Gentle Rain Marketing

Sales Cover Letter-Stand Out From The Crowd

2009-06-26T07:47:00.002-04:00

This short video will show you how to write a sales cover letter that gets you lots more new clients.

Sales Cover Letter-Stand Out From The Competition! from Mark Satterfield on Vimeo.

Marketing Shouldn't Require A Lot Of Money

2009-06-17T09:01:00.004-04:00

But it does require some good thinking.

Blueprint Video 3 from Mark Satterfield on Vimeo.

If you'd like to see what the heck it is I'm pointing to off camera it's a great sales prospecting tip:

If I was just starting out marketing...this is what I'd do first.

2009-06-16T15:40:00.002-04:00

The First Choice For Driving Traffic from Mark Satterfield on Vimeo.

Want to learn more? For more guerrilla marketing ideas

This was helpful to me-hopefully it will be to you too

2009-06-15T13:11:00.002-04:00

A Valuable Lesson from Mark Satterfield on Vimeo.

If you'd like to learn more this is helpful when you're prospecting for sales

Guerilla Marketing Ideas

2009-06-13T07:41:00.003-04:00

More sales prospecting tips are in my newest video that shares some guerrilla marketing ideas:

Interesting Interview With Michael McLaughlin

2009-06-09T09:06:00.001-04:00

Interesting Interview

2009-06-09T08:53:00.003-04:00

I had the opportunity to get some time with Michael McLaughlin the coauthor of Guerrilla Marketing for Consultants, and principal with MindShare Consulting. I've known Michael for a number of years and really value his advice and perspective.

I was particularly interested in his perspective on writing and how to get invited as a speaker by the groups you most want to present to. Michael also had some good thoughts to share about social media as a marketing tool.

You can listen to the interview HERE

Sales Letter Templates

2009-06-08T07:57:00.002-04:00

This sample business letter is modeled after one of the most successful sales letter templates of all time. The beauty of this letter is that it can be adapted to virtually any business situation.

I like to send this letter as the third one in a series of letters. It is important to keep in mind that just a single letter sent once to a prospect who does not know you, will not usually result in any significant results. The key to success is to have a sequence of letters.

Although each letter is unique the call to action is the same. A less effective call to action is ask the reader to call you for a free consultation. That's not a bad idea, it's just that this should not be the first request you make. I would wait until after your prospect has opted into your stay-in-touch system to make that request.

The crucial element is to get prospects to opt-in to your mailing list. The most effective way to do this is to offer some sort of free report or other valuable information. Here is the letter that I recommend that you send out if the first two letters that you send don't get your prospect to respond.

Dear (prospect) Take two (companies similar to the one your prospect is in). Both (similar in specific ways). Both (trying to accomplish a specific task). One (type of company) chugs along at an okay pace. Over time their business slowly grows, but the nagging feeling that "We could be doing better" never quite goes away.

By contrast the second (type of company) continues to steal market share from its competitors both large and small. Year after year it (achieves a particular goal).

Why is one (company) so successful and the other so average?

We believe a large part of the answer revolves around the power and potential of (the type of work you do). When you dig down and really examine what accounts for the success of (these types of companies), a key differentiator is (how they effectively implement a solution) The bottom line is that the right type of (solution) can give you an enormous competitive advantage over your rivals, both big and small.

That’s the reason I felt compelled to write you this last time to make you a final offer of our free special report (name of report). The report will take you less than 15 minutes to read and it will stimulate your thinking about:

(In this section you list the key benefits that the reader will get by reading the report. These might include the following:) What you should be doing to (achieve a particular objective). How to zero in on what's probably making your (current solution) needlessly expensive.
The most important factor to focus on during any (situation that is about to happen). What the most progressive (companies in this industry) are doing to drive new business results.

At (name of your company) we assist (companies in this industry) achieve outstanding business results by leveraging the power of (what you do). Clients commend us for our willingness to dig deep and fully understand their specific business challenges before we offer any sort of recommendation or potential solution.

We know that at the end of the day, what you care about most, are solutions to the most vexing business problems you face. We believe that (what you offer) that will help you achieve your goals, but that first and foremost the business problem must be clearly understood.

Even if you're completely satisfied with your current (approach to the particular business problem), I guarantee that you will find some useful and profitable information in this report. It's free and you can receive your copy by visiting our website (name of website) or calling us at (phone number). I look forward to hearing from you.

