05.14.12
Posted in Ask PW at 10:57 am UTC by Michele PW
Karen Keeney (KarenLKeeney.com) sent me this question and it’s perfect since this is event season. (Actually sometimes it feels like it’s always event season but that’s beside the point.)
Getting people to an event is probably one of the most difficult of all marketing tasks. Not only do you need to convince them to plunk down their hard-earned money for a ticket but they also have to pay for all their travel expenses AND they have to carve out valuable time to actually show up.
So how do you do all that?
First off, make sure you’ve done a good job explaining what your event promise is. (Your event promise is the transformation and/or learning people will get after attending your event.) If people don’t understand what their takeaway is going to be they won’t come.
Also, this is NOT the place to sound like every other event out there. Take the time to really figure out why they should choose your event above all the rest. And if you find yourself using vague or non-specific language, go back to the drawing board.
There are many business-building events out there, which is NOT to say the world doesn’t need yours. What this IS saying is you need to really have a strong grasp on how attending your event is going to solve a problem that is keeping your ideal clients up at night, and how your event is going to accomplish that faster and better than any other event (or even home study course).
It’s also never a bad idea to point out the very real benefits for attending live events. They can be hugely beneficial and very much worth the time, expense and trouble of attending, but those benefits can be easily forgotten. Reminding your ideal clients about why it’s good to get out of their office and/or house is always a good thing.
So what are your thoughts about writing copy for events? Please share below in the comment section. Or if you have a question about marketing, business or writing copy, feel free to put in the comment section and I’ll answer those in a future Ask PW column.
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05.10.12
Posted in Event at 1:56 pm UTC by Michele PW
In case you haven’t been paying attention, there are more events out there then you can shake a stick at. And every time you turn around, even more events pop up.
For the most part, I’m glad there are so many events because there are many good reasons to attend them. The networking, the learning, the “getting out of your rut and exploring new ideas” and more. But the problem is, how do you decide which events are worth you spending your hard-earned money (not to mention your time) attending and which are the ones you should skip?
Well, I’ve put together 3 keys to helping you determine the right event for you.
1. First — ask yourself why you want to attend this event (or any event for that matter) in the first place. What do you hope to get out of it? Are you looking for business? Joint venture opportunities? To learn a new skill or strategy? To brainstorm some new ideas for your business? To just get away from your office and talk to people who “get it?”
Be very clear and very specific on what you want. Don’t be vague — if you’re vague you’re not going to have enough information to actually make the right decision.
2. Now, take a look at the event. If you’re looking for clients or joint venture partners, are those the people who will be attending? Will it be too small (or too big) for you to be able to do they type of networking you enjoy? If you want brainstorming or masterminding, will the right folks be there for that?
If you’re looking for education, is the event promise a good fit? Do you think you’ll actually walk away with the information you’re looking for?
3. Okay, so if you’ve gotten this far and the event appears to be a good fit, now I want you to take one final look to make sure attending this event is absolutely the right way to go.
If you’re looking just for information and have no big interest in the networking (or you don’t much like to network) is there a simulcast option or a home study course you could get instead? (You can also do quite a bit of networking on simulcast as well.) If you are interested in the networking, is this the absolute best event you should attend or if there a better option? And if this is the best option, should you simply be an attendee or would it be worth your while to upgrade your visibility to a sponsor package?
I’m not trying to talk you out of your decision with this third step, but what I AM trying to do is make sure you’ve thought this through so you aren’t disappointed. There’s nothing worse then spending all that time and money to show up at an event and realize either it’s not what you were looking for OR you should have made a different choice (for instance — you should have chosen a sponsorship option or a simulcast option).
So take a few extra minutes and just make sure this is the right decision for you.
And lastly (but probably most importantly) once you DO decide this is the right event for you, go buy your ticket and make your travel arrangements NOW. Don’t wait — get it done and move on to your next decision.
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05.02.12
Posted in General, Marketing at 1:39 pm UTC by Michele PW
If you’re one of the thousands of heart-centered and conscious entrepreneurs, getting your message out into the world in a big way is important to you. In fact, it might even be the reason why you started your business in the first place.
The problem, of course, is how. How do you get your message out into an already crowded marketplace? How do you make sure you’re getting your message in front of the people who so desperately need to hear it?
That’s what I’m going to walk you through today — the 3 main keys to getting your message out into the world in a REALLY big way so you can make the difference you were put on this Earth to make.
1. Make sure your message is crystal clear. In fact, the clearer and more specific the better. The more general it is, the less impact you’re going to make.
