Successful Blog

5 Pitches You Must Have Up Your Sleeve

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Scheherazade had 1001 stories, but you only need five key stories in order to pitch your business effectively in most situations.

arabian nights

If you have these stories at-the-ready, you’ll be more prepared than 90% of your competitors.

1. Grocery Line

This pitch is your standard response to a stranger’s question, “what do you do?” The nuance here is that it should be understandable by anyone. No jargon, no need to use a silly title like “Chief Cat Wrangler.” This pitch must be super-brief, and ideally will end with you asking a question about the other person.

“I’m a media coach. What do you do?”

2. Business Reception

This is the scenario where you’re standing up, cradling a mini quiche in one hand and a glass of white wine in the other. It’s a business function, and you’re chatting up the person who was behind you in the buffet line. Since it’s a business environment, you can be a bit more detailed. You may have the chance to extend the conversation for a few minutes, so you don’t have to cram everything into one sentence. Find an opportunity to ask the other person a question immediately. And when they speak, listen intently.

“I’m a small business media coach. I take the fear out of dealing with reporters. What brings you to this event?”

3. Sit Down Business Meeting

In this situation, you’re spending a significant amount of time sitting with other professionals (for example, at a workshop). They’re going around the table and everyone is supposed to say “what they do” to the rest of the group. Your goal here is to say something memorable and engaging.

“I help small business owners make a polished impression during media interviews. My specialty is analyzing body language…so everyone uncross your arms right now.”

4. Prospect Call

You did it. You got the prospect on the phone to hear about your services. Of course, you started by asking them to describe their key requirements, and then they said, “can you give us a high level overview of your business?”

“My firm, Dazzling Media Coaching, has been helping small businesses like XYZ Realty polish their media skills for more than 10 years. My background is as a television journalist, which gives me a unique perspective on media training. I use body language, mock interview techniques, and speech pattern analysis to help my clients knock it out of the park. Do you have an upcoming media appearance you’d like help with?”

5. Client Shareable

This one is tricky. Basically it’s a very pithy, memorable phrase you can implant in your clients’ minds so that when someone uses the trigger words, they will refer you.

We all like to categorize each other into “buckets” in our brains, so that we can easily recall appropriate contacts when we need them. This pitch is more like a tagline. What category do you want to be remembered for?

“The go-to media coach for small business.”

I strongly recommend taking some time to craft responses for these 5 common situations. Tell your story with passion, wit, and creativity, and like Scheherazade, your business will live to see another day!

Author’s Bio: Rosemary O’Neill is an insightful spirit who works for social strata — a top ten company to work for on the Internet . Check out the Social Strata blog. You can find Rosemary on Google+ and on Twitter as @rhogroupee

Beware the Social Media Cockroaches

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He came to the house every month on Wednesday. Armed with powerful chemicals, he made sure that no “Palmetto bugs” found their way inside. While he made the house safe for scaredy cats like me, we would banter about business.

social media cockroaches

His long-term plan was to go out on his own, and once he found out what I did for a living, he had a million questions.

“I already bought a ready-made website from XYZ hosting company, and I have business cards. How can I use Facebook to get more customers?” (Because when I use the word Internet in any conversation with a civilian, they immediately envision me as a Facebook expert.)

I struggled with my answer, mostly because you can’t answer that question in the 10 minute space of time it takes for pest control to occur in a two story home, but also because there is no easy answer.

Anyone who says, “just go get a Facebook page” is being short-sighted. And anyone who prescribes any “social media” solution without doing a lot of listening first is selling snake oil.

My take was that pest control is a highly referral-based business, and he needed to ensure that a) his customers have an easy way to spread the word to their friends, and b) he shows up when people who live in my local area search online for “pest control.”

Ultimately, my advice was to ignore social media until he defined who his target market was, where they lived, and how they shopped for pest control.

Could he use social media to help his business? Absolutely.

He could start regularly blogging to create a content resource that might move him up in the Google search results. He could make a series of funny Vine videos. He could use Twitter advanced search to find local people Tweeting about bug problems. There are hundreds of avenues he could take. Sure, he could even start a Facebook page.