I find that this letter when sent third in a series of letters motivates readers who read my previous letters but never responded to take the next step and request my free report.

This is just one of series of battle tested sales letters that you can use to get more clients by going here.

Google changes criteria for first page ranking.

2009-05-19T05:48:00.002-04:00

You may have seen the news last week that Google is once again changing some of the criteria by which is assigns first page status for search results.

Now sites will be indexed based upon how NEW the information on it is. As the Wall Street Journal reported "A search for a celebrity would show recent news about the person as opposed to their official website."

What does this mean for us?

One immediate implication is that we should all set up a blog. Since blogs are designed to be updated on a regular basis this means that they will tend to be ranked higher (all other things being equal) than static websites.

So does this mean that you should abandon your website and focus exclusively on blogs? Not necessarily.

My personal thinking is to use blogs as a sort of satellite system, which you update regularly. Each blog (And yes it's likely that you may want to have more than one) would have links back to the relevant pages on your website.

Blogs are amazingly inexpensive and simple to set up- (The very fact that I'm doing it is proof of that!)-so if you haven't already, I'd consider setting one up.

Not only will it give you a forum to stay in touch with your readers but it can also be an increasingly important component in getting your information visible on Google.

Blogs are one of the fundamental cornerstones of what is often referred to as social media. I'll be discussion a number of social media applications in my next inner circle program. That's going to be sent out on May 28th.

(I've decided to go back to the older format of the inner circle program in which I send everyone a powerpoint presentation with an audio link. Apparently many of you really missed that format so I'm happy to oblige.)

You can join my inner circle OR just sign up to receive this one program by going here for some great sales prospecting tips:

Regardless of what you decide to do, I would spend some time thinking about blogs (as well as other social media tools) and determining how you can incorporate them into your overall strategy of becoming one of the recognized experts in your field.

Talk with you soon.
Mark

Today I answer question about how to monetize your reports and other intellectual capital

2009-05-06T15:33:00.001-04:00

Today I answer question about how to monetize your reports and other intellectual capital

>>>Question From A Reader

Probably like many of your readers, my premium consulting business is taking a real hit this year. What we’re focusing on in how to monetize the intellectual capital we have produced over the years-reports, some recordings of speeches and articles. I don’t have the resources to commit to your 3-month coaching personal coaching program but would really value an hour of your time to review what we’re doing and help us develop the marketing plan. Is that an option? Tom Gilmore, Seattle WA

***MY RESPONSE

I think you are definitely focusing on the right things. Monetizing your intellectual capital (which is basically the same thing as creating and selling information products) offers a number of benefits. Clients are understandably becoming extremely selective about who they hire. They want to make sure that you can deliver the goods. Thus a great way to “test out” a consultant or advisor is to purchase a relatively inexpensive information product. For example I would estimate that 75% of my platinum consulting clients first purchased my Gentle Rain Boot Camp in a Box Toolkit.

What a lot of consultants an advisors don’t fully appreciate is what a powerful revenue stream “monetizing & productizing your knowledge” can be. Aside from creating physical and digital products there is an enormous opportunity in creating short-run (4-6 session) training programs or information sessions that are focused on a very specific topic.

Regarding your specific question…Yes a single hour of consulting/coaching is available for $250. Based on what I know about your business I think I could dramatically jump start your information business in that time.

>>>ADDITIONAL ANNOUNCEMENTS

Are you really sure you want to miss my FREE Gentle Rain Blueprint Seminar here in Atlanta on May 14th? It’s going to be a rare opportunity to interact personally with me, get some invaluable knowledge about cutting edge tools and methods for getting more leads and then how to convert prospects into paying clients. I’ll be discussing methods (both online and offline) that I’ve never shared before and have used exclusively for myself and my Platinum level consulting clients.

Naturally it’s your choice but I personally think you’re “penny wise and pound foolish” if you don’t take me up on this opportunity. (Plus keep in mind that I’m going to be selling the DVDs for a gazillion dollars after the program so if you have the least bit of interest in how to put your marketing on autopilot this is your chance to “get” the program for Free.)