Consider this — “I am a healer” versus “I provide spiritual healing to entrepreneurs as they step into their own power as an entrepreneur.” Do you see the difference? The first one could be for nearly anyone and because it could be for nearly anyone it has no meaning. The second one is far more juicy and it gets much of that juiciness from being specific.
Now, you might be thinking to yourself “I don’t want to be too specific because I may turn some people off from my message.” First off, if someone is turned off from your message, they probably aren’t open to it in the first place. And second of all, even though it sounds counter-intuitive, the more specific you are, the more you’ll stand out. (Don’t believe me? Go back and read those two statements again.)
2. Make sure you’re crystal clear about who you’re trying to reach. Again, the more specific you are, the more likely you’ll cut through all the clutter and reach the people who really need to hear your message.
You don’t have to reach everyone — just the ones who need your message. In fact, trying to reach everyone is a determent. All you’ll end up doing is NOT cutting through the clutter and not making the difference you’re meant to make.
Believe me, there’s more then enough of your ideal clients to keep you very busy for years to come, so just focus on them and don’t worry about the rest.
3. Make sure you’re consistent with your message and you repeat it frequently. You’re an entrepreneur. Which probably means you’re a little (or a lot) ADD. Which also probably means you’re going to get tired of your message long before you’ve made an impact in the marketplace.
Look, your ideal clients, the ones who need to hear your message, are not going to get tired of hearing it because:
A: They aren’t living in your business so even you’re most rabid fan is only going to hear your message a fraction as much as you are
B: Your ideal clients are busy people and won’t hear your message unless you repeat it often.
So you need to do two things — resist the urge to “tweak” your message as you get bored with it (and especially resist the urge to redefine or remake yourself every six months or so, that’s the fastest way to cause serious confusion in the marketplace). And make getting your message out there one of your top priorities. You should be marketing yourself and your message as often as you can and in as many different media as you can. That includes social networking, articles public relations, direct mail, speaking, etc.
Above all, don’t give up. It may take awhile to penetrate crowded marketplaces and make the difference you’re meant to make, but it IS possible — just as long as you follow these 3 keys and stay persistent.
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04.26.12
Posted in Business at 1:10 pm UTC by Michele PW
It’s an unfortunate fact of life (and business). Out of the blue you get a nasty email from someone. Sometimes it’s about an article you’ve written. Sometimes it’s accompanied by a refund request. Sometimes it doesn’t seem like it’s tied to anything at all.
Or maybe you discover someone writing malicious things about you on a blog or a forum. Or maybe some other negative things suddenly start getting tweeted or posted to Facebook about you, your products or your business.
Stuff happens. As a business owner and entrepreneur, the more successful you become, the more you open yourself up to criticism, negative feedback or just plain being attacked.
As someone who is both a writer AND a business owner, I know all about what happens when you’re dealing with unwelcome criticism. (I write fiction so yes, I’ve dealt with my share of negative feedback.) But if this is something new for you, or even if it’s not new but you’re feeling like you’ve just been sucker-punched by something out of the blue, I thought I’d share a few insights to help you get through it.
1. Know you’re not alone. We’ve ALL been there. And I mean exactly that. It doesn’t matter how small or big your business is, stuff like this is going to happen. So know that no matter what just happened to you, there are a lot of entrepreneurs and business owners out there who will both sympathize and emphasize.
2. See it for what it is. All criticism is not created equally. Sometimes what someone is saying has absolutely nothing to do with you and everything to do with their own issues. Sometimes they have a legitimate complaint but the person is so unhappy with their own life they blow it completely out of portion because they just want to strike out at someone and you’re the one they picked.
And sometimes they have a legitimate beef AND they handled it fine, but you just didn’t want to hear it. An example of this is some of the criticism I’ve gotten from some of my stories. The people were thoughtful and absolutely right. And I hated them. (Until I got over myself and slunk back to the keyboard to make the edits.)
Now the third option doesn’t happen too often (unless you’re a fiction writer) but the first two do. You just have to see it for what it is. If there’s something buried in the anger and name-calling you can use to improve your products, services or business, by all means use it. But know the rest of it has absolutely nothing to do with you and everything to do with them.
(And you’ll know when the criticism is right. Trust me. Your gut will tell you.)
3. Be kind to yourself. When these things happen, it can hurt. And that’s okay. Call a friend. Or better yet, your mother (if you can). Write about it in your journal. Take a walk. Don’t bury your feelings, let yourself feel bad and then let it go. Don’t tell yourself it doesn’t matter and let it fester inside you, deal with it. Get it out of you. And then let it go.
