No Bull Marketing Advice For Business Owners, Entrepreneurs and Sales Professionals In Chicagoland And Beyond

As small business owners, it’s been drilled into our mind by advertising sales reps that we just need to “get our name out there” and somehow magically the customers will just come flooding in.

Well, how’s that workin’ out for ya?

I’ve built dozens of businesses for myself and my clients through the proper use of Direct Response Marketing – not just weak, general “branding” advertising that barely works for the biggest companies (can you say “bailout”?) and CERTAINLY doesn’t work for those of us that own small businesses.

Direct Response Marketing is actually very simple, as well as being affordable, measurable and extremely effective.

Here are the 5 Elements Of A Money-Making Direct Response Advertisement:

1. An Attention-Grabbing Headline
2. Compelling Copy To Create Interest
3. Compelling Copy That Creates Desire In Your Prospect
4. A Specific, Irresistible Offer
5. A Deadline

Miss any one of these elements and you’ll most likely be wasting your money.

Yup, there is a lot of waste out there. Most advertising you see every day will be missing a few of these elements. Advertising agencies and various media reps will tell you “you gotta get your name out there” without giving you any real idea of how to track your results.

But is their primary goal really the success of your ad? I hope you don’t really believe that, no matter what they tell you. Their goal is to do and say whatever they can to get you to advertise, so they make money.

Don’t believe me?

Just flip on the TV, open a magazine, heck – look up a few websites, and see if they have these five elements. Is there an attention-getting headline that compels you to read or watch more or stay on the site? Is your interest being cultivated to build your desire for the results that the company delivers?

Most of the time, the answer is unfortunately a resounding “NO!”

OK, I’ll give you this: Many ads I see can create interest and promote desire. These are usually the very creative ones. But unfortunately, they miss making an offer and setting a deadline.

Why is that important? Because if you want people to take action, you have to ask them to! Why spend your hard-earned cash just to hope someone decides to do business with you?

You have to make people an offer: “I’ll give you this, if you give me that.” To get more people to take your offer, you should offer more – make it irresistible. “I’ll give you this, this, this AND that – all of it for only the price of this.”

By improving your offer, you’ll make it easier for them to logically justify their decision later.

But you’re not done. You have to force a decision NOW. Again: Why would you want to invest your hard-earned advertising dollars, and then leave the response up to the whim of a busy, easily-distracted audience?

If you want to get your money back from the investment in your advertising, you have to get them to take action RIGHT AWAY – by setting a deadline. This one element will increase the amount of your sales faster than anything else you could do!

Put these elements in every ad, letter, email, postcard and website, and every time you connect with a prospect, and you’ll see the results start to pour in.

Also, start to pay attention to all the ads you see every day. Do they contain these five elements? Probably not – not many anyway.

Which is why so many small business owners are frustrated, confused, scared and as a result suffering during these challenging economic times.

But that doesn’t have to be you. Not if you take a little time and effort to learn and use simple but effective Direct Response Marketing.

Give yourself a shot and try it. Before you just give up altogether and let yourself become another victim of “the economy.”

{ 0 comments }

1. Let Them Procrastinate

There’s no doubt about it: Procrastination has stolen millions of dollars from the pockets of businessmen and women just like you. The longer you let it work on your customer, the less likely they will be to open their wallet and hand over their hard-earned money to you.

Here’s how it works…

First, the customer leaves your store or website without buying.

Second, time causes their desire for your product or service to fade, and distracts them from making their way back to you.

Finally, your “almost customer” totally forgets about buying, which means you can kiss your potential profits good-bye.

Don’t let this happen to you! Make your offers so irresistible that your prospects just can’t say “no,” and make absolutely sure to set a deadline!

Yes, put a little press on them to buy TODAY! Reward them for taking action, and make sure they lose something (a bonus, discount or opportunity to buy altogether) if they don’t. Stop being victimized by “almost sales” that could be turned into REAL profits!

2. Stay Off The Top Of Their Priority List

Sometimes we need to be reminded of exactly what is and what isn’t important in life. There’s a saying: “Show me your checkbook, and I’ll know where your priorities are.” Where we spend our money indicates its level of significance. Are your customers telling you that your product or service is not important to them?

To stop this from happening, you need to put them where you want them to be — with a dramatic word picture that evokes the emotions that drive purchases.

For example: If you’re trying to sell them home improvement services, let them feel the satisfaction of knowing that they’ve improved their lifestyle and the value of their biggest investment at the same time.

Are you selling water skis? Get them on the water in the hot summer sun with the wind blowing their hair back and water spraying all around them. Let them FEEL the benefit of making the decision to buy.

Yes, you CAN motivate buyers to put a high priority on your product or service, no matter what it is and no matter what “the economy” is like! It’s simply a matter of your persuasion skill.

3. Don’t Build Trust

Do your clients or customers feel confident that you will provide the products or services that you say you will? How many times have you felt suspicion and doubt when you come across an offer that makes big promises? The truth is: If you don’t already know they are a reputable company, you’re likely to take their claims with a grain of salt and a raised eyebrow.

The best solution to this problem is to provide what we call “Risk Reversal,” or a super-strong guarantee.

An unconditional guarantee shows how committed you are to pleasing your clients or customers.

Another solution is what we call “Social Proof,” often in the form of testimonials.

Testimonials or “Case Studies” are evidence that you have a proven track record. Put some facts in front of your “almost customers.” Let them know a little bit about you and your staff. It’s always easier to trust a person than a faceless business — especially if others “just like me” already trust you.

Trust is especially important on the internet. We’ve all heard horror stories about “internet scams,” and there is a legitimately high level of distrust online. Visitors to your website naturally think that anyone can make big claims, but they want to know that someone they can trust is ultimately responsible for upholding them.

Solution: Make sure to include a personal photo, some background information, and a phone number where a real live person can be reached. You also want to make sure that plenty of positive statements and “reviews” show up when someone types your name and/or the name of your business into a search engine.

How many “almost customers” have slipped through your fingers? Here’s the good news: Starting right now, you can consistently start to turn many of them into loyal customers who will regularly buy from you and refer others to you — if you implement some of the strategies we’ve discussed in this post.

I’d love to hear your thoughts in the Comments section below…

{ 0 comments }