You can reserve your seat by going here:
http://www.GentleRainBlueprint.com

>>>IMPORTANT INFORMATION IF YOU GET YOUR NEW BUSINESS FROM REFERRALS & WORD-OF-MOUTH…(WARNING-This is “Tough Love” so if you’re easily offended please ignore.)

Let’s get serious for a moment…IF you are committed to just using “plow the field with a mule” labor-intensive marketing methods…SCHLEPPING around from one networking meeting to another…HANDING out cards endlessly to people will never really do business with you…IF you refuse to entertain a different approach to getting more new business because “It’s too complicated…IT might not work for me”…WHY are you a subscriber of mine?

Sheesh! If it hasn’t sunk in already, I’m all about teaching you how to automate your marketing…GET prospects to raise their hands and express interest in what you have to offer…CONVERT large percentages of them into paying clients. My process isn’t complicated and it certainly isn’t expensive.

So if you fall into this group, here’s what I want you. SIGN UP for a FREE 30-day test drive in my Gentle Rain For Beginning & Intermediate Marketers program. Go here right now:
http://www.GentleRainEasyMarketing.com

Take the full month and watch the first two videos, complete the exercises, get some feedback from me. All for FREE. If you find it as valuable as I know you will, then do nothing and I’ll keep you enrolled for the measly sum of $27 per month. If you don’t think it’s right for you, just send me an email and I’ll unsubscribe you.

But you need to give it a try. Go here and test it out:
http://www.GentleRainEasyMarketing.com

That’s all for today. Talk with you soon.
Mark

Staying Focused And Motivated In Your Marketing Efforts.

2009-04-21T07:56:00.003-04:00

>>>QUESTION FROM A READER

I’ll admit that I’m getting a bit overwhelmed and frustrated. I’m getting pulled in a lot of different directions and having a hard time focusing on precisely what I need to be doing to get more new clients. When I sit down to actually do some marketing, I start to wonder if it’s worth it so I waste a lot of time with negative thinking. Am I hopeless? Name Withheld By Request

***MY COMMENTS

First of all let me answer the most important question…No, you are definitely not hopeless. Far from it. What you’re experiencing is very common and natural. But let’s shift the focus to what specifically you can do to 1) get you more clients, and 2) help you stay organized, motivated and focused. Here are some thoughts:

A tip I picked up from marketer Jimmy D. Brown a few years ago has helped me a lot in this regard. I set a goal for myself to do a minimum of just 3 things every single week to help me grow my business. That’s all. Just 3 things. If I’m motivated I can do more, but I set as a goal to make sure I do these 3 things. I do one of them on Monday. One on Wednesday, and the final one on Friday. Sometimes I’m ahead of schedule, but I commit to never shutting down business at the end of the week without making sure that all three things are done.

On Monday I spend 45 minutes on the forums or message boards. This is real important to do for a number of reasons. First, by regularly participating on the forums you become known as a serious player in your field. The key here is to interact to the questions that are posted that seem to be generating the most discussion. The key is to offer ideas and suggestions, not try to promote your services. When you sign up for a forum, they will allow you to create what’s called a signature box. That’s where you tell people what you do and provide a link to your website.

Finding forums is easy. Simply type into Google what you do and the word forum, message boards or discussion groups. So in my world I would type in Internet marketing forums, small business marketing discussion groups, ect. The first time around you’ll need to do a bit of exploring to find one that has a robust and active membership. (For those involved in marketing I’d highly recommend WarriorForum.com. If you have other suggestions I’d love to hear them.)

I like to visit the Forums first thing on Monday morning. Like many people I’m a bit lethargic on Monday (until the Mountain Dew kicks in) so it’s a fun way to get into my workweek. The other benefit of forums (aside from building your brand) is that you’ll pick up some great ideas and there will periodically be some interesting joint venture opportunities.

But a word of caution…reading and posting messages on the forums can be seductive. 45 minutes can turn into two hours if you’re not careful. So set a time limit (I use 45 minutes) and stick with that.

One final note on forums…if you’re a solo businesses person, isolation can be a real issue. I’m not suggesting that forums are a replacement for interaction with real live human beings, but they are helpful in making you feel that you are a member of a community. That’s important. It also will help you address some of the “lack of motivation” issues you mentioned.

On Wednesday I perform the 2nd task which is to write a short article and post it on Article Marketer. Remember that we’re talking about a SHORT article, which can be as little as 500 words. I’ve written over 650 words thus far in this message and I don't think anyone would say this is a long article.

