A few suggestions to simplify your marketing:

1. Quit trying to sell to people that don’t want your product.
2. Quit the phone calls
3. Quit mailing to people that don’t read it
4. Narrow your print ads to publications that address your target market
5. Place online ads where they are much targeted.
6. Approach bloggers and social networks that are targeted to your market only.
7. Ask customers and prospect what they want to hear about.
8. Look at key trigger words that will tell you to stop marketing
9. Get creative and service only our customer’s needs.

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A good reason, why I think a full refrigerator is overrated, FOOD ROTS.

Think about how your own refrigerator is used. The kids come home, they open the refrigerator up, they look at it and do not see anything to eat and it’s full! When they do use it, they never use the last little bit of anything, do they? It’s all waste, no matter how much or how little.

Most marketing is very much a same way. A customer has so many choices, and it’s really not because of him. It’s because of us trying to be everything to everybody. We are so afraid to target ourselves and to limit ourselves in any way, that we just become one of many inside the refrigerator. Just one of all the choices, because all we are saying that we can put something in your stomach and fill you up.

When you have a clearly defined marketing funnel, you take customers through the cycle not only for your benefit but for theirs. Qualifying a customer is primarily for their benefit. A good match between customers, suppliers and products is the single most important strategy you can use to grow your business. Losing a prospect in the middle of the funnel should happen. If you meetings are about why you lost these prospects, you may want to re-think your position a little. Think how could lose them sooner and spend more time bringing others into the funnel and qualifing them quicker. Your least expensive marketing should be to the masses and/or less qualified prospects. Once someone gets into your funnel, find ways to qualify them quickly. Rotten food stinks up the whole refrigerator.

So how do we go about distinguishing ourselves? I believe the single most effective way to do this is to determine your customer’s needs? We can’t fulfill every need, but what is the one thing that we can fulfill?( Use the 5 Why’s to do that). If you want to get your marketing on track, I think this is the single most powerful influencer that you can do. Take a look at the refrigerator once again; do you want to be the eggs on the left or on the right?

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You’ve most likely heard this famous quote before. Andy Warhol refers to a special time in our lives when something we’ve done or accomplished gives us the visibility and recognition we deserve. If you were to look back took an inventory of everything you did to help people solve problems or change things for the better, you’d be quite amazed. You’ll discover just how many these are qualified to be your "15 minutes of fame".

Just how many of these have you expressed to your customers in your marketing? If you have told people about these special accomplishments, did it move your relationship to a new level? Were you able to directly relate what you claimed as an accomplishment to getting an appointment? If you answered yes to each of these questions, hat’s off to you. If not, then here’s how you can put this to work or refine it even further.

Simple statements that are the centerpiece of your marketing message. Nobody but you can lay claim to these special accomplishments. These Statements distinguish you from others who may hold the same position or in your industry. They are Power Statements.

Just what are Power Statements? To give you a visual, think of headlines when you’re reading a newspaper. They draw you into the article. You decide on what you’re going to read based on the excitement and interest generated by the headline. If the headline is boring, you just keep looking for one that catches your attention.

Your Power Statements are the headlines of your business that draw people in. You’re expressing, not bragging, exactly what you did to help people or companies solve critical problems and create new opportunities. Power Statements can be used in many places. While networking and meeting new people. On your website or brochure. In a cover letter or job proposal. In a sales presentation or a follow up letter.

Which Power Statement headline would entice you to read further:

1. Proven track record completing projects under budget and within deadline
2. In one 12 month period, we completed 5 complex technology projects, generating $6 million in revenue while saving nearly $1 million in capital expenses.

You can CLEARLY see the difference in these two statements. Have you seen (or maybe even written) headline #1 in a cover letter?

The more you relate your accomplishments with an "economic value" (revenue generated, percent growth, saved money or otherwise), the more you will stand out from the crowd. People want to know what you did and what you can do with your unique skills.

1. Use an action word(s) to give a broad description – developed, implemented, created, etc…
2. Very short description of your accomplishment – marketing sales letter, training program, complex technical installation, etc…
3. Describe the economic or realized value in dollars, percentages, or time – 120% increase, 10 minutes down to 3 minutes, etc…

You’ll discover just how valuable you are when you get your own Power Statements down on paper. These headlines set you apart from the competition. They also demonstrate that you have what it takes to get the job done — no matter what the task.

Your challenge – take out a piece of paper right now and write down 5 Power Statements. Don’t be afraid to go back as far you need to. Take an inventory of your "15 minutes of fame". Then start telling people.

I customize an article written by Frank Traditi, the co-author of Get Hired NOW!: A 28-Day Program for Landing the Job You Want. He is an author, speaker, career strategist, and executive coach with more than 20 years of experience in management, sales, and marketing for Fortune 500 companies. Frank works with talented professionals to design a game plan for an extraordinary career. For a copy of his free guide "How to Find a Job in 28 Days or Less," visit www.gethirednow.com.

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Service, Product, Retail, Construction, Professional services, Employee, and Volunteer … it doesn’t matter. A referral system should include 7 basic steps that helps you identify and succeed in ways you never imagined. The principles are outlined in a 7-step process that we will communicate this week in leading up to Referral Week. It is the basic understanding on how to apply the Referral Flood program to Your Business or Organization.

