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The Power Of Laser Target Marketing

By Scott Hallman on September 1, 2010

Throughout the ProfitNow system, I continuously emphasize the fact that little changes can produce big results overall. One thing you hear me discuss over and over in my training sessions involves laser target marketing. Today’s tip is going to teach you how to use persuasion to dramatically increase your laser target marketing by emotionally influencing your prospects… and in turn, convincing them to buy what you sell.

Consider this example… several large surveys show that most people believe a logical discussion… coupled with good data and the right logical supporting facts… are the best ways to persuade a prospect to buy what you sell. Often, they break the persuasion process down to three main steps:

1. Present your proposition clearly, and with conviction.
2. Present your supporting data, with the right facts, logic and information.
3. Structure your “deals” and move on to the close.

But according to Dr. Jay Conger, Director of the Leadership Institute at the University of Southern California Business School, “Following this process is one surefire way to fail at persuasion.”

Why? Neuroscientists have recently discovered that the brain waves we emit when we engage in logical thinking are virtually identical to those we emit when we’re forced to plunge our hands and arms into ice water. It’s painful! Furthermore, these researchers have determined that our brains require 300 percent more effort-measured in calories burned-for heavy thinking, compared with “mental cruising.” 

No wonder people hate a logical, reasoned approach! Luckily for us, our brains are hard-wired with mechanisms that help us make good decisions without painstaking analysis and reasoning. These mechanisms are known as triggers, but you can also think of them as “hot buttons.” Essentially, they’re the decision-making shortcuts we easily and naturally employ all day long. They are our automatic self-guidance systems. We often don’t even realize we’re using them!

Put simply, hot buttons are our navigational aids. They help us make easy, non-analytical,
yet correct decisions. There are seven major persuasion elements we all depend on to help us easily make quick, automatic and right decisions. One example is the consistency trigger. Here’s how it works. We all have a kind of database in our brains that records past thoughts and actions. This database provides a sort of roadmap for future decisions. When faced with a new decision, our brain does an instantaneous search for similar past decisions, and we’re oriented to act in a way that’s consistent with our past actions.

In short, we do what we’ve done before. A citizen who’s voted for the conservative slate in the past will usually do so again, without bothering to seriously analyze the rhetoric of all the candidates running. Spenders make decisions to keep spending… savers tend to decide again and again to save. Cautious people take careful actions… risk tolerant people do not.

That’s not to say that logic has no place in decision-making. But logic tends to come later… AFTER the decision-maker has responded to his or her internal triggers. For example, when people are in the market for a house, they’re often attracted to one that “feels right.” Maybe it reminds them of a place where they used to live. Later, when they’re discussing the house with others, they’ll talk about more logical aspects… the great neighborhood, easy access to the highway, a good school system, and so on.

Now, what does this mean for you, the business owner who is in the role of persuader?

Knowledgeable persuaders don’t force persuasion partners into icy water! Skilled business owners don’t demand 300% more energy for decisions by their prospects. They help their prospects make good decisions by learning what they want, doing the heavy thinking for them and then determining how to position the discussion to create an emotional reaction.

Skilled persuaders evaluate which of the seven triggers will apply to another person. Then they carefully frame and deliver a presentation based on those triggers. They use facts and figures only when needed… to support a hot button based decision.

An example: A sales rep recently spoke with a client who boasted that his company was successful because he was able to make and implement decisions quickly. Being well versed in persuasion techniques, this astute sales rep wrapped up her presentation to this CEO by saying, “Charlie, you mentioned that you like to make quick decisions-will that be the case here?” Essentially, the rep set up a prime situation for the consistency trigger to operate. The CEO had to be consistent with his prior statement, and the consistency trigger resulted in a handshake, and a $50,000 profit to the sales rep!

What’s great is that this formula is fundamental. Hit the right hot buttons to engage the prospect’s navigation system for making correct decisions. Use facts, figures, and logic only when needed to reinforce their hot button based decision. And enjoy the end result as you have now emotionally engaged the prospect with a compelling and persuasive reason to buy what you sell.

Once you master persuasion marketing, you will have the unprecedented ability to attract more clients… attract them with greater frequency… at a lower cost… and with total and complete confidence and certainty. That’s the power of laser target marketing.

This is the critical information we teach our clients every day. If you’re ready to learn more about this powerful process, or just need help building your business visit us at www.smallbusinessgrowthclub.com.