The real benefit to writing articles is the cumulative effect. No one article is likely to get you a swarm of new prospects. However if you write a short article once a week, the results will be impressive.

Finally, don't forget to write a message a week to your subscribers. You can add the message that you write to your automated string of messages or send it out as a broadcast as I’m doing with you today.

Here’s a tip. Remember that blogs get re-indexed by Google when new content appears and that your blog backlinks (connects) to your main website. Thus putting your message on your blog serves the double purpose of increasing the Google page rank for your site, as well as enabling your readers to leave you comments and ideas. The more you can create a dialogue with your readers the better, and blogs are well suited for that task.

In fact this message to you today is a perfect “model” that many of you should consider implementing. The answering a question from a reader is an easy format for creating stay-in-touch messages. If you don't have a large readership that actually sends you messages, you can create one based on what you think is on the minds of those who have opted-in to get your free report.

The email you send out covers what the topic is so that those who are interested can click over to your blog to learn more. This is a simple method for making sure you’re in frequent contact with your readers.

One final thought

Although you didn’t mention this specifically, one of the biggest challenges in marketing is not getting off track and going in many different directions at once. As I’ve often said, if you approach marketing with a “building block” perspective it is easy and simple to get a highly effective marketing SYSTEM up and running quickly. The trick is to do it in small steps so that you don't get overwhelmed, frustrated and quit.

If you haven’t already I’d encourage you to watch the video HERE that describes a step-by-step video/email-coaching program that will walk you through the steps. If you like the approach, you might want to sign up for a FREE 30-day test drive to see if it is something that would be right for you.

Just a thought.

Hope this was helpful and I’ll talk with you soon
Mark

PS...I still have some space available at my free Gentle Rain seminar here in Atlanta on May 14th. Details are HERE

More Ideas For Getting On The First Page Google

2009-04-14T09:59:00.005-04:00

Today I share with you some ideas for how to get your site ranked high in the natural search listings of Google. (Quite frankly, if you’re high in the Google listings you’ll rank high everywhere else.)

Naturally what I’m talking about in today’s video is only one strategy for getting lots of highly targeted traffic to your website. You can learn about all my top strategies by getting this month’s inner circle program sent directly to you on Thursday. This is the only time I’m offering you this chance and the program will NOT be for sale anywhere on my website.

You can sign up to get just this one program or become a monthly subscriber (and save a few bucks) by going HERE

Get On The First Page Of Google from Mark Satterfield on Vimeo.

Again you can sign up to receive either just this one program or to become a monthly Inner Circle member by going HERE

P.S. Are you having difficulty actually IMPLEMENTING your marketing program? If so you're not alone. This will be of interest. Go HERE

Finding A Niche Market That Needs (And WANTS) What You Offer.

2009-04-10T07:22:00.000-04:00

It gets tiresome trying to CONVINCE people to do business with you. A far easier option is to focus on niches that have both a need and a desire for what you offer.

IMPORTANT---To maximize the quality of this video, (and to ensure that I don't appear like some deranged character from a bad Japanese Godzilla movie) click your cursor on the screen and make sure the High Definition Box that appears like magic on on the right hand side of the video is OFF. (And please be patient. This may take a moment or two to load.)

Finding A Niche Market That Really Needs (and Wants) What You Offer. from Mark Satterfield on Vimeo.

If you are a BEGINNING or INTERMEDIATE Marketer and want to once-and-for all IMPLEMENT A COMPLETE MARKETING SYSTEM, click HERE and I'll show you how I will work with you personally step-by-step to get your system up and running.
Go HERE

These Free Reports Will Drive Lots Of Traffic To Your Website

2009-04-08T13:05:00.000-04:00

In today's video I'm going to share with you 4 ideas for different types of free reports that you can easily create to drive lots of targeted traffic to your website.

IMPORTANT---To maximize the quality of this video, (and to ensure that I don't appear like some deranged character from a bad Japanese Godzilla movie) click your cursor on the screen and make sure the High Definition Box that appears like magic on on the right hand side of the video is OFF. (And please be patient. This may take a moment or two to load.)

How To Write A Free Report That Gets Attention from Mark Satterfield on Vimeo.