4. Let someone else deal with these things. Whenever possible, have someone else in your business be a filter for stuff like this. Let other people take care of refund requests or just read the nasty emails and they can decide if there’s a legitimate complaint buried in there or not. Protect yourself, there’s no need for you to see everything or deal with everything. Yes you’ll have to step in if something big happens, but let other people take care of the small stuff. The small stuff is what wears you down anyway. Save yourself for the big things and don’t worry about the rest.
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04.11.12
Posted in Online Marketing at 10:05 am UTC by Michele PW
The other day, a colleague of mine told me about a new marketing agency and sent me a link to their Web site. I checked it out.
Needless to say, it was dreadful.
Oh, it was pretty enough. Very nice graphics. And what little copy there was, was very artfully placed (although so tiny it was difficult to actually read).
Why do I say it was dreadful? Because, even though it was pretty, it had absolutely no personality.
The copy was boring (not to mention full of “we’s” but that’s for another day). The graphics were pretty but boring. There was no life, no energy. Just flat.
It was as though the Web site was trying so hard to appeal to everyone, it ended up appealing to no one.
You see, people want to do with business with people. And they want to do business with people they know, like and trust.
But how will they know if they like you if they don’t know your personality? If you’re so busy hiding behind some boring, flat, but oh-so-politically-correct Web site, how will they ever figure out if they like you enough to do business with you?
And, even more importantly, will they stick around long enough to get to know you.
Dan Kennedy said the worst mistake you can make in your marketing is to be boring. Because if you’re boring, why would anyone stick around to listen to you? Life is too short and people are too busy to hang around if they’re bored. They’ll find something better to do with their time.
But, I can already hear you ask, What if they don’t like me? What if I turn off paying customers or clients?
And that could happen. In fact, I would say it SHOULD happen.
Why should? A couple of reasons.
First, if you’re writing copy that’s so vanilla to appeal to everyone, it will appeal to no one. In your quest to not turn anyone off, you also won’t inspire any passion or excitement. As a result, you’ll probably lose the sale anyway, because they’ll probably chose someone who DOES excite them.
Second, according to Peter Montoya, a good brand attracts your target market as much as it repels. Therefore, if your company isn’t turning people some people off, then you probably aren’t reaching your ideal clients as strongly as you could be.
Third, let’s say some of those people who would otherwise be turned off by the personality in your brand and copy decide to do business with you. Do you really think it’s going to be a good fit? If they don’t like your personality, are they really going to like your products or working with you? Probably not. So you’re better off repelling them to begin with.
I know it’s scary, especially if you’ve been conditioned to think business stuff should be flat and “corporate” sounding. But, the reality is, the more personality and interest you can work into your copy and your brand, the more you’ll cultivate loyalty, passion and excitement from your customers.
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04.06.12
Posted in Online Marketing at 12:08 pm UTC by Michele PW
First, some context. What exactly is an upsell and a downsell and why is it so important to your business?
An upsell is when your prospect has already said “yes” to buying something from you, and then they decide at the same time to buy something else. The classic example of this is the MacDonald’s “Would you like fries with that?’ The customer has already bought a hamburger and now the employee has nudged them into buying something else.
A downsell is when your prospect has said “no” to your initial offer so you present a second offer. Typically the downsell is less expensive than the original offer. So, for instance, the customer decides the MacDonald’s hamburger is too expensive and decides to buy just an ice cream cone.
Now clearly this can and does happen in face-to-face situations. But did you realize this can also happen online?
So for instance, someone buys a product on your web site. Your web site can immediately present them with a second offer, the upsell.
And if the prospect clicks away, because they’re not interested in buying your product, your web site can also present them with a second offer, a lower cost offer than the one they were looking at.
So you’re probably thinking, this sounds a little complicated and I haven’t a clue how to start. Why would I want to do this?
Two reasons –
1. You’ll make more money. When you start using the upsell, you’ll increase your overall purchase amount. For instance, say your product is $100 and you offer a $50 upsell. Let’s say 20% of your buyers take you up on it. Now you’ve made an additional $50 on 20% of your purchases. (This can add up after awhile.)
Now, for the downsell, you’ve saved a sale you’ve probably lost anyway. Let’s say your product is $500, when someone clicks away, you pluck a piece out of the original product, say an ebook, and offer that for $97. Now you’re giving your customers a lower cost alternative, a chance to try your product out before spending a lot more money.
2. If you offer an upsell, you’ll increase customer satisfaction and decrease returns. Yes you read that right. Upsells can actually make your customers feel more satisfied doing business with you and less likely to want to return the product. Why? Because you’re helping them “skip” over buyers’ remorse. We all have buyers’ remorse after we buy something, which is when we regret our purchase. The intensity and the length varies depending on the buying situation. But if you immediately jump into and offer a second purchase, your customers are busy figuring out if they want to make that second purchase versus feeling bad over making the first one. And if they DO buy, then they’re that much more invested in you and your business and they WANT what you sold them to be what they’re looking for.