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Know the Difference Between “Response Rate” and “Return on Investment”

By Scott Hallman on August 17, 2010

Throughout the ProfitNow system, I continuously emphasize the fact that little changes can produce big results overall. To be sure you find these small changes, it’s important that you know and understand the difference between your prospects response rate and your actual return on investment.

In other words, when you spend money on marketing, how many prospects does that marketing generate, and how much money do you put into your pocket because of that marketing. After all, it doesn’t do you any good to generate a thousand prospects if none of them buy from you.

It’s also worthless if you spend a thousand dollars on marketing and sell just five $100 products that have a gross profit margin of $250. This means you just lost $750. Not a very smart move obviously, and yet we speak with business owners every day that are doing exactly that.

Let me tell you about a real life example involving a real estate agent, and how an “uneducated” agent can lose a lot of money by not knowing the difference between response rate and ROI. I don’t want you to fall into this same costly trap.

Not long ago an agent called us and said he was really disappointed with his marketing results. He told me that he placed home listing informational brochures into tube flyers on the signs outside his sellers homes, and after 2 months had only gotten 1 client from them.

He thought that 1 client was a lousy response rate and that he probably wouldn’t continue this promotion any longer. So we started talking. I asked him how many active listings he currently had. He said 4. I asked him how much he spent to keep those info tubes full with his “property flyers.” He said about $40 on each listing per month.

I asked him how many calls he received all totaled in those months. He said he got over 110 calls, but most of them were lousy leads and basically annoying interruptions.

I asked him how much in GCI (commission) he made from that 1 sale. He said his co-broker commission was about $9,600 on the buyer, but after deducting out expenses and splits, his gross profit was about $5,000.

“OK,” I said, “let’s do some simple math. You spent about $160 a month on 4 listings, which total $320 a month in marketing expenses for those 2 months. You received 110 calls, which means you spent $2.91 for each lead you received ($320/110 = $2.91). Of those 110 calls you actually closed 1 of them into a client – netting you a total of $5,000 in gross profit.”

“Yeah” he said, “but I only got 1 sale from all those leads.”

So I asked him this… “if you went down to your local bank and handed them $320, and 2 months later they handed you a check for $5,000, do you think that would be a good deal for you?”

He said it would be a windfall – an unbelievable return on his money. I said, “then why do you think getting $5,000 for spending $320 on your marketing is such a bad deal?”

He said he expected more. So we talked about what he could start doing to make some slight tweaks and minor adjustments that would motivate more prospects to call and the additional steps he could take to convert those additional calls into more clients.

The point I want to make here is simple. Most business owners look at “response rate” and NOT “return on investment.” I’ve seen them actually stop working on promotions that were working, and shift over to promotions that were duds. Many of them just don’t know the difference.

This is the single biggest reason why you should be measuring the effectiveness of your marketing…so you’ll know the difference between a windfall profit…and a hopeless loss.

This is the critical information we teach our clients every day. If you’re ready to learn more about this powerful process, or just need help building your business visit us at www.smallbusinessgrowthclub.com.

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The Human Fundamentals That Every Business Owner Must Understand

By Scott Hallman on July 30, 2010

For any business owner to become successful today, they must provide their prospects with an experience focused on seven very basic fundamentals. Fail to do this and you will never build the business of your dreams.

Let’s quickly discuss these fundamentals. It’s critical that you commit these to memory and remember them for the rest of your life as a business owner. They’re based on fundamental human nature… and will be as applicable 500 years from now as they were 500 years ago.

Fundamental #1 – Everyone wants the “best deal.”

Your prospects, no matter who they are or what it is they’re buying, always want the best
deal. That doesn’t mean the lowest price… it means the most value for the price they pay. They will gladly pay twice the price… as long as they perceive they’re receiving four times the value when they compare it to the price.

The key words here of course are “perceived value.” So what exactly do prospects value? They value finding the solution to their biggest problem, frustration, fear or concern. And that brings us to…

Fundamental #2 – Always market to the negative.

Never forget that the vast majority of human beings will do anything to avoid pain… but very little to gain pleasure.

One of the biggest mistakes I see business owners make every day is they try to market to the positive… and avoid the negative like the plague. That’s the worst thing they can possibly do. Chiropractors keep trying to market wellness to their prospects. Prospects don’t care about wellness… they care about feeling pain. They care about the fact that they can’t stand up without excruciating pain shooting down their spine. That’s what they will respond to when it comes to marketing.