Start driving tons of targeted traffic to your website by offering Free Reports That Get Read And Motivate People To Take ACTION! Get your first lesson immediately by going HERE

Naturally there's a lot more to creating free reports that get requested, read and acted upon than I could cover in this 6 minute video.

If you want to drive lots more highly-targeted traffic to your website let me give you some heart-felt advice and encourage you to enroll in my mini-seminar on Quickly & Easily Creating Free Reports That Get Read & Motivate People To Take Action. This is the exact same process I use myself for creating my own free reports and for those of my most successful clients.

Get the first lesson delivered immediately to your inbox by clicking HERE. Thanks.

Marketing Secrets For Owners Of Small Businesses

2009-04-08T06:18:00.000-04:00

Marketing Secrets For Owners Of Small Businesses from Mark Satterfield on Vimeo.

This is just one method for getting lots more new clients interested in what you do and then turning them into paying clients. Which is why you should sign up right now for my free online newsletter that will show you how to precisely get lots more prospects and then turn them into paying clients. You can do that by going HERE

Marketing strategy

2009-04-07T17:22:00.000-04:00

Marketing strategy from Mark Satterfield on Vimeo.

Diversifying Your Services. A Marketing Idea Whose Time Has Come

2009-01-22T08:12:00.000-05:00

The recent announcement by executive search giant Heidrick & Struggles to shrink it's recruiting practice by 45% and focus on consulting caused me to think about the role of diversifying services during these uncertain economic times.

As common sense would dictate, consultants and advisors who offer only a single program or service are at a distinct disadvantage, especially during times like these when prospects are cautious about investing money. So let's talk about some different approaches. Perhaps these will stimulate some thinking and discussion within your own organization.

One way of approaching unbundling your services is to consider the steps that clients take in order to solve the types of problems you advise on. For example, a common approach is to conduct an initial analysis for a reduced fee, and then offer a variety of services that will enable the client to actually implement the recommendations. This cafeteria-style approach to offering services and pricing them accordingly usually winds up being both good for you and for your clients. It enables new clients to minimize their risk while allowing you to build trust and credibility. As all of us would undoubtedly agree, the first assignment with a new clients should be just that-only the first assignment. By unbundling your services you are likely to find that both the total number of clients you do business with increases, as does the total dollar they invest. Moreover, by offering this portfolio of services one can more readily dominate or become the preferred provider within a specific niche.

Another way of broadening your services is to think about what takes place at the client prior to them having a need for your services? What are the problems that occur before you are called upon? For example, in executive search the issue that causes a company to go outside for talent is usually the fact that there are no viable internal candidates. Although this may seem like a blinding grasp of the obvious, it does point out the need for advice around the issue of succession planning. This is where Heidrick & Struggles plans to place their focus.

However diversifying one's services into completely new areas is not without risk. While Heidrick & Struggles' new focus on succession planning certainly makes sense, it does now place them in competition with new rivals including well-established firms such as McKinsey. However, given the rather bleak horizons for executive search over the next 12-16 months, diversification of services is a prudent course of action. Success will largely depend upon their ability to persuade those who know the firm by reputation to think of them as a "top tier" resource in a field with which they have not been traditionally associated. Obviously effective communications and marketing will be key for their success.

Those who are offering traditional coaching services may wish to consider adding additional services that will enable their clients to actually implement their solutions. Granted, for many clients, the advice will suffice, however there will be a percentage who find that implementation is more complex than they thought. Coaches are in an advantageous position to provide assistance in this regard as long as they have marshaled resources that will enable them to do so. As we've discovered at Gentle Rain, resources such as Elance have made the process of adding skills to one's team a far simpler process than it has traditionally been.

Finally, an old idea that is seeing a resurgence in popularity is to offer workshops and training programs on one's area of expertise. Many advisors and consultants abandoned this model primarily due to the expense of marketing, and an increasing reluctance on the part of prospects to take time out of their busy day to attend events. Fortunately the advent of webinars has made offering your knowledge (for a fee) a far easier proposition. It's my opinion that all consultants and advisors should be including web-based seminars as a part of their portfolio of services. Naturally this can be a tool for both generating income as well an "early-stage" method for attracting prospects.

I think the main takeaway from the Heidrick & Struggle announcement is that this is a good time for all of us to think about diversifying our services. The precise steps we take will largely depend upon the growth objectives we each have.

