Yearly Archives: 2012

The 1st Thing I’ve Learned from Sales

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I committed to learning sales a little over 3 weeks ago, and I learned my 1st lesson within just a few days.

And it wasn’t even a sales lesson, exactly. It was more about marketing than sales. Even more than that, it was a lesson in the power of commitment and necessity.

For the past couple of years, maybe close to 3 years by now, I have been thinking about and toying with the notion of setting up a squeeze page. A squeeze page is an online sales letter written to get the reader to take a specific step.

That step may be signing up for free information, signing up for a free newsletter, signing up for a teleseminar, or buying something. Since it’s focused on that 1 purpose, a squeeze page doesn’t have tabs at the top to take you to different pages or sites. It should only have a link to the page where the reader can take the desired action. That same link may appear many times on the page, but by design it should be the only link on the page, however many times it appears.

With my new sales profit center, I needed a squeeze page to give information about a call I was doing and to direct people to sign up or listen to the recording. I was committed to a time frame with the call set up. I finally had a very specific reason for a squeeze page, instead of a half-sketched idea of how I might use one in the future, so I was motivated by necessity. And I had urgency – I needed it within just a few days!

So I pulled together what I already knew, looked at some sites for examples, and asked Google a couple of things.

I realized I could format my squeeze page the same way I format my HTML newsletter. I opened my newsletter template, looked through the squiggly code, found things I understood, and then experimented by changing some values.

I wound up with a white page with a light gray border, exactly what I wanted, and adjusted the size until it looked right. I formatted a header (pushing my limited HTML knowledge) and then wrote the body of my letter. I put the link to the call at various points in the letter, based on simple pointers I’ve learned about copywriting techniques.

Then I went in and created a border around the text with the link and centered it to jazz it up just a touch. I don’t do showy banners, but the design was enough to grab the reader’s attention if they scan the letter.

I put in some other copywriting features (at least the ones I remember) and even broke the rule by adding a 2nd link near the end. It looked great in my web design software! But I wasn’t sure yet how to get it to show up on my site.

For this, I had to look at a simple site and remember things I’d seen before. I experimented a little, too. It turns out, at least with the web hosting company I use, an HTML document called “index.html” is the default page that shows up as the home page.

And just like that, I had created and uploaded a single-page site using just a simple, free web design program. Which is great timing, because I’ll need another one for a training product I’m creating that will be ready to launch early next year.

Want to see how a simple page created with a free program looks? Click here and be amazed – not by the quality, but by the fact I figured it out!

meh… [sales]

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[Sales] is my least favorite part of marketing.

Calling it “least favorite” is seriously understated. I used to think of marketing as a 4-letter word, but marketing and I have worked out our disagreements over time, through open communication and curiosity. I now appreciate marketing as analogous to good communication in any relationship – it takes a lot of work, I really wish it didn’t, and it’s really hard to do sometimes. But it’s worth it.

When I’m communicating well with people who need my services and products (my clients and prospects), I’m helping them learn about solving problems and overcoming challenges they face. They need that. Communication (marketing) is the only way I can do that.

But my previous resistance to marketing is nothing – nothing – compared to my aversion to [sales]. I mean, I’m even putting the word in a [box] to try to contain it!

That’s because the model of [sales] I know, through my experience as the target, and I mean that in every sense of the word, is to aggressively pursue someone and coerce them to buy something through a tactic related to shame. The messages have included:

“You should want this one because it’s what most people want, and it’s the way to fit in.”

“The smart people are buying now. The losers will wish they had bought, too.”

“Don’t be embarrassed about being too poor to afford it. We offer credit!”

and, sadly (because I’m kind of compassionate and feel ashamed about not helping)

“I just need 3 more sales to reach my target and get my bonus, so it will really help me.”

Has your experience as a [sales]person’s target been similar? I think most of us have similar kinds of experiences that taught us [sales] is gross.

But I know that [sales] is only gross when it’s done in a gross way. [Sales] is the step in marketing when a person needs information through a conversation with a live person to understand something better, to finalize a decision, or even to complete the purchasing process. When it’s used with respect, considering what the prospect wants and needs and helping him or her decide what’s the best choice, it’s a helpful, kind thing.

I’ve heard this as a description of ethical [sales] with integrity. This definition makes sense in my head, but my heart is still skeptical. I want to believe it. I want to bring [sales] out of the protective box, but I have to make sure it’s not going to run loose and push people around first.

So I committed to a program that requires me to learn about [sales] and try out different steps. The instructor is someone I respect and admire, so my brain is sure this is a good idea.

My heart? It’s going to take some convincing. So far, I’ve been able to soften the container just a little – (sales). See!

I’ll keep you updated on how it goes. And you can let me know about your experiences with (sales) by leaving a comment below.

Multiple Profit Centers 101

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Barbara Winter may not have invented the idea of multiple profit centers solely, completely on her own. But she helped make the idea clear and accessible to many people by pulling together many of the details and considerations. She first talked about multiple profit centers DECADES ago, long before she wrote Making A Living Without A Job, which was nearly twenty years ago.

In a recent blog post she provides a fantastically concise, cogent overview of the power of incorporating multiple profit centers. It’s a quick read so check it out by clicking here. If you’re intrigued, pull out your copy of Making A Living Without A Job and review that section.

Don’t have a copy? Not yet? No problem! Click here and order one today!

Don’t TAKE Plenty of Business Cards… COLLECT Plenty

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You hear it from business development and marketing coaches and consultants everywhere, again and again.

When you go to a networking event, a presentation, a group event, or any place you can talk about your business, take plenty of business cards with you.

I think they’re wrong. (Are you really surprised?) Don’t misunderstand. If someone asks for your card it’s great to have one to give. But taking plenty puts you in the mindset of trying to pass them out. That’s how they wind up in the recycle bin later that night as people clean out their pockets.

Instead, go with the mindset of collecting business cards. Not every business card from every person, but a business card from each person you want to contact later. That gives you a specific mission at the event.

What’s the point of passing out business cards? It’s to give people a way to remember your name and have your contact information so they can follow up with you. As they stand in front of the recycle bin shuffling through the cards they collected, they’re looking and thinking, “Am I really going to e-mail this person?”

~Toss~

Or they put your card in the “keep” pile, a sticky, crumpled collection held together with a rubber band and thrown in a drawer, easily forgotten.

Since the point is to have people remember your name and continue the conversation, it’s better to take charge and not leave it up to them. Instead of approaching each person with the thought, “Is this person likely to hire me?” or, “Does this person maybe know someone who will hire me?” think, “Can I help this person in some way?”

If you approach each conversation listening for an opportunity to be helpful, you have a reason to follow up afterwards. When you hear a way you can be helpful, ask for the person’s card. Jot a note on the back about the kind of information you can send, like the name of a reliable plumber or directions to a hole-in-the-wall restaurant or an article you just read with some unique investment advice. It doesn’t need to be about your business or your expertise. Just be willing to help.

When you send the e-mail or make the phone call you get another chance to connect. Because you care you come across as more likeable. That makes the other person more interested in learning about you. You can offer to meet for coffee or lunch to learn more about the other person. Notice I didn’t say pitch your services to that person. Include your business information in your e-mail signature and be ready to talk about your business – when the other person asks.

Be a person worth knowing. Be interested in other people. Let people get to know you. Then they’ll be comfortable working with you or sending their friends and family to you. Walk into any event planning to be that person.