Prospects don’t want to lose weight in order to feel better and regain their health. They want to lose weight because their doctor told them if they don’t, they won’t live another five years… or they hate the way they look… or the way they’re treated… or the fact that their self-esteem has been damaged.

Show them the solution to these so-called “hot button” issues, and they will buy from you forever.

Fundamental #3 – Prospects buy based on emotion.

This is a big one. Human beings make buying decisions based mostly on emotion. They only use logic to justify their purchase. This ties in directly with marketing to the negative. Prospects either want out of pain or they want to avoid pain, and that resonates with them emotionally.

If you were a child psychologist who specialized in helping parents with emotionally disturbed and out-of-control kids, which of the following headlines in an ad would immediately grab your attention? The one that says “I can help you rediscover the joy and happiness your family deserves?” Or… “Would you like a 5 minute solution that will end the yelling, screaming and belligerent attitude of your child forever?”

That’s kind of a no-brainer, isn’t it? Market to the negative, and make it as emotionally compelling as possible. Hit your prospects squarely in their hot buttons, and you automatically make an emotional connection.

Fundamental #4 – Make your business “unique.”

One of the biggest problems business owners face when trying to make that emotional connection is that different prospects have different hot buttons. That’s why it’s critical that you separate your business from your competition. You must find a way to stand out from the crowd. The best way to do this is to create a “niche” market for your business. That means your business has to stop trying to be everything to everyone.

If you were a left handed, blond haired, blue eyed golfer with a horrendous slice, and you
decided to seek professional help to improve your golf game, who would you call? The professional with the ad in the paper that says I help golfers improve their golf game. Or the pro with the ad that says I help left handed, blond haired, blue eyed golfers with horrendous slices get rid of their slice permanently within 3 days or you don’t pay.

That’s what we call a “niche” market… and you will attract every prospect within that niche because you offer what they WANT… not what they need. When you try to be everything to everyone, you’re nothing to no one. When you select a niche market… a niche based on your passion for what you do, you instantly become “unique,” since your competition is trying to be all things to all people.

Prospects are looking for the expert. They demand the best. Positioning your business into its own niche market positions you as that expert. It’s a concept known as preeminence, and it begins to create value for what you do. And speaking of value…

Fundamental #5 – Create “extraordinary value.”

Have you ever shopped for something and found yourself looking for the lowest price? Ever
wonder why? As we stated earlier, all human beings, no matter who we are or what we do, we all want the best deal. But what is the “best deal?” Is it really the lowest price?

There’s that old saying that you get what you pay for. Would I shock you if I told you that
your prospects could care less about price? They shop price because they’re forced to. Let me explain. What prospects really want is the best “value” for the price they pay. They’re more than willing to pay double the price if they perceive that you’re giving them four times the value. Now they know they’re getting the “best deal.”

So then why does price seem to matter so often? It’s because so few businesses are actually “unique.” They all look the same… and they all say the exact same things. They say things like “we’re the best, we have the lowest prices, the highest quality, the best selection, the most convenient hours and locations and we’ve been in business since 1431 B.C.”

We call these platitudes, and they mean absolutely nothing to your prospects. That’s because everything just mentioned was about the business, and your prospects don’t care one bit about your business. All prospects care about is themselves. They want to know how they will benefit from what you sell. How will their life improve if they purchase your product or service?

If what you sell solves a problem in their life… or if it removes a major frustration, fear or concern, then they see your product or service as “valuable.” Again, we call these problems, frustrations, fears and concerns “hot buttons.”

So after you select your niche market, you must find out what the “hot buttons” are for that niche market. And then ask yourself openly and honestly if your business offers a solution for those hot buttons. If you don’t, you need to “innovate” and create a solution. If
you do offer a solution, is it unique… meaning is it really different from your competition… and does it offer extraordinary value? Or is it the exact same solution your competition offers?

If it is, then you and your competition are doomed to forever compete on price. You must
“innovate” your business to create a unique, extraordinary solution that separates your business from all competitors. You see, there’s no magic involved in selling. All you have to do is find out what your prospects really “want,” and then give it to them.

Prospects love to buy, but they hate to be sold to. When you know and understand exactly what they want, and then you innovate your business to give them what they want, you make your business the obvious choice for them to buy from. They want to buy what you sell, and don’t need to be sold on anything.

Your job as the business owner is to make sure your business offers them exactly what they want, and that means positioning yourself in a niche market, and then innovating your business to give that niche exactly what they’re looking for. That creates “extraordinary value.”