And the best part of this whole strategy? It’s automatic. You set it once and it keeps on doing it, over and over again. What could be better?
One final note to chew on as you make up your mind if it’s worth it or not – do you know what the most read page on a web site is? It’s your thank you pages. The page your prospects go to after they sign up for something or buy something. Don’t waste this valuable real estate – put an upsell on that page and watch your bank account grow.
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04.04.12
Posted in Sales at 8:09 am UTC by Michele PW
Guest post by Therese Skelly
This may shock you…
There’s a “Nano-Second” in Time When Your Prospect Decides Whether or Not to Work With You…And Their Answer…Is All In Your Head
It’s like you have them….and then they slip through your fingers. Let me tell you why.
The sales cycle for service based entrepreneurs takes a certain route.
Phase 1 is creating awareness of your business via networking, social media, blogging, writing articles, speaking for free, and building referral partnerships.
Phase 2 is bringing prospects in a little closer for a more intimate interaction with you. This might happen in an interview call you do with a colleague, or on your own teleclass. For a few of you, it might happen in a small-group presentation to an organization. Or, phase 2 could include a free phone consultation with you–and it is this short, “sliver of time,” out of the entire sales trajectory, that carries within it your success or your failure.
Think about it. You’ve done all the prep work and you actually have an interested prospect on the phone with you.
As a heart-centered, conscious entrepreneur, you are going to ask all about them and their challenges.
And when they turn around and ask you how you work, what the process is like–you’re probably sailing along with that, too.
Then comes the death-knell. They ask you what your fees are.
And it is right in this precise moment that you can let that sale slip away.
And it won’t be because your fees are too high, or your credentials are lacking.
It will be because there is a part of you (the mindset piece) that may not fully be in alignment with the thing you are offering. Sure…you can roll lower prices programs out all day, but trying quoting the higher fees? Maybe you rock at this already, but if you are like most people…there is a little glitch! (Heck, even people who make $20k a month still suffer from this, so it’s not just a ‘start-up’ issue.)
Here are 3 reasons why you may be ‘going weak’ and backing down just a bit. (And don’t feel bad if you relate to these…I have done them all!)
1. You have not fully owned your value and understand just how much working with you will be life changing for them. It takes awhile to really land in a deep way just how valuable you are in the work you do. Many people struggle with this because there is a tendency to have the ‘brilliance in the blind spot’ problem, so while others may see the rock star you are…it may not come as powerfully to you. What to do? Get someone to work with you to discover just how amazing you are, ask clients for testimonials, and stop minimizing the work you do!
2. You are taking responsibility for their financial position. This is easy to do. You roll out your fees and your prospect launches into how they can’t afford it, or how things have been difficult because of the economy. So instead of coaching them to solutions, the ‘break down’ here is to feel guilty that you want to charge them so much. We have all done this and it doesn’t serve. People find money for things they value. Period. Feeling bad that your rates may make them uncomfortable does not serve them! Work on boundaries around this because when there is ‘skin in the game’ there are often better results.
3. You have to be willing to let them go if they are not a good fit. The most powerful position to be in for the selling conversation is that of taking a stand for yourself, and NOT NEEDING them to become a client. This is critical. Back in the old days I made everything work for everyone! I’d trade, lower my fees, roll out lower end programs, etc.; all just to make sure the clients got to work with me. But today I understand that not everyone may be able to afford the programs I have, and I have to be willing to let them go. It’s hard at times because I do really want to serve, but in order to be in integrity with my best work, I have to stick to my guns and stick with my pricing structure. (What helps with this is having kick butt coaching or mastermind partners who will give you some grief if you do back down. I highly recommend it!)
Here’s what I know to be true…You can learn all the right techniques, from any famous sales guru–but if you don’t look at what’s transpiring between you and your prospect (and what’s happening in your head), none of that training will matter.
That’s why I’m offering a free call on Wednesday, April 4th at 3 pm Eastern / 12 noon Pacific. It’s called “Secrets to Enrolling Clients Without Hype or Pitch So You Can Be Serving Without Selling” and you’ll learn more about what causes this break down as well as some solutions to it. I’d love you to feel more confident and have a better track record closing more sales, so please join me on the call. Click here to register. This might be one of the most important calls you listen to all year if you want to grow your business (and yourself.)