I hope this give you some good food for thought that will prove to be helpful to you in the year ahead. And as always, please do not hesitate to reach out to me if I can ever be of assistance.

Thanks
Mark

Courageous Optimism

2008-12-02T14:44:00.000-05:00

I like to read biographies. All different sorts. Everything from John Adams to Rupert Murdock. I’m fascinated with how successful people got that way.

Back a couple of years ago I had the opportunity to interview Les Wexner (founder of Limited Brands and retailing legend). I asked him about whether he observed any common traits among those who had achieved high levels of success. He responded that most of the people he considered successful displayed what he called “Courageous Optimism”. He said that it was a particularly important trait since it enables leaders to move forward with a new idea that breaks with the conventions about how people have done things in the past.

“And the ability to do that is ultimately what separates those who build businesses that stand out and are unique from their copycat competitors.”

The challenge then becomes, how does one develop or maintain an appropriate level of Courageous Optimism? From Mr. Wexner’s perspective, part of the ability to do so is to have “Systems” in place that one can rely on. For example in his retailing empire very little is left to chance. Stores are designed to draw visitors in and engage them. (Much as a good website does.) Promotions to attract customers are specifically crafted to appeal to specific needs or wants of highly targeted groups of people. (Similar to any highly effective lead generation program.)

As Mr. Wexner told me, “By having a system one can avoid the natural tendency to second guess oneself or place too much negative emphasis on an isolated set of circumstances.”

Obviously this has implications for marketing your business regardless of your field. Speaking from personal experience and the experiences of my clients, having a marketing system in place that consistently attracts brand new prospects and then converts large percentages of them into paying clients enables one to face these difficult economic times with Courageous Optimism. Mr. Wexner’s advice is certainly worth thinking more about.

One other thought.

We are so barraged with negative news these days that it’s sometimes difficult to draw from our own personal well of courageous optimism. I consider myself an extremely positive individual but I’d be less than honest if I said that the unrelenting drumbeat of depressing economic news didn't have an effect. That’s why I’ve found the services of clinical hypnotherapist Marian Massie (http://www.Marianmassie.com) to be so valuable. I don't know how familiar you are with the process of hypnotherapy, and Marian would explain it better than I, but it basically revolves around planting at the subconscious level the visualization of what you want to accomplish.

I’ve found it to be an extremely powerful tool that’s helped me avoid getting in a downward mental spiral. Her sessions have enabled me to keep focused on doing the things I know I need to be doing in order to grow my business. Marian works with people both nationwide and internationally so I encourage you to visit her website and arrange for a free consultation. Again you can learn more at http://www.MarianMassie.com

Finally, let me leave you with a reminder that as my 87-year-old father says, “This too shall pass.” Those business owners who approach these challenging times with Courageous Optimism and develop Systems that they can rely on to grow their businesses, will both ride out the current difficult times and be extremely well positioned for the future.

That’s all for now. If I can ever be of assistance to you please let me know, by emailing me at mark@GentleRainMarketing.com or calling 770-643-8566

Speak with you soon.
Mark

Marketing In Tough Times

2008-11-20T12:59:00.001-05:00

OK let’s talk about marketing your business in these tough economic times. But be warned, I’m in a very frank mood today so what I’m about to communicate will probably offend some of you. (Especially those of you who are struggling and still clinging onto the belief that word of mouth and referrals will somehow save you during these recessionary times.)

First it’s clear that the “economic boom-times” are over for at least the next 18 months. So just hunkering-down and hoping that you can ride out this tsunami of bad times clearly isn’t going to work. The fact of the matter is that lots of small businesses and consultants will go out of business in the next year.

I’ve been in this business since 1977, run Gentle Rain since ’92, and the one lesson that I’ve learned after going through a number of these “economic events” is that, Yes you can survive this (even prosper) if you implement Smart marketing strategies.

So what do I mean by Smart Marketing? It’s using a STYSTEM that doesn’t cost a lot, is trackable and gives you RETURNS on your marketing investment. (And that’s what good marketing should do…make you Money.)