Fundamental #6 – Be able to communicate your uniqueness and extraordinary value.

You must create a highly targeted, laser-focused message aimed specifically at the prospects in your niche market so you can tell them you have exactly what they want. We refer to this message as your Compelling Competitive Advantage™ that gets delivered in an “elevator pitch.” It’s basically a ten to thirty second mini-commercial for your business.
We often refer to this as your “million dollar message.”

That’s what you can make when you get this right. We have had clients in the past that went from five figure annual incomes to six figure monthly incomes within sixty days of developing their highly compelling elevator pitch. But again, that pitch has to highlight the way you overcome their hot buttons in a unique way that offers extraordinary value. When you say your elevator pitch to a prospect, and they respond by saying “how do you do that?” then you know you have a terrific elevator pitch.

Fundamental #7 – Prospects buy what they want… not what they need.

This is another big one to never forget. This one ties back to the fact that prospects buy
based on emotion and they only use logic to justify their purchase. When you “need” something, you’re drawing a logical conclusion. The problem is this. Prospects may or may not buy what they “need”… but they always buy what they “want.” Where needs are
based on logic, “wants” are based on emotion. Here’s an example.

You look at your 3 year old car and notice the tires are almost worn slick. So logically you say to yourself, oh no, I need new tires. Oh heck, they’ll last a few more months. Even though you need new tires, you don’t want them. Why? They’re not cheap to replace… it’s inconvenient for you to take the time to hunt for the best deal on tires… then you have to make an appointment to have them changed, and then there’s the inconvenience of having to have it done while you wait two hours for the work to be completed. In short, it’s a hassle.

Now consider this scenario. You just purchased a brand new car, and as you’re leaving the dealership, you see the same car you just bought with a new style of tire on it that really compliments the car. In fact, it doubles the beauty of the car in YOUR eyes. You “want” those tires.

Even though they’re twice as expensive as the ones you have already purchased… and the hassle factor is the same as the first scenario… you WANT those tires… and so you will have them. The first situation involved logic, and the second situation involved emotion. So never forget that prospects buy what they want… not what they need.

It all goes back to emotion. If you can create marketing messages that hit these major fundamentals, you will absolutely dominate your competition.

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Creating a Compelling Competitive Advantage to Make Your Business “The Logical Choice”

By Scott Hallman on July 27, 2010

Think back 15 years ago. Coffee was a 65-cent item that came in a Styrofoam cup. It tasted like every other cup of coffee everyone else was offering and there was nothing enticing, compelling or appealing about it.

But then someone dared to ask this question: “If I could create the ultimate coffee experience, what would that look like?”

Brilliant question.

And what did that question produce?

Seductive art-deco boutiques… Americano, Cappuccino and Mocha… Baristas in place of clerks or waiters.

And a multi-billion dollar juggernaut industry was born.

Starbucks had a clear vision: make the $2-4 cup of coffee an affordable luxury. Re-invent a commodity and create an extraordinary experience.

Starbucks has successfully created a competitive compelling advantage… and in the process made their business the only logical choice for most people to purchase their morning coffee from.

So stop and think for a moment.

If you could create the ultimate FANTASY about YOUR product, service or business, what would it look like?

When you create a compelling competitive advantage that’s centered around your customer’s ultimate fantasy buying experience, your business literally becomes the middle kingdom between fantasy and reality.

Prospects will read your ads because they pander to that fantasy, and they’ll buy your product as well.

Domino’s Pizza built a billion dollar empire selling lousy tasting pizzas to hungry college kids whose ultimate fantasy was to receive fresh, hot pizza FAST!

Domino’s wasn’t going after the market segment that wanted the best pizza or the segment that wanted atmosphere – it went after the segment that demanded their pizza get to them fast. And through this simple distinction, they revolutionized the pizza industry and became The Logical Choice.

But here is the amazing part.

Domino’s used the exact same cooking equipment and exact same pizza business know-how as everybody else in their industry. Were they the innovators of pizza delivery – NO! Tons of pizzerias delivered… just not fast; therefore the pizza was often cold and the kids were restless when the pizza arrived. Domino’s claimed “Delivery in 30 minutes or less or it’s FREE!” This became their primary advantage that met the needs of their newly defined market position – the busy college kids that wanted food fast.

FedEx let it be known that they could absolutely, positively deliver your package anywhere in the world overnight.

Even dog food is getting in on the act.

