Bill Gluth, Creative Business Strategy Blog

The Power of "Checking In"

I had a great opportunity to realize how important caring about client outcomes and staying in touch really is.

I did a check in call yesterday with a client whose project had finished. She had a couple of questions and reported excellent results with the sales attraction process we created together.

Then she asked about the next step, which would be client relationship management. As a result of that call, we'll start moving on creating a consistent CRM process and completing her sales strategy program.

Caring about the outcomes clients receive and staying committed to keeping in touch is so important. It's also the first thing that most business owners fail to do consistently.

Think Big Radio Interview

I had the pleasure to be a featured guest on Think Big Radio. We talked about talent, passion and knowledge as a key to sales and marketing success.

Hear the entire interview at http://tinyurl.com/6kf7dw 

Let me know if this information was helpful to you!

How to show clients you care

Caring takes a small amount of time everyday but reaps big results. Do it consistently and caring will help you breakthough the competitive race of new business building and win.

All you have to do is follow these steps:

Call your clients throughout the year to see how they are doing.

Drop them a greeting card in the mail to let them know you’re thinking about them.

Showing your appreciation goes a long way in opening the door for new projects as well as gaining referrals.

Drop your clients a personal email once in a while to provide them with new, relevant information you’ve discovered.

A word of caution on emails: Be careful not to get lazy. Mix up your human touch tactics to include telephone, US Mail, email and personal meetings.

When you speak to buyers in a way that focuses on their desires and use an attitude of personal caring to keep existing clients and hot prospects engaged, your marketing costs will go down while your sales go up.

The 3-Secrets of Human Touch Marketing

In looking at the latest major marketing trends for small business, there are three basic philosophies to pay particular attention to. When used in combination, you unlock the door to the secrets of Human Touch Marketing.

Philosophy one, speaking the buyer’s language

When your marketing and sales messages are slanted toward your buyer’s wants and interests, your message suddenly takes on a new life.

You’re no longer talking AT buyers about your business, which is your interest.

Instead, you are speaking TO your buyer’s interests. As a result they stop blocking and actually hear your message.

Philosophy two, educate to advertise

A couple of years ago, I coined the phrase “Edutise™” to describe a process where articles, white papers, special reports, eBooks, blogging, and educational outreach were prime marketing tactics to use in expanding the sales reach of any business.

Since that time, Edutising has taken on energy of its own. With blogging, social networks and article and PR sites it’s never been easier to launch an Edutising campaign.

Philosophy three, personal caring

Personal caring is the secret that builds relationships. No matter who you are, when someone genuinely cares about you, your business and the outcome you received from a previous engagement, you will be open to do business with that company again.

The cost of continuing to do business with an existing client is significantly less than prospecting and acquiring new clients all the time.

When you speak to buyers in a way that focuses on their desires, educate to advertise and use an attitude of personal caring to keep existing clients and hot prospects engaged, your marketing costs will go down while your sales go up.

The Concept of Logos is Dated

 In the not too distant past businesses established their name thanks, in part, to a logo.

The logo showcased a business by creating memorable “art” that helped people recognize the name whenever they saw it.

The problem was when the logo was viewed, buyer’s still wondered what the business actually did.

A new breed of business identity device has replaced the logo and it’s called a meme.

Meme's give us an immediate frame of reference for ideas. For example, a heart is a frequently used meme to project the idea of love.

The word meme is a term borrowed from the world of genetics and means, “A unit of identification.”

In marketing a business, the meme differs from a logo in that it utilizes words, the company name and an image to create a memorable message.

The end result is, a complete sales message is delivered every time the meme is viewed.

When taken into sales situations, you’ll find greater receptiveness from your buyers and quicker qualifying, which ultimately leads to more sales closings. You’ll also have a way to inspire greater word of mouth marketing from viewers of your meme.

The secret to a meme’s success is to make sure that you are telling a complete story, at a glance, which inspires your buyers to ask you to tell them more.

If Your Name is Joe ...

... and you happen to be a plumber, now is the best time ever to launch a marketing and sales campaign.

This week, in the Presidential Debate, John McCain and Barak Obama made a household name out of a fellow named, Joe the Plumber.