But here’s the reality. You do need to have some money with which to play this game. Not a lot, but you do need some. If $2000 represents a HUGE investment for you, you really should consider shutting down whatever you do and try to find a job where you can collect a paycheck. Especially if you’ve been in business for 2 years or more. I don’t mean to be rude, but if your business hasn’t gotten to the point that you can tap into that small amount of cash, it’s a clear signal that entrepreneurship is not for you.

No shame in that. No matter how much I might try I’ll never be a successful violinist. But it’s time to face reality. Owning your own business isn’t for everyone. Just because you have a skill doesn’t mean you should own a business that provides that skill. Especially if all you really want to do is what your expertise is, (put on training programs, coach clients, drill teeth, ect.).

If you’re serious about being a business owner then you have to be serious about one of the primary missions of your business…getting more new clients into the pipeline. Unless you have a system to do that, you might as well stop kidding yourself that you really are an entrepreneur.

So let me tell you what you need to do. These are the two steps.
1) Build a website that focuses on getting your prospects to tell you who they are so you can follow up directly with them.
2) Use a variety of lead-generation methods to get people to visit that site.

If you do those two things you will never lack for customers and clients. It’s that simple.

OK let’s talk about this in more detail.

First the website. Let’s not make this complicated. This website isn’t your corporate website. It’s not the one with the standard “About Us”, “Home Page” “FAQ” and all the other typical stuff.

What I’m talking about is a website that is solely designed to get prospects to identify themselves so you can follow up with them and turn them into clients. That’s all it does.

This type of website has two-pages to it. The objective of the first page is to get readers so interested and curious about how you can help them solve their problems that they will give you their contact information in order to get to page 2.

That’s the only option. “Give me your contact information in order to get to page 2 or go away.” This is what’s referred to as a squeeze page. You’re “squeezing” the reader in one (and only one) direction. And for those of you with weak sensibilities, let me remind you that if someone isn’t interested enough to give you their information in order to get to the second page, the chances of them actually becoming a Paying-Client is virtually zero.

But, in order for this strategy to work the first page of this website has to do a couple of things successfully.

First, you have to correctly identify a PROBLEM that your prospects are facing. Get the PROBLEM right and they rest falls in place. But make sure you avoid this mistake.

Don’t have the focus of these pages be on you. I’m not saying that who you are and what you do isn’t important. Of course it is. But the question is WHEN is it important? And in the beginning, when your prospects are looking for resources that can help them, they are most interested in whether you understand the problems they face. That’s what is communicated on Page 1 of this website.

On Page 2, that’s where you start to explain your system and HOW you help clients. So Page 1 focuses on PROBLEMS. Page 2 focuses on SOLUTIONS. And to get from page 1 to page 2 the reader has to let us know who they are.

Simple but very, very effective.

Now, here’s the second element that you need to have in order for this strategy to work.

THE COPY ON THE PAGE NEEDS TO BE COMPELLING. It needs to engage the reader. It needs to get them so excited that they’re willing to give you their contact information in order to read what’s on the next page.

However most people can’t write like that. Which is the reason that you need to hire someone who can. There’s a saying among us copywriters that “Just because you know how to boil water doesn’t make you a chef.” Which translates into, “Just because you can write an email doesn’t make you a compelling writer who can use the power of words to motivate people to take action.” So you need to go beyond what the site looks like and make sure that the copy is sp compelling that it will motivate people to go to that second page.

But this is all you really need. A simple two-page website. And once it’s set up, it will generate consistent streams of new leads for you month in a month out, during good times and bad.

And yes we create these sites for our clients which you can find out more about by going HERE.

Which leads to the second part of the equation…driving people to that website. Actually it’s pretty easy. Lots of different lead-generation methods you can use. If you can budget $500 per month you can get a lot of people to visit your website. (Heck if you can budget $200 per month you can do OK with a local marketing effort.)

But I’m giving too much away. And after all I’m in the business of helping my clients grow their businesses. So if you want to learn about how to drive traffic to your site you’re going to have to actually talk with me.

Because here’s the deal. I’ll custom create a two page websites for you, write all the copy, hook it up to an email stay in touch system and personally advise you on how to promote it for $1500. I’ll even manage the most effective way to get more leads for you as well as write a monthly message that you can send out to all the people in your contact list for under $200. The details are HERE

Want to talk about this in more detail? Send an email to mark@gentlerainmarketing.com and I’ll be in touch.