Purina now makes a premium line of dog food they named “Canine Creations” and specifically targeted it at the well-to-do dog owner. Their tag line emphasizes their competitive advantage… “Chef Inspired… Dog Desired.”

Do any of these competitive advantages sound familiar?

“The milk chocolate melts in your mouth, not in your hand.”

“It helps build strong bones 12 ways.”

“Get the body you want, in half the time.”

“Discounted diamonds – unmatched quality, untouchable price, unbeatable guarantee.”

Each and every one of these has a compelling competitive advantage.

Just remember that if you can fulfill a fantasy for an exceptional value (NOT low price), who can refuse that?

Your Compelling Competitive Advantage is not a program… but instead, your business philosophy that should direct your entire future marketing and operational program.

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The Truth About Selling “Value”…

By Scott Hallman on July 14, 2010

Recently, I read a wonderful article in Go-To-Market Strategies regarding the topic of selling value versus price. If you have been a Small Business Growth Club member for any period of time, you have undoubtedly heard me say repeatedly that your prospects don’t buy price… they buy value.

That’s why you must first focus on identifying the specific things your ideal client wants… and then looking for ways to innovate your business so you not only give them what they want… you go above and beyond what they were expecting.

All small business owners, at some point in time, are faced with the pressure to negotiate price. This is especially true for those of you who sell, or want to sell at the higher end of your market.

There are many schools of thought about dealing with this common sales objection, but the general consensus is to steer the prospect away from the conversation of price and toward a discussion of VALUE.

But what is value?

Technically, value means “the amount of money or relative worth that is considered to be the fair equivalent for what’s to be received in return.” Should be easy to identify and communicate, right? If it were only that easy. The truth about selling value is that it sounds much easier than it is to actually do.

Why is that? The reason is two-fold:

  1. Value is in the eye of the buyer, not the seller (what you think has value may not have relevant value to the buyer). We see it time and time again. A company believes they have a value proposition that matters to the buyer, but in the end…it’s not enough. What your customer values, and what they’ll pay for it, are often at odds. Don’t get caught in the fallacy that what you’re providing… and at the cost you’re providing it… will be considered “value” by your buyer. We always recommend that you survey your customers and define your value proposition based on what you find.
  2. Buyers assume value is a given…what they really want is VALUE-ADD. When you look at the definition of value again, you can see that this is true. Buyers come to the table assuming that what they’re going to pay for something will be a “fair equivalent” for what they’ll be receiving. What they’re really looking for is a good value. No matter the price point, buyers want to know that what they’re buying is worth more than what they’re paying. As you define your value proposition, look for things you offer that add exclusive yet relevant value, but are included in your price. Make those value-added offerings a tangible part of your messaging!

So, as you begin to develop your “value pitch,” remember these two very important things…your value must be RELEVANT to your buyer… and it must be an EXCLUSIVE (meaning only you offer it) value-ADD.

Innovation at its best…

Let me give you a quick example of this. There is an advertisement I see continuously on TV for LaQuinta Inns. I have stayed at LaQuinta several times in the past and have always found them clean and comfortable. I would rate them in the middle of the road for hotels. They’re better than Motel 6 but not on the same level as a Hilton.

So what are they highlighting in their advertisements? They focus on the fact that they have recently remodeled their sleeping rooms and their lobbies. And guess what? They have COMPLETELY missed the boat. Rooms and lobbies are NOT the hot button issues with travelers. First of all, I EXPECT a nice room when I go to a LaQuinta Inn. In fact, the rooms they show me in their ads actually look tackier than what I remember when I last stayed there. The rooms look exactly like a room in a Motel 6.

As for the lobby, how much time did you spend in the lobby at the last hotel you stayed at? Who cares anything at all about the rooms or the lobby? No one… because they expect both of those to be nice. The key to selling value is to give your prospects what they want and expect so you don’t disappoint… but then “innovate” your business so you blow them off the face of the earth by exceeding what they expect.

If I owned a LaQuinta Inn and my ideal client was a family of four enjoying vacation time, then I know they expect a nice room, clean sheets and towels, probably a swimming pool for the kids and a continental breakfast in the morning. Bu that’s what they EXPECT… so I better make sure I offer all of those.

But what if during check-in, I inform them that they will receive, as part of our service, a 5 minute vacation analysis with our concierge. During the meeting with the parents, the concierge discovers the family is on vacation… and they plan to take the kids to Sea World in San Diego, Disneyland in Anaheim and Universal Studios in Hollywood.