But good marketing advice isn’t like a “hot stock tip” you overhear in the elevator. There’s no one-size-fits-all.

And if you’re working with someone who offers to “set up a Facebook page” as a first step, before learning your business, don’t walk away. Run.

Author’s Bio: Rosemary O’Neill is an insightful spirit who works for social strata — a top ten company to work for on the Internet . Check out the Social Strata blog. You can find Rosemary on Google+ and on Twitter as @rhogroupee

Photo Credit: James Niland via Compfight cc

Book Review: Absolute Value, By Itamar Simonson & Emanuel Rosen

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What happens when marketers get naked?

Absolute Value: What Really Influences Customers in the Age of (Nearly) Perfect Information, is the answer to that question.

Stripped of their exclusive access to broadcast media, stripped of their information monopoly, stripped of their banner ads, stripped of their SEO tricks, marketers in 2014 have awakened to a new reality. Consumers have access such a diverse array of data that they can (if they choose) make much more informed purchasing decisions.

This book explores how this state of affairs came to be, how consumers are dealing with their access, and how marketers might still be able to add their voice to the mix.

“In a world with improved access to high-quality information, more and more decisions will be based on absolute values, resulting in better choices overall.” Absolute Value, Simonson & Rosen

The Marketer is Being Stripped, Bit by Bit

Tools like positioning and persuasion are less effective because consumers can see behind the wizard curtain by reading blogs, talking to other consumers, and reading reviews.

The value of brand and loyalty is disappearing as consumers are able to rely on a huge amount of actual information from experts and weak-tie fellow consumers. Simonson & Rosen suggest that a consumer’s decision to buy is affected by a mix of three related sources: individual preferences, beliefs, and experiences (P); other people and information services (O); and marketers (M). Marketers need to be aware of where their audience lies on the POM continuum so that they can respond accordingly. Which information does your typical customer rely on most heavily?

The power of advertising has been undercut as well. There must be a shift away from random banner ads to get “top of mind” awareness, and toward ads that are closer to the decision point and provide actionable information to the person as they are about to buy. Top of mind ads are less effective because they get overwritten by other info that comes along in the noise stream.

Another tool in the marketing arsenal was the traditional funnel. There used to be a reliable, predictable path from awareness to action. The new consumer doesn’t care about the funnel. He/she will now often employ what Simonson & Rosen term “couch tracking,” accumulating lots of information over time, even before the need for a product is identified. Marketers need to focus more attention on the couch-trackers, who frequent online communities and forums as they have a certain product or brand “on their radar,” because they are likely to make a decision before marketers are even aware of them.

What Happens Now?

When power is taken away from the marketers, does it come at the expense of good business decisions? Will consumers use the big data available to them to support good decisions or will it lead to more irrationality as they choose the sources of data they want to use?

Will consumers with limited or no access to the additional data be more susceptible to manipulation because they don’t have access? Will marketers be hip to that and use it to their advantage?

Perhaps we will end up with “less sugar in our information diet” and “less sugarcoating” as real-world reviews and referrals take the place of rotating banner ads.

The release of this book could not be more timely. Within the conversations about big data, content shock, and influencer marketing, there must be a discussion of the absolute value proposition.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received an advance copy of this book free from Harper Business. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Author’s Bio: Rosemary O’Neill is an insightful spirit who works for social strata — a top ten company to work for on the Internet . Check out the Social Strata blog. You can find Rosemary on Google+ and on Twitter as @rhogroupee

I Meant To Do That! How To Turn A Mistake Into Success

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By Jon Norwood

I’ve started four businesses and successfully sold three. The common factor in all of them is that I made at least one serious error right out of the gate. When you’re faced with a fixed and immovable object, caused by either a mistake or due to matters outside of your control, if you cannot change it stop fighting it. But simply embracing it is not enough however. Adapt your plan and make this obstacle part of your intentional offering.

Military strategists, as well as every mother of little children, have learned how to roll with the punches. Adapt to the environment and its challenges. If you want to guarantee your failure, approach your business (and life in general) with a stiff neck and refuse to be flexible. If you don’t believe me, just picture all those poor suckers that collapse while standing at attention with their knees locked!