Talk with you soon.
Mark

Does "Niching" Mean having to say NO?

2007-11-14T11:45:00.001-05:00

It’s hard to argue against focusing your marketing efforts on specific niche target markets.

At least intellectually it makes sense.

What invariably stands in the way is the question, lurking-ever-so-subtly in the back of one’s mind…

“If I niche my marketing, won’t I miss opportunities?”

And it’s that thought that causes people to “waffle” in their marketing efforts. The resulting message winds up sounding like…“We specialize in you…and the guy in front of you…as well as all the other people sitting on either side of you.”

Not surprisingly by attempting to appeal to everyone, we unfortunately wind up appealing to hardly anyone. Which when you think about it makes a lot of sense.

A truism that I hold near and dear is that everyone thinks their problems are unique. Whether that’s true or not isn’t the important point. What’s important is that they believe it to be so.

Thus our marketing message needs to reflect that reality.

Which reminds me of the old story about the copywriter and the client. The client was saying that the most effective advertising or sales letters were those that were short and concise.

“My clients are busy people they don’t have time to read a lengthy message” said the client.

The copywriter disagreed and bet the client $1000 that he could write a full-page ad with over 1500 words of copy that he guaranteed would be read by the prospects

“I’ll take that bet” said the client.

“I will win and I don’t even have to write the ad. All I need to show you is the headline” said the copywriter.

“And the headline is what?” asked the client.

THIS AD IS ALL ABOUT YOU.

You get my point.

The more your message is targeted…the more the prospective client sees a reflection of him or herself…the more effective it will be.

But, I haven’t answered the initial question…”By focusing on one group of prospects don’t I eliminate getting potential business from others outside the niche?”

Not necessarily.

Which brings us to the role of websites (or more specifically web PAGES).

What an increasing number of savvy marketers are realizing is that one can set up multiple PARRELLEL campaigns…each of which appeals to a very specific niche market.

For example the financial planner or insurance producer could set up different campaigns that appeal to high income sports talent…boat owners…horse breeders…collectors of fine art…ect.

Each campaign directs prospects to a SPECIFIC webpage. (Which can either be completely individualized with its own URL or simply resides on your corporate website).

Each of these targeted WebPages offers it’s own free report or tip sheet that provides answers to specific questions that this group might have about the services your offer.

From a practical perspective each tip sheet is likely to be a slightly modified variation on a theme rather than an entirely new piece of information that is developed form scratch.

What this approach enables a business to do is appeal to MULTIPLE niches at the same time.

Here’s another idea.

You can often combine two niches into one SUPER NICHE while still maintaining the appeal of “I understand your unique pain.”

The key with this strategy is to make sure that each micro-niche is within a similar “cluster” of specialization. For example you could easily combine real estate and mortgage brokers…chiropractors and dentists…insurance and financial advisors…but it would obviously be less effective to combine insurance with chiropractor or real estate with dentists.

The overarching point that I’m making is that given the advances in technology and the ease by which simple one page websites can be set up, you can easily run multiple niche campaigns for your business. This enables small and midsized business to build a brand image of expertise in more than one area, and eliminate the worry that they are missing opportunities.

Want to learn more? Here are a couple of options.

My newest program INTERNET MARKETING MADE EASY provides you with a step-by-step system for setting up targeted one page websites that appeal to very specific market niches. I also cover the different methods you can use for driving traffic to these micro-sites 24/7/365 and how to fully automate the follow up sequence of messages.

More information about this
sales prospecting tip is available.

Secondly…remember that ultimately it’s all about implementation. Reading, thinking, analyzing…they all have their place…BUT in the final analysis, it’s about actually putting these plans into ACTION.

What’s one of the biggest barriers to implementation?

Time…or rather, the lack of it.

That’s why if you are SERIOUS about growing your business…about developing multiple niche markets…perhaps we should talk.

As you may be aware, on a highly selective basis we are taking on a few projects in which we dramatically reduce our retainer and earn the majority of our income on success fees.

In order to qualify for this program you need to have business growth goals in excess of $500,000, a reasonable amount of money for marketing and a strong DESIRE to take your business to the next level.

If that’s you, shoot me a quick email and we’ll set up a time to TALK.

Hope this was helpful.

Thanks and Best regards,
Mark
mark@gentlerainmarketing.com
770-643-8566