Take advantage of that fact. Imagine how easy it would be to talk to people about your business if you could say, "I'm Joe the Plumber."

Taking advantage of current news is priceless. You can get a lot of attention for just a little action.

I'd even go so far as to call your newspaper and become a local Joe the Plumber in your area. The ideas on how to use this are endless.

In fact, if your name is Joe at all, become Joe the WHATEVER YOU ARE. There's one catch though. Your window of opportunity is limited. Next month will be too late.

What Makes Prospects Tick

As small business owners we are all part service providers, part salesperson and part psychologist.

The psychologist part is a vital aspect of sales and marketing that is often overlooked.

The mindset prospects generally use as their default setting, when confronted with a sales offer, is one of skepticism.

They are ready to block that message quickly.

The only reason a prospect is ever interested in talking to you about your business is because you promised a solution that they found appealing.  It matched their worldview and hit a “pain point” they are suffering from.

When I write buyer-centric copy for any client, I always start by finding out what my client’s buyer’s value most about the business. 

During the reply phase of projects the same type of response ideas starts coming back pretty quickly.

Once I see the same kind of response coming back eight times or more, I know we have “flattened” the response. Now we look for the ‘gems’ and personality responses that so often occur.

Then we use those words and ideas to create buyer-centric sales stories.

The reason using the buyers words in sales and marketing messages work is because those words feel genuine to skeptical buyers. They are not contrived, they are genuine. As a result, they flow with a strong believability when delivered.

They are basically, "Buyer-Centric Stories and Strategies that Create Sales."

An Easy Referral System

It's been said over and over again that referral generation is the most worthwhile and at the same time, most difficult part of sales.

Sure, referrals can get us into doors that would be hard to open by direct sales on its own, but it's a pain to ask for them. Most people feel "pushy" when doing it.

The reason is, most business owners are not showing they care enough about prospects after the sale.

We are all guilty of it at times.

The best way to keep in touch consistently is to automate the follow up process. Let your past clients know we care about them more often than when you want them to buy something.

Emails don't work for referral follow up on their own because they get blocked quickly. It's easy to become an email pest instead of a welcome inbox guest.

The best way I've found to gain referrals is through human touch interactions.

Here's a powerful video that offers a solid idea on how to automate a personal referral system quickly and inexpensively.

Check it out at http://tinyurl.com/3enroa

How to Keep Sales Brisk in a Slow Economy

Of all the to-do’s most small business owners have on their plate in a day, few are more important than keeping a direct sales process (and revenues) flowing consistently.

But there always seems to be another task that takes precedence. With the economy slowing, keeping sales brisk takes new focus and commitment.

Answer these 5-questions to ensure your business thrives.

1. Does your sales story match what your clients say they want?

A sales story that talks about your business and what it provides is pretty much blocked in today’s competitive business climate. Your sales and marketing story must contain the words your clients use to describe the value you provide.

2. Do you have a brand image you are proud to promote? Does your brand image tell your business story at a glance?

Today, the MEME (meaning a unit of identification) has taken over for the once popular logo concept.

3. Is there a well thought out sales process documented that anyone could follow?

The steps include maketing to attract interest, a system of selling that converts attraction into revenue consistently and a CRM program that predictibly creates backend sales and referrals.

4. Do you know who your most likely marketing targets are?

The best way to find this information out is to mirror past clients.

5. Do you share your knowledge, talent and advice with your target audience consistently?

Articles, blog posts, audio introductions and video can all be used to educate your target market about the value you provide.

The only companies who experience severe decline in slow economic times are those who don’t continue to sell and market consistently.

Quick Marketing Tip

Anyone who knows me, knows that I am a BIG fan of content that educates; articles, blog posts, audio, etc.

Today I received an email that had a link to an article that I'd like to read. When I opened the link, I saw a number of different articles. I clicked out.

So, the tip for today is, if you want me to read something, tell me what it is, then give me a direct link to that specific article.

I won't hunt and look for it. Well, that is to say unless you're a favorite author like Seth Godin, David Meerman Scott, or Mark Joyner.