There’s an old sales joke about a hotshot sales guy sitting down with a little old lady to sell her a new heater. He tells her all about how the heater is made in America and has the highest-quality ratings for efficiency and safety, about the BTUs, construction, warranties and other features. When he finally shuts up, she says, “I …
From AdWeek: 62% of small businesses see NO return on their investment in Facebook. From Forbes: 44% of businesses can’t even measure social media ROI. Despite this, according to a survey from the Manifest, 63% of small businesses plan on increasing their spend on social media (!). One social media “expert” commenting on this said that “not all social media …
As the casualties on the business battlefield start to pile up with the sudden forced cessation of business by the government, restaurants are taking a hit and many are closing their doors, never to reopen. However, in the midst of all this, one Seattle restaurant owner is THRIVING, with sales DOUBLE what they were the previous year, forcing him to …
As Ogilvy famously said, “On the average, five times as many people read the headline as read the body copy. When you have written your headline, you have spent 80 cents out of your dollar.” John Caples wrote, “If the headline is poor, the copy will not be read. And copy that is not read does not sell goods.” All …
Much of our society incorrectly describes small business owners as “entrepreneurs.” But as Gerber famously pointed out, most entrepreneurs are not entrepreneurs at all – they’re technicians suffering from an entrepreneurial seizure. Nothing is truer in our industry, where most (roughly 80%) are self-employed with helpers, generating under a couple million in sales, who are busy doing it, doing it, doing …
Speaking of standing out from the crowd, below is a real cereal being sold on Amazon Prime called “Poop Like A Champion.” I’m not 100% sure it’s the best name, BUT it certainly does get the “don’t bury the benefit” award in advertising. At least they didn’t put a picture of the end result on the box (LOL). BUT it …
Here’s a real e-mail I received from a client this week: “Robin, do you think not hitting sales quota for the past year is a reason to let my salesperson go?” Don’t laugh – we’ve ALL kept an employee long past their expiration date. On several occasions I made the mistake of keeping someone with the hopes that they – …
Right now, the economy is being upended and many of you are worried the COVID-19 pandemic will destroy your business. Unfortunately, this is not the first time I have faced this in business. NOTE: Before I go on, I’ve done a free webcast on “How To Avoid Losing Clients And Still Market Your MSP During The COVID-19 Crisis.” You can …
While there certainly IS a play for simply stating who you want as a client (as in the photo here), successful lead generation requires an irresistible offer and GREAT PROMISE to work. Most businesses do NOT make such a promise in their marketing and selling activities and suffer from suppressed response rates and less-than-stellar results. Such a promise puts your …
Here’s a question: When was the last time you added a fresh new case study or testimonial to your website? To your Google reviews? To your Shock-And-Awe box? One thing you ought to be constantly paying attention to is the quantity and quality of reviews and testimonials you’re getting. Clients in B2B ventures often don’t think to give reviews. Home …