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04.03.12
Posted in Ask PW at 12:42 pm UTC by Michele PW
This question comes to me from Jenn Tasnim Savage on Facebook: “What would you say is the perfect amount of time to do a good launch? I’m working on my first product and would love to hear what kind of time frame I am looking at for the best results.”
This is a fantastic question and the answer is it depends. The “depends” is what you’ve planned for what I call the “buzz” section of your launch or the part where you generate excitement by releasing content and/or entertainment.
If you are only doing one buzz piece (a.k.a. preview call or webinar) 1-2 weeks to promote it will work. If you’re combing a couple (a.k.a. preview call plus a couple content videos) you probably want to add some time — maybe 2-3 weeks total.
Now, for what I call the follow up section of your launch — which is the time between when you unveil the sales letter (also known as “opening the cart”) and the time when you either stop accepting orders altogether (also known as “closing the cart”) or simply just stop promoting — I like that time period to be 2-3 weeks. You want enough time to promote the product or program enough to give everyone ample opportunity to buy without it dragging on too long and having “launch fatigue” set in.
In addition, you want the follow up to be long enough that in case something goes wrong, you have time to right the ship and make more sales. If you make the follow up too short and something goes sideways, you have no time to fix it and you’ll just have to live with whatever the results are.
So what are your thoughts about timing? Please share below in the comment section. Or if you have a question about marketing, business or writing copy, feel free to put in the comment section and I’ll answer those in a future Ask PW column.
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03.19.12
Posted in Ask PW at 1:09 pm UTC by Michele PW
J’lene Bradley R.N., B.Sc.N, from www.jlene.com, sent me this question:
“I saw your post on Facebook re: asking questions. Have you heard of XX? I would love to hear your opinion in terms of if you think this will work towards bringing traffic to my site or if it is a ‘bright shiny object.’”
I’m going to start by saying I really don’t know anything about XX (which is why I blanked the name out) but one thing I DO know is anytime you ask if something is a “bright shiny object” then it probably is.
Look, you know in your heart what you need to do to be successful in your business. I know you do. And that next step can be anything from getting your ezine out to hiring an expert to either teach you how to do something or just get it done for you.
Things you know you need to be doing you never classify as “bright shiny objects.” You may not want to do them or procrastinate around doing them or feel upset with yourself for not doing them, but you’re not calling them a “bright shiny object.”
The things you DO call “bright shiny objects” are things that you’re feeling in your gut you shouldn’t be doing. Either because deep down you know they’re a distraction to your actual goals and dreams or something about it makes you feel uneasy and/or it’s a waste of your time.
Regardless of why you feel like it’s a “bright shiny object” isn’t really the point — the point is you do feel like it is one, and therefore you should honor your feelings and not do it.
So what are your thoughts about “bright shiny objects?” Please share below in the comment section. Or if you have a question about marketing, business or writing copy, feel free to put in the comment section and I’ll answer those in a future Ask PW column.
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03.15.12
Posted in Business at 10:05 am UTC by Michele PW
If you want to grow your business, there are 2 ways you can go about it.
Slow and fast.
Most people end up growing their business slowly. Now there’s nothing wrong with slow. It’s not easy to grow your business period, so even growing your business slowly is better than what a lot of entrepreneurs do.
So let’s talk about fast. Another way to view growing your business quickly is by taking a quantum leap, which basically means you leap frog ahead versus taking your growth one step at a time.
Taking a quantum leap means transforming your business quickly. It means going from $200,000 to a million in a year. It means seeing opportunities fly to you effortlessly.
So if you want a quantum leap, how do you get one? Here are 3 steps to get you started:
1. Think big. Taking a quantum leap isn’t going to work if you’re thinking small. So the first thing you need to do is make sure you’re thinking big. And, maybe even more than that, make sure you’re READY for your business to BECOME big. If you’re not comfortable or if there’s some blocks or obstacles around you growing your business to its fullest potential, you’ll never have a quantum leap.
2. Invest in yourself. There are different ways to invest in yourself. Do you need to build a team? Hire a consultant? Maybe you need to take time to go through a program or information product. Or you need to hire a coach or get into a coaching or mentorship program to move yourself ahead.
Money is a form of energy. And when you invest in a program or hiring a team, that could be the catalyst you need to move you forward in a big way. Because now you’ve put your money where your mouth is (so to speak). You’re taking yourself and your business seriously by investing in yourself.
So how do you know what you need to invest in? You know. You know right now what you need to invest in to grow your business. Whether or not you do it is another story.
