· Your Prospects: Everybody’s Talkin at Them
No one can hear when everyone is talking. So when everyone talks, no one can hear, and everyone stops listening.
1. Don’t talk when everyone else is. Advertise where your competitors do not, so that your message differs from what people are hearing
2. Say little. A single point penetrates. A lot said will loose people’s attention and you will sound like everyone else.
3. Speak visually. We cannot hear words but we notice images, especially appealing ones.
4. Make each word count. If people learn that your communications rarely say anything, they will stop listening, even when you do have something to say.
To be heard you must say something different, simple, and visual.
· The Rise of Images
Because words have lost their value, a business looking to grow should turn to two weapons: Actions and Images.
Actions – Actions always speak louder than words
Images – You must sell the client without words. How would you dress when you meet them?
Never mind words. How do you act and look?
· Placebo Effect
People experience what they want to experience and see what they expect to see. Our challenge in marketing, especially the invisibles, is to shape these expectations. We need to manage the placebo effects. Do you create the expectation that you will be skilled, reliable, and trustworthy? Does your business card? Does your advertising distinguish you? What does your briefcase say?
Study everything that can affect people’s perception of quality, and make each one excellent.
· Snap Judgments
The first seconds are make-or-break. Rehearse them, and ask others to help you prepare for them: the right dress, the right materials, the right watch, the right message. The first second shapes every second, and month that follows. Master the first seconds.
· Simplify Everything
Customer retention will be higher and they will be more motivated to take action when they understand. A confused customer won’t take action.
· What Your Prospects Know
What do people know about companies whose names only appear in mailboxes? Companies that send them junk mail because they throw your advertisement in the trash. Companies that advertise often and well become familiar to their products (GEICO, State Farm Insurance, Fidelity, and more). Advertising comforts prospect, they assume the company must be at least good. Warm your direct mail, and all your other marketing efforts. Advertise.
· A Word on Word of Mouth
Though word of mouth advertisement is still the one of the form of advertising we like, we can’t rely strictly on word of mouth. We want our clients to rave to others about what we do, but people do rave as often as they used to. Today’s clients race from work, then rush for four more days. When they get the time to reflect, they have forgotten their good experience with you because they are overloaded. Do not forget about conventional advertising has become even more important. The best advertising is advertising.
· Your Shortcut to Luck
Publish. Anything can happen. Publish for a magazine, newspaper, or even create a blog. You will never know you will read it, and he or she may like it.
· Getting Publicity: The Giant Hole
“The media is a black hole that cannot get enough stuff to suck through it” said Mark Pincus, co-founder of Freeloader. This was his reason why you will find it surprisingly easy to get your articles published. The media needs you.
· 4 Rules for Getting Yourself Ink
1. Demonstrate respect for the editor by studying the magazine, determining their goals, and writing a query letter that reveals your study and understanding.
2. Do not pitch weak ideas as strong ones. You always want the editors to think, “he always has good ideas worth looking into.”
3. You are not selling a story. You are selling happy readers, people who will enjoy your story and think better of the publication.
4. Don’t only thank the editor; thank his/her staff for their valuable help.
Before contacting an editor, review these steps.
· Clichés
Clichés make prospects think you have nothing to say, or that you are being deceptive. For example “a commitment to excellence.” It implies we aren’t there yet, and if the firm is excellent, it would say that. No clichés.
Source: “What Clients Love. A field Guide to Growing Your Business” by Harry Beckwith