What if the concierge handed them discounted tickets to each of the parks, discounted meal coupons at restaurants close by all of those parks, provided them with free passes to a live filming of one of the kids favorite TV shows and then handed them a Garmin GPS locator to make sure they never get lost during their adventure?

And all of this is complimentary. Think they might “notice” this service? Think they might just mention this to friends, family, relatives, acquaintances and business associates when they return home? Think the local newspaper, radio and TV stations “might” be interested in doing a local news spot on this hotel offering this remarkable “standard” service?

Now, you might be asking what all of this would cost LaQuinta. All of the discount coupons are provided by the parks. Same thing for the meal discounts from the restaurants. The ONLY cost LaQuinta would incur would be to purchase the Garmin GPS locators for a hundred bucks… and they would last for years.

By the way, what if the hotel created a special “vacation package” that included all of these services and discounts? Think they could charge an additional 20% per day for the room rate… and get it all day long? You wouldn’t be able to book the demand for this hotel fast enough.

See what I mean by “value?”

It truly is in the eye of the beholder. That’s why we encourage you to focus on ways you can “innovate” your business. If you massively innovate your business, marketing becomes easy. The value becomes so apparent all you have to do is just mention it without worrying about fancy words or magic phrases. Try it and see if it works for your business. I guarantee you won’t be sorry.

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Double Profits –The Power of 5

By Scott Hallman on June 24, 2010

As you know, a central focus at www.SmallBusinessGrowthClub.com is OPTIMIZATION.

As we continue the theme for this month on the importance of a Meaningful Conversation, I thought it would be valuable to give you an advance view of where we are going to take you, via these tips, over the next few months.

You see, getting more Meaningful Conversations absolutely will increase your revenue and profit… predictably. But that is just the start.

The Boring Way To Riches™

By identifying, and then making seemingly small improvements to each step in the sales process, you can DRAMATICALLY increase revenue and profits. 2010 is just around the corner and focusing your efforts on this powerful process, that we call Leveraging Your Success™, is the fastest, safest and perhaps most effective way to generate added profits.

Leveraging Your Success is a program I developed for coaching clients a few years ago in order to help them make improvements in what was already working. Check out how these small changes can literally DOUBLE your revenue.

The Power of 5

A 5% increase in just a few steps in the mkt’g/sales process
  Success
Driver System

      
  Current

   New

 5%
Increase
Leads
10000
  
10500
5%
Meaningful
Conv
1500
 15%
1654
15.75%
Appointments
Set
250
 20%
347
21.00%
Appointment
Show
200
 80%
292
84.00%
Client
Conversion
40
 25%
77

26.25%
Average
Sale
$1,000
   $1,050  
Total
$40,000
   $80,406  
Increase in revenue 100%
©2009 SmallBusinessGrowthClub.com

Note that these are not 5% increases out of 100%…i.e. 10% being increased to 15%, but instead 5% increase to the current conversion rates i.e. 10% being increased to 10.5%.

In the coming few months, I will be building upon the tactics and strategies for helping you make improvements in each of these areas.

Members can simply click here to instantly access the 4 part Leverage Your Success Series to start implementing this powerful Optimization tool.

Not a member? Check us out at www.SmallBusinessGrowthClub.com where we show every member how to pay for their membership fees, and much more, from profits they add to their business.

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Is Your Compelling Offer Actually Alienating Your Prospects?

By Scott Hallman on June 21, 2010

Last year when the government was offering its highly touted “cash for clunkers program,” I heard a commercial on the radio for an auto dealership that really brought home a major problem I see small business owners making every day. The car dealer was berating the governments program… saying that by the time the majority of people got qualified and completed the mountain of paperwork needed to complete the transaction, the money allocated for the program would be gone.

The dealer then went on to proclaim that any customer buying from them didn’t need to worry about this situation at their dealership. Instead, they would instantly discount all of their new cars by the same amount the government was offering, so come on in and buy from us today… no hassle, no problems, simple and easy.

Yeah right… if ONLY! Is there anyone remotely alive today that actually believes this garbage? Now granted, this dealer isn’t lying… they will indeed give you the same amount the government is promising… but the way they do it is to discount the car that amount from the “sticker price,” which we all know is already over-inflated by close to that exact same amount they’re offering.

Unfortunately, most people show up expecting this wonderful discount and then realize they are more or less being exposed to a “bait and switch” routine. Ahhh, the auto industry. Is it any wonder why most people would rather go to the dentist for a root canal than visit a dealer showroom?

Are You Making This Same Mistake?