3. Failures means you’re moving in the right direction. What?? I can hear you all saying. Here’s the thing. If you design your life and/or your business around never making a mistake, do you REALLY think you’re stepping outside your comfort zone? If you’re trying to never make mistakes, then there’s no possible way you can ever have a quantum leap. Quantum leaps require you to think differently than you have before, to try something you never have. And when you do that, you may end up having a failure or two (or ten) along the way.
Successful people don’t like failure anymore than you do. But they know if they don’t get out there in big way and try new things, they won’t be as successful overall, even though that means risking failure as well. It’s a choice they make because they know the payoff is worth it.
One way to deal with failure is to look beyond it. Focus on the end goal, where you want to end up. Then, when the failures happen, you’re not as concerned with them because you’re looking past them to the where you want to be.
But the biggest part of taking a quantum leap is just to do it. Take a deep breath and jump. And believe the net will appear.
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03.12.12
Posted in Business at 11:45 am UTC by Michele PW
By Nancy Marmolejo, Guest Blogger (sponsored post)
By nature, entrepreneurs are highly creative thinkers. Every aspect of a business- from filling a need, to solving a problem, to marketing, to selling, to serving customers- is an expression of creativity.
But for every great idea that gets launched, millions more go the wayside because entrepreneurs simply don’t know how to take action, how to decide if something’s worth pursuing, or if the time is right.
Wild ideas are GREAT for business… and now more than ever is the time to take action. Why? Because so many people are playing it safe, the playing field is wide open for wild ideas.
This is the time to be bold and brave, to lean out instead of leaning in, to move into theunknown rather than stay in the familiar.
But how do you do that without losing your shirt? Follow these tips, inspired by real-life success stories, and see your wild ideas pay off!
1. Don’t wait until you know everything. The time it takes to become perfect at something is a surefire way to miss an opportunity.Never stop learning, but at some point you must take action before- even before you know all the details. Entrepreneurs are fast learners- never underestimate your ability to learn onyour feet while you’re taking action. As Michael Port shares in “The Wild Idea That Paid Off” virtual chat series, “Be a blank piece of paper with a beginner’s mind.” Let the knowledge fill you as you go along.
2. Turn past failures into future successes. Thomas Edison took over 1000 tries to invent the lightbulb. You might fail at something too… but that failure could be the path to your next big success. Branding expert Kim Castle turned a disastrous financial situation into multi-million dollar business by simply plucking out the lessons and spinning them into gold. (Kim shares her entire story in an interview we did). Where there’s failure, there’s opportunity!
3. Step out of the safe and familiar. Trailblazer coach Shawn Driscoll hung out mostly in the background until one day she decided to break out and fully express her talents through her business. It frightened people around her, but the bold steps have paid off. Productive Flourishing’s Charlie Gilkey walked away from an established career and doctoral program to begin a business that served the needs of creative entrepreneurs. Social media pioneer Jack Humphrey gave away an extremely valuable product for free at the risk of losing $100,000 in sales. Marketing expert Ellen Britt chose to brand her business with an unconventional, regional twist. They each were told not to take the risk butthey did… and it paid off. Get out of the safe and familiar and take bold steps into the unknown.
4. Live a creative life. Creative people don’t just summon up their creative juices when needed. They show curiosity,try new things, and embark on new adventures. Business coach Andrea Lee views life as a creative adventure and puts what she learns into her business and live events. Author and coach Pamela Slim is drawn to great ideas in all aspects of her business and life. The creative life is a way of seeing possibilities and taking action on them.
5. Make a plan. Taking risks and being spontaneous can still follow a plan, which is what 9 innovative thinkersall agreed was the key to success in these conversations on creativity and innovation. Being able to put your creative ideas into action is what separates wild ideas that go nowhere from wild ideas that pay off. Look at the big picture. Chunk it down into action steps. Map out the details and set deadlines. Stay accountable to yourself and someone else so things get done. This is where the rubber hits the road and where the success stories are born.
There’s a big difference between a wild idea that pays off and a distracting bright shiny object.Follow these tips to turn your wild ideas into profitable paths to happiness, prosperity, and innovation.
About the Author:
Nancy Marmolejo is an award winning business owner who teaches entrepreneurs how to stand out as experts in their fields. The founder of the highly successful Viva Visibility, Nancyrecently launched a free virtual chat series “The Wild Idea That Paid Off” to encourage entrepreneurs to think broadly and to encourage curiosity. With 8 forward thinkers joining her, this series is designed to give concrete steps to turning your wild ideas into profitable, lucrativepayoffs. Sign up here.
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03.08.12
Posted in Online Marketing at 11:33 am UTC by Michele PW
I’m celebrating “How to Sell Women” day today. (Okay, I completely made that up.) But it certainly DOES feel like everywhere you turn around there’s yet more proof that women are changing the face of commerce.
