rick asked, “Is there any data on when to send?”

“Yes,” Chris said, “But you aren’t going to like that any better.”

“Don’t tell me,” Rick said, “That, too depends.”

Chris smiled. “Yes. Here’s how that figures:

The best click through rates for marketing e-mails are on Saturday and Sunday followed by Friday, Thursday, Wednesday, Monday and Tuesday.
The pattern is pretty much the same regardless of list size flattening as the list grows to over 10,000.”

“The pattern is the same for e-mails sent by individuals to other individuals,” I added. The most surprising finding was the fact that individual e-mails are being opened up to 12 days later.”
“What about mobile?” Kate asked.

Chris checked his notes and said, “People use Desktops, Laptops, Phones and Tablets. They don’t stick to any single one. Eighty percent use a desktop or laptop part of the time. About 57% use a phone part of the time. And tablet use is up to 33% of the time now.

I said, “The real question is what should the little guy do with this information? In most cases he or she must look at what they are sending and compare what they sent to the actions taken. There is no silver bullet, single answer but you can improve your performance if you use the analytics available to you and change based on actions not words.”

Thanks for stopping by. Please pass this information along to any “Little Guy” that needs help figuring out how to market a business with limited time and money.

Jerry Fletcher records the commentaries of his rowdy crew of marketing and sales experts weekly. Learn more about his consultancy at www.JerryFletcher.com
Jerry speaks professionally and has appeared on three continents. See some of his signature stories at www.NetworkingNinja.com

Jerry Fletcher's Secrets of Small Business Marketing

How to build your business, your brand and a life of joy…on and off-line.

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