My point is this. Are you doing something similar in your business… perhaps without even realizing it? Do you promise your customers excellent customer service? Most businesses do, don’t they? And then when you try to call them, you get a nightmare handed to you as you try to navigate through a maze of voicemail messages that never mention the problem you’re calling in with… and never allows you the option of speaking to a live human being. Excellent customer service???

What about your offers? Every business no matter what you sell should have at least one compelling offer. So what are many businesses using to entice prospects to “give them a try?”

They offer them a 30 day “free trial for $1.” This allows them to capture your credit card number and billing information. Then at the end of the free trial, they will “automatically” provide you with their product or service on a monthly basis, and charge your credit card automatically so there’s “no hassle” for you whatsoever. And of course, you can “cancel” anytime between enrolling and the thirty day trial period.

That’s a very compelling offer for someone truly interested and qualified in buying what you sell. Unqualified prospects (those who either don’t really want you sell, or can’t afford what you sell) will never take you up on this type of offer. Even for a buck, they simply won’t take their time knowing they aren’t really interested. Good! That’s what this type of offer is designed to do… “pre-qualify” a serious prospect and eliminate the unqualified ones so they don’t eat up your precious time, energy and effort.

So what’s the problem with this type of offer?

Nothing, except for one thing. How many of these offers have you personally subscribed to lately? If you have, did you ever try to “cancel” your trial before the thirty days expired? Good luck!

Many of these types of offers become your worst nightmare when you try to “opt out” of the service. They either make it next to impossible to locate the proper way to unsubscribe by “hiding” it on a landing page smothered in articles and information (think fine print)… or they require you to complete pages of paperwork before they accept the cancellation.

Although these unscrupulous practices are now starting to diminish, the reason for that involves the fact that so many “web shoppers” have had this happen to them, so they no longer subscribe to these types of offers. If you’re using this type of offer for your business, now you know why your “opt in rate” is lower month to month, and will probably continue to decline in the future.

Look over your business processes carefully and see if you spot any deficiencies that may be creating a roadblock stopping your customers from buying what you sell… or interacting with your business in an enjoyable way. In today’s economy, it can mean the difference between surviving… and thriving.

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Taking a “Success Inventory” To Discover Hidden Profits in Your Business

By Scott Hallman on February 5, 2010

Today I am going to share with you the first step in dramatically improving the results of everything you ALREADY do well – marketing campaigns, sales processes, lead generation techniques, upsells, referrals, collections, inventory management and so on.

I am talking about adding 5%, 10% or even 20% improvements to things like increasing your sales conversion rates by 20% or shaving 10% off the time it takes to perform key tasks.

Perhaps the best part is that none of these incredible added streams of profit will cost you a dime to implement, and you will meet little or no resistance from your staff, and only praise from your customers.

Often I see businesses get so focused on fixing things or scrambling for new business that they make the painful mistake of ignoring the procedures and systems that are the key to their success. But the fact is that these very systems are the easiest to improve and see instantaneous, measurable results.

Finding EASY Profits

The first step of the four part series we call “Leveraging Your Success” is to take a “Success Inventory”. This involves taking an inventory of everything that is working well in your company — marketing campaigns, sales processes, lead generation techniques, upsells, referrals, collections, inventory management and so on. Then evaluating your current procedures (whether in writing or not) to spot opportunities for improvement:

WOW! Scott that is a real revelation &.well, yes. It is. And you will be amazed what simple breakthroughs you will make by spending just a few minutes on this process. In working with thousands of companies, less than 2% have done this process (and only 4 have done all four steps of the Leverage Your Success System).

Let me use a real-life example to illustrate the power of this simple process. A Physical Therapy client produces thousands of dollars in profit every month by cross-selling a medical device to their patients. Basically the process involved asking the patient, at the conclusion of treatment, if they wanted to purchase the piece of equipment that required a medical necessity and prescription from the patient’s attending physician, and a pre-approval from the insurance company.

We revisited the undocumented “success best practice” and broke down the process. As we did this, we identified several simple ways to dramatically improved results — pre-approval was done day one. We streamlined the process and increased conversion rates by 27%. The important distinction here is that there was tons of improvement potential on something that was all ready super successful.

There are two areas to quickly spot improvements:

1) Systemization

This is where you have a process that works well but it is not being done consistently – essentially because you do not have written procedures to follow or a mechanism to measure and monitor outcomes.