So, instead of an ezine this week, I decided to do a quick email to let you know about an opportunity to learn more about selling to women plus give you some juicy intel I picked up at Yanik’s Underground event.
First, the opportunity. There’s still time to get in on Lisa Sasevich’s “How To Sell To Women” free virtual event. People are RAVING about the content. If you want to learn how to inspire, honor and serve women at the highest level so they can step up and say “YES” to themselves, this is for you.
Here’s the link to get your complimentary “virtual seat“.
Now, let me share some of the HOT new conversion strategies I picked up at Yanik.
What’s in: Beautiful online sales letters and videos (beautiful meaning lots of graphics and pictures and just very pleasing to the eye, and sales letters meaning those long-copy sales letters that are online and you have to scroll forever to find the price)
What’s out: Ugly sales letters and videos
Why is this big news? Well, if you studied under the Dan Kennedy School of Copywriting, like I did, you learned that ugly sold better. Ugly sales letters and also ugly packaging on products (there were no videos back then so that didn’t come up). He compared it to a flea market where the best-selling booth was also the messiest. Everything strewn all over in a chaotic fashion and for some reason that was the booth everyone shopped at.
Well, it looks like the tide has shifted and beauty is coming into its own. Now, no one actually talked about WHY beauty was beating ugly, but here’s what I think is going on. Back when Dan was doing most of his copywriting and testing, men were the main buyers of products and services. That doesn’t mean men don’t value beauty — Steve Jobs clearly had beauty as one of his core values — but I suspect overall, men see beauty differently than women. And because of that, they may be less interested in how the sales copy (and product packaging) looks and more interested in what the content says.
Women, on the other hand, are very conscious of how a sales page or product looks. And they are especially conscious around the design of their own marketing materials.
Now this isn’t to say you don’t need good copywriting anymore. ? Yes you still need strong, persuasive writing on your sales letters and web pages. But the difference is now you also need to consider the graphics on those pages as well.
Watch for my ezine next week where I’ll share more tips and strategies from the event. And if you want to learn more about selling to women, make sure you join Lisa for her “How to Sell to Women” virtual event, which is going on now.
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03.02.12
Posted in Business at 9:10 am UTC by Michele PW
Awhile ago, I was attending an event and I met someone who offered a service I needed. We exchanged cards and promised to be in touch when we returned home.
When I got home I turned over all those business cards to my team member as usual to enter into our database for follow up. It was about a month later when I realized this potential vendor had not contacted me or followed up with me. I no longer had the cards so I couldn’t look through them and I couldn’t remember her name or her business name and I didn’t have the time to comb through my database looking for her.
Needless to say, she didn’t get the project. And the sad part was I was ready to give it to her, that was why I thought of her a month later. But she hadn’t followed up so she never got a chance to get the business. I ended up finding someone else.
The morale of the story — you need to follow up with your prospects. Period.
Look, I know you’re spending a lot of time and money attracting leads into your business. You’re networking at live events, networking virtually using social networking, blogging, speaking, and probably a million other things.
So when those leads DO flow into your business, are you following up with them? Are you treating them like the gold they are?
I see this mistake happen over and over again. Entrepreneurs spend so much time and effort to bring leads home and then they never follow up. All those business cards get piled up on their desk never to get into a database. They have every intention of sending out a regular ezine for those online leads but somehow it never gets done. They rarely pick up the phone to connect with a warm (or even hot) prospect.
And then they wonder why their business isn’t growing and they struggle getting clients in the door.
There’s just no substitute for following up. (Have you heard the saying “the fortune is in the follow up?”) Giving someone your business card is NOT the same thing as following up with them. You’re relying on them to not lose your business card AND to remember the solution you offer when they’re ready for it. That just isn’t realistic.
You need to be the one to initiate, build and maintain the relationship. You need to be the one to remind the prospect about the solution you offer and how it will transform their life. Not the other way around.
Now I realize you’ve probably heard this before and you probably already know it. So if you’re not consistently following up, why not? What’s stopping you?
Most likely it’s 2 reasons — time and fear.
You’re busy and you don’t have the time to properly follow up. And you’re afraid you’re bugging your prospects if you do follow up.
I get it. I really do. I was there myself once. But here’s the thing — if you don’t get over those 2 issues, you’re never going to grow your business or enjoy consistent cash flow.
So here are 2 quick fixes to help you get started:
1. Who said YOU have to be the one to follow up? Get some help! Notice in my story I said I handed the business cards I collected to someone on my team to enter into my database. I did not say I was the one doing the entering. Have someone help you. (And the best part is you can probably justify the cost of this help because it directly impacts your bottom line).