Real World Example

A businessman opened a “ropes” course for corporations. After he founded the company, spent the revenue building the course and marketing the opening of his new venture, he was informed that he could not sell alcohol. He didn’t think it would be a major problem, but as the months went on, he discovered just the opposite.

The corporations discovered that they had a hard time getting “buy in” from their employees and volunteers that were asked to spend an entire day that far out in the country, and not be able to have a happy hour after the event. In fact, the promise of a happy hour was a major selling point for his competition!

After 2 years of struggling, he was considering closing the doors. Then he had the idea that he could embrace the problem. In other words, he could look for organizations that would choose him over his competition BECAUSE he CHOSE to not serve alcohol.

Religious and conservative organizations found this marketing enticing. To his surprise, many organizations began to choose his course because they would no longer be vulnerable to law suits due to alcohol abuse and driving under the influence! His limitation became a powerful selling point.

Embrace your limitations and find a way to position them as strengths.

Bad location? Say it was on purpose and adjust your offering.
Spent a ton of money on a typewriter when everyone else is buying a computer? Learn to research for the next time. Say you love the quality and send out letters from that typewriter with marketing about your dedication to quality!

There is always an angle! You just have to stop freaking out to see it. It’s not a matter of being misleading in any way, it’s a choice of looking at the situation from a positive mindset and marketing from that perspective.

Author’s Bio: Jon Norwood writes about business and technology at http://communities.washingtontimes.com/neighborhood/tech-talk/. He is also the author of internet providers by zip code. You can find him on Twitter as @mobileinformers.

Marketing Your Blog in the Real World

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By Kelly Edwards

Blogging is not limited to cyberspace, and neither is promoting your blog to boost its recognition. In fact, marketing at events is an opportunity to access a whole range of readers and contributors that you might not have otherwise interacted with. But how do you assess if an event is worthwhile for your blog? Traveling to a networking event, paying for a ticket to a convention and even renting a stand to promote your blog are all factors that can make event marketing a more expensive choice, so how do you track if it’s the best choice to make?

Define Your Goals

While calculating the profit made from an event isn’t as simple as counting receipts for a blog, there are still ways you can attribute success to your event marketing. Tracking how many business cards you give out or flyers taken is a good start. You can also take a list of names interested in joining your mailing list (if you have one) or offer entry to a competition. These are all goals that you can measure throughout an event, however any positive effects in traffic or subscriptions may take a few days, perhaps even weeks to be felt.

Choosing the Right Event

Not every event is going to bring in the correct audience for your website. You may be tempted to attend a very large blogger event but will you be finding an audience that will actively want to engage with your blog? If you’re a niche site then it can be more effective to look into more specific blogging events, especially those in tune with your blog’s ethos. If you talk a lot about your local area then have a look into local tourism events which you could attend. If you post on a specific hobby or interest then look into events or exhibitions around these topics. This will lead you to a large group of attendees who are also a relevant part of your demographic.

Combining Real World and Online Marketing

Event marketing can still be supported by your online fans by promoting your attendance in advance. This can be on your own channel as well as outreach into other areas. If you’re attending a local event then would they appreciate some content on their website from upcoming attendees? Get in contact now and promote yourself and the event you’ll be spending time at. You can continue this after the event as well, offering posts on how you found the event and your experiences.

If you met people and exchanged business details then get in contact ASAP whilst you’re still fresh in their mind. You invested in networking and now it’s time to be proactive about all the new contacts you may have made.

Promoting at the Event

There are many ways you can promote your blog at an event and nothing is easier than wearing a branded t shirt. You can also give away branded goodies to those who show an interest in your subject of interest as well as cards and flyers. Ensure that your logo and brand colours are proudly on display and mesh with the blog itself to make the transition for the attendee as smooth as possible.

If you’re attending an exhibition or event with a stand then your promotional displays should be choreographed and also include the URL of your blog. A large and attractive banner will also grab more attention. If you’re promoting your blog at an event or exhibition that is traditionally more focused around sales or crafts then try to get a spot near a refreshment area so that attendees are more likely to slow down and look at your blog. Having an optimised mobile site will also mean that attendees that look up your blog on their phone will be able to quickly access your site.