Systemization also includes techniques or procedures that are being left to individuals to do “their own way” instead of modeling the best way. In these cases, you will experience tremendous variance in performance — as was the case between Negotiator A and B.

2) Process Improvement

Process improvements include procedures that are relatively systematic but where there is clearly an opportunity to improve certain elements or steps in the process that will make a measurable difference. This is often the fastest way to increase profits. After all, you have a documented procedure. Your staff follows the procedure and is getting results. Therefore, you can easily make changes (test) that often produce profound results.

What are some successful procedures where you can improve one or more elements that will incrementally improve results? Write down 2-3 tasks and then evaluate the process to spot easy improvements.

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Do You Have a “Compelling Competitive Advantage” Over Your Competitors?

By Scott Hallman on January 22, 2010

How to Survive (and Thrive) in a Wal-Mart Dominated World.

With Wal-Mart, Costco and several national chains now getting into traditional small business services, the need to create a strong competitive niche is greater than ever.

And I am not just talking about a new business that wants to decide how they should be positioned to effectively compete. EVERY business must continuously modify their positioning to remain competitive in this turbo-rapidly changing business environment.
In coaching clients in over 200 industries around the world, here are the six situations I find companies in on a regular basis & which defines you best?

Leverage Off Current Compelling Advantages — these are successful businesses that are going slower than desired and/or facing pricing pressures and have an opportunity to greatly increase their business, and potentially own their industry, with the proper repositioning based on what benefits they already provide to clients.

Maxed Out — these are businesses that are primarily one-person shows that must step back and determine how they take their business to the next level. If the success of the business relies just on their talents, they are going to have a tough road to pave.

Need to Reinvent the Business — these are businesses that either are in an industry where profits have eroded or worse, their product or service has become obsolete. Did I hear “China”? or yes, Wal-Mart?

No Established Industry Need — these are businesses that are struggling to sell to an industry that doesn’t perceive the need for, and therefore the value, of the product or service. One could say “ethanol (corn fuel) was there before the rise in oil and the big push to become “green”.

Commodity Business — these are businesses that are in commodity type industries where everybody appears the same and price becomes the main competing method. Unfortunately, there is always some “ignorant” competitor that sells at non-sustainable margins & until they go under (often taking good companies with them).

Communicating Your Message — these are companies with strong products or services that are unique but the message needs to be repackaged so the target audience perceives the value.

Each of these requires that the business first reevaluate their positioning in the market and then build a systematic marketing/sales process to communicate this message effectively, and a supporting business structure to ensure that they can deliver on the new promise.

Know where your business is perceived to be in the market. If you are struggling with selling your product or service, finding your Compelling Competitive Advantage” is the first place to start.

It’s ALL about implementation! So focus on your Compelling Competitive Advantages and prosper.

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The Power of a Meaningful Conversation

By Scott Hallman on November 12, 2009

One thing I hear often from business owners is that they can generate business IF they can just get in front of the prospect or at least have a “meaningful conversation” with them, they can close business. The key word here is “IF”.

This month’s Implementation Master Interview is with John Carlton, one of the top copywriters in the world (more on him in a separate email). John will share several strategies, and tactics, for getting these meaningful conversations with your prospects.

A Meaningful Conversation is one where you get the opportunity to learn about the prospects needs and share your benefits… in contrast with a quick call where you get the chance to tell what you sell and they say, “not interested”. This can happen via a one on one call or meeting; or by getting the prospect to watch your video or listen to your teleseminar; or even getting them to read your detailed copy. The key again is to have them get clear on what your product or service does for them and how it can benefit them.

In our Sequential Marketing training www.smallbusinessgrowthclub.com/public/236.cfm we teach the process of using your Compelling Competitive Advantage™ (USP) to quickly demonstrate superior value. The tool we utilize is a “7 Minute Assessment”. The premise of this tool is to request a small, precise amount of a prospect’s time in order to provide a measureable value (they get value from the call), and to demonstrate how your product can benefit them.

In doing this you breakdown the objection of “time” (just 7 minutes versus 30+), of being “sold” (you are not selling but instead establishing value), and value for their time (you are sharing 1-2 valuable pieces of information with them).

In this challenging economy, where competition is fierce, finding a way to stand out and differentiate yourself is key… and the 7 Minute Assessment is a great tool to achieve this outcome.

I will be building on this month’s theme of getting “Meaningful Conversations” with your prospects each week. In the meantime, think about how you can shorten your sales approach using a “7 Minute Assessment” or introduction, or demonstration.

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