Step #3 – Create and communicate your core referral message – your referrer must be able to easily explain the value you bring to anyone who they refer. “Business901 implements marketing systems.”  Now, how do you go about defining your core referral message. Is it different than your typical core message?

Your Referral Message must be very concise to your Target Referral Market. If not the effectiveness of your message will be greatly reduced and may even be non-existent. You must develop a message that has the ability to be transferred effectively and rapidly cross the network, much like the game of telephone that played as a child. If your message has to repeated: Short, concise and to the point is important. Where a core marketing message may solicit a "How do you do that?" A core referral message should solicit: Can they do this or a What do they do? More about the answers later.

Looking at my Referral Venn diagram, look at the overlapping of circles. You must envision what core message you want to express to each particular group. The trade organizations you belong to may not have any interest or similarities to the message that you are sending to you vendors. Or it may be the exact message same message you send to each. Why would this matter? By organizing your referral clients according to core message you can start build a referral funnel for each perspective group and see what message and material will be similar to each one. Many companies will develop a referral program without integration and/or try sending the same message out to all. Customizing the program to each sector will make it work but by integrating the process, you will be able to manage it and develop it to its fullest extent.

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The most used the excuse I see in developing a buyer persona is that the buyers vary too much.  Okay, let’s just try to segment a portion of your customers.  Maybe it’s only 10% or if your lucky as high as 50%.  But creating some channel will facilitate in mapping out that buyer persona.  If we look at how will the purchase was made and determined by that group, it will lead into some very insightful information.  But I would encourage you to really try to understand the compelling reason they chose you.  That reason alone can clarify your marketing your sales processes, and improve your production forecast.

I know that may sound silly over just one statement but look at it this way.  If you could know the compelling reason that 50% of the customers buy from you, what would that mean to your bottom line?

P.S. A quick check to validate this, would be to talk to a few prospects that you lost.  Ask them what their compelling reason, not to buy from you.

We use our Lean Marketing Assessment to see where you stand and how well you leverage your core message and it is at the basis of our Product launch strategy. Learn more about these two products.

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List your core messages, you can have more than one but keep it short and sweet.

1. Which one differentiates you the most?

2. Which one screams the loudest?

3. Who and what influences whom?

4. Which would could prove the most effective?

5. Which one has the highest risk attached to it?

6. Which one  has the Lowest Risk?

7. Which one is the easiest to support?

8. Which is the easiest to implement?

   1. In the short term?

   2. In the Long Term?

9. Which one is the most affordable?

10. Which of them is most recognizable to your customers?

11. what are the best vehicles to reach your audience or constituents?

12. Can you combine and optimize?

13. If you decide on more than one, what is the best timing to introduce each?

So what is your core message?

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Craig Crook was a guest on my show, Connecting Your Passion. Craig’s company is a Learning Center and as Craig calls it -Learning faster than your competitors is the only sustainable advantage.  How long can you last as a differentiator?

As an add on to this fellow coach Adrianne Machina @ Tornado Marketing just blogged about Differentiation for Professional Services , she has some great examples, so read the entire blog but here is an example: “When we’re sellers of professional services, we need to be able to articulate how we’re different than our competitors – and that begins with HAVING a difference.   If you don’t have a way to differentiate and dominate, you’ll be stuck competing on price.  And that’s a problem, because there’s always someone willing to lower their prices, and go out of business faster than you.”

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I have always been a proponent of telling people the best money they can save is just to call 5 or 10 customers and ask them What they think of your company and Why they buy from you? Presto, you have your brand? Now take that and start finding your target market and ideal customer.

I know that this seems to simplistic for many but think about it! If you want to have a different brand, it may be easier just to go buy another company that has that reputation. And that is what branding is, your reputation.

Now when you think about this, how does your marketing material match your brand? Does it complicate it or distract from it? D o es your facility and signage compliment it or distract from it? You get my drift, it not up to you to establish your brand but to support it.

My advice to you, go ask a few people about what you do? And, ask a few why they do not do business with you? It is pretty hard today to get your message heard, don’t complicate it and make sure you tell it to people that want to hear it!

How much money do you spend on building your brand?
Technorati Tags: Branding , Groundswell , Charlene Li , Core Message , Target Marke

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Why you?(your client)

Why me?(your company or product)

Why now?(timing is everything)

Now if you can answer these things hammer away. Like a good trial attorney once said repeatedly: "If the glove don’t fit, you can’t convict"

Technorati Tags: Target market ,Core Message ,Ideal client ,Marketing

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They will tell you why!

You give no response.

They will add to their story!

You give no response.

They will add to their story!

“Three half truths = A lie” -Ben Franklin

Now, what does that have to do with marketing. It is simple. Pick your core message and hammer away it. When your passionate about something you persuade. You can mention other points but always get back to the core.

If you think about it that is exactly what a good trial attorney does, remember: “If the glove doesn’t fit, you can’t convict”

Some of this information was from the Ben Franklin Factor by James Hume.

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