2. Follow up doesn’t have to be calling people up and asking for work. Do things people will look forward to getting — send them articles, tips, or maybe something funny that entertains them. Think about ways you can stay in contact with your prospects that’s not about just making sales calls.
Remember, it typically takes 7 “touches” before a prospect turns into a client (and in the “new” economy it’s probably going to take a lot more). So don’t be discouraged if you’re first few attempts don’t turn into anything. Be persistent and consistent and eventually you’ll see your hard work paying off.
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02.20.12
Posted in Ask PW at 11:01 am UTC by Michele PW
This question came from the survey I’m currently doing — asking people for their biggest questions about product launches.
I’m going to give you this answer in two parts. First off, I want you to take a good hard look at your offerings — both your free “taste” (like a preview call, webinar or video content series) and your actual paid product. Is it something your ideal client REALLY wants? Is it also interesting or entertaining to them? Does it give them a sense of community and connection?
You see, I can give you a laundry list (which I will in a moment) about how to get the word out, but if you don’t have a strong offer — something that creates its own energy and excitement, it’s going to be that much more difficult to create a buzz around it.
So you have to start with your offer. If your offer is weak, it really doesn’t matter what else you do or don’t do. If your offer is strong, that can go a long way to pulling your launch forward.
(And if you need help crafting that offer, make sure you take a look at my new Unlaunch Bootcamp that I’m co-hosting with Andrea J. Lee. We’ve designed this course to give you plenty of coaching and hot seat time so you get the help you need to launch your product or program — http://www.TheUnlaunch.com)
Now, once you have your offer, you need to get the word out. Here are a few places to start:
1. Your own list (including any forums or networking groups you’re in). You want to start with people you know — if they like what you’re doing they’ll also pass it on. Make sure you tell EVERYONE you know (but don’t be obnoxious about it — make sure you’re doing it in an appropriate manner)
2. Joint venture partners and affiliates
3. Social networking platforms
4. Blog articles (your own blog and others)
5. Press releases
6. Articles
7. Videos
8. Online listings (these are both free and paid and include places like event calendars, teleseminar listings, Craigslist, etc.)
9. Paid ads (there is nothing wrong with paid ads — it can be a really good place to start if your list and reach is small)
(If you have any questions about any of these, again this is something we cover in detail in The Unlaunch — including a module focused exclusively on JVs, affiliates and social networking.)
If you want to here more answers to your product launch questions, join me on Wednesday, Feb 22, at 2 pm Pacific/5 pm Eastern where Wealthy Thought Leader Andrea J. Lee are hosting a special Q&A call all about product launches. Here’s the link to reserve your spot (plus you can ask your question if you’d like): http://www.MichelePW.com/fiber
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02.19.12
Posted in Ask PW at 8:41 am UTC by Michele PW
This question came from the survey I’m currently doing — asking people for their biggest questions about product launches.
And the answer is, it depends on what your ultimate goal is for you launch. You see, there’s a lot more to a launch than a big payday at the end. You can also use launches to grow your list, boost your visibility, build your credibility, add momentum to your business and marketing and sell more of your other products and services.
Even if you’re only doing a launch to sell a specific product or program, you also need to define what’s worthwhile. Is selling 50 products worthwhile? A 100? 200? Or 20? That answer is also going to determine how big your list needs to be.
But size is only one factor in the equation — an even more important one is how RESPONSIVE is your list. If you have a highly responsive list, it’s possible you could sell 50 products with only 1000 folks. (I’ve known people who have so yes it really is possible IF you take care of your list.) But if your list isn’t responsive, you may need 10,000 or more to sell 50. (Creating a responsive list means you must take care of your list as well as sell to your list, so doing a product launch may be a great way to start that process.)
And the final question you need to ask yourself is why a launch? Are you trying to make money right now? If you are, there may be other faster and easier ways to get money in the door than doing a launch. Or are you trying to get your message out there in a bigger way? If that’s the case, and your list is small, you may want to look at a launch but a variation of one that is designed to increase your visibility and your list. Or is there another reason?
I really want to open your mind to using product launches in ways other than simply to sell your product or program. Product launches can be a very powerful tool in your marketing toolbox, IF you know how to use them correctly and also know which launch is right for your specific goals and situation.
If you want to here more answers to your product launch questions, join me on Wednesday, Feb 22, at 2 pm Pacific/5 pm Eastern where Wealthy Thought Leader Andrea J. Lee are hosting a special Q&A call all about product launches. Here’s the link to reserve your spot (plus you can ask your question if you’d like): http://www.MichelePW.com/fiber
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