Improving Your Approach

After your first event you will most likely realise where you can make improvements. Perhaps you were somewhat shy about approaching so many people so quickly. Perhaps you don’t feel as though you explained your blog succinctly enough and people lost interest. Perhaps you regret spending too much or not enough setting up an attractive exhibition for your blog. Whatever ideas enter your head for how you can improve next time, ensure you write them down now! You can also start mapping ways that you can approach these challenges and improve your marketing strategy.

Combining these elements will lead to excellent promotion of your blog at an event and hopefully some greater recognition for your brand.

Author’s Bio: Kelly Edwards writes about promotional display materials and helping businesses at http://www.marlerhaley.co.uk. You can find her on Twitter as @MarlerHaley.

Stop trying to be like everyone else – grow your business faster

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By Brian Morris

A few years ago, two friends started a small business in my hometown. Like so many local entrepreneurs that came before and after, they failed. Within a year of opening their doors, their business was dead. They listened to business advice from the wrong people, people whose own businesses were struggling, people who kept telling them to be patient, and they were forced to shut their doors.

If you’ve ever researched starting your own business, you know that one of the most discouraging bits of information consistently recycled by small business gurus is that it will take two to three years for your business to be profitable. That’s a kick in the teeth to otherwise-motivated entrepreneurs who don’t have three years of income built up – or, most of the living universe.

And it’s hogwash. Look, this is the digital age. You can turn a profit today.

Now, I don’t want to oversimplify the process of building a profitable business, and I’m well aware that start-up costs and overhead for, say, a refrigerated trucking company are vast in comparison to, say, a graphic design firm. But the reason I think it takes so many entrepreneurs so long to turn a profit is that they’re trying to be like everyone else.

It all comes down to marketing. You see what the successful businesses are doing, and you try to do it, too. There are three ways people market in my hometown, which boasts a population of around 8,000 people: television, radio and newspaper.

To that I say: expensive, ineffective and wasted effort, respectively. It’s literally been years since I’ve received a direct-mail postcard from a local company, despite the fact that I get postcards every day from national brands. And door hangers? Please…

No one hosts publicity stunts. No one markets effectively on the web. No one posts massive vinyl banners at the busiest intersections, which witness traffic figures easily 10 times the population every single day.

And guess what? Most of our start-ups fail. They blame their failure on so many things: the economy, lack of support for local businesses, the “death” of our downtown, Amazon.com. Few ever blame the real culprits: themselves.

Instead of marketing where everyone else does, try something new. Distribute door hangers door-to-door. Print vinyl banners and place them in high-traffic areas. Brainstorm a fun and engaging publicity stunt, and get awesome PR for it. These are all cheap. These are all highly effective.

What happened to my two friends? Well, one decided to start another business. He opened an office and began to toil, plying his service using the same failed strategies. His mindset, I think, was that the business wasn’t profitable because two people were one too many to get by on their profits.

The other likewise started another business, but adopted a different, more bold marketing strategy. He walked the city with door hangers, began submitting press releases to the local paper, joined networking groups, volunteered in the community, and always has a nice big banner prominently displayed.

Five years later, the friend who opted to keep going down the path of slow and steady lives in an apartment on the wrong side of town. He works out of his rental unit, the downtown studio long gone. The other has bought a new home in a good neighborhood (and I think he’s got at least $30,000 wrapped up in a new addition) and is well-known, respected, and liked throughout the community. His business, it seems, is thriving.

To the best of my knowledge, both of my friends are capable of producing high-quality work, but only one is willing to do what his competitors will not. You hear NFL players talk about playing with a sense of urgency. My friend worked with a sense of urgency – a do-or-die, now-or-never approach – and grew his business rapidly.

Go guerrilla. Market aggressively and on the cheap. Be a grassroots business. Push for business growth without wasteful marketing efforts.

Be bold, and do what your competitors will not do. Don’t do what failed businesses have tried.

Stop trying to be like everyone else. Don’t fail by taking the well-worn path. Be new, different, better. Grow your business faster.

Author’s Bio: Author’s Bio: Brian Morris writes for the PsPrint Design & Printing Blog. PsPrint is an online commercial printing company. Follow PsPrint on Twitter @PsPrint.