Mistake #1 - Not testing all of your marketing ideas.
Corollary: Test all your marketing.
Kathy’s comments: Most people shudder at the thought of this because it means they have to do more work upfront and take more time to get it executed. However, a test is far worth the effort and can save loads of money in the long run. Better to only spend money on a small sample, than to dump all of your money on the whole lot and find out it didn’t work.

Mistake #2 - Running Institutional Advertising.
Corollary: Run Only Direct Response Advertising
Kathy’s comments: This is something many businesses do all too often. It’s great if you are Nike or Coca-Cola or Apple but not when you are a small business or practice with limited funds to spend. All advertising needs to generate a response. there needs to be a call to action and a deadline. Always.

Mistake #3 - Not articulating and differentiating your Business.
Corollary: Develop a powerful USP and use it in all your marketing.
Kathy’s comments: This is actually bigger than it sounds. Many businesses think that everyone or most everyone is their customer or patient. Reality is though, after asking a few pointed questions, that the scope of clients can be narrowed down in most businesses and practices. This is where many businesses miss out because their marketing message instead of being focused on exactly who their client or patient is, is instead diluted to the masses.

Mistake #4 - Not having back-end product or service.
Corollary: Create a profitable and systematic back end.
Kathy’s comments: Sometimes this is hard for businesses to conceive of if they aren’t already doing business this way. A little brainstorming session could yield several ideas. Jay has many stories of how he helped businesses create back-end and in many cases the back-end was bigger than initial front-end.

Mistake #5 - Not understanding your client and their needs and desires
Corollary: Always determine and address the real needs of your clients and prospects.

Mistake #6 - You must ‘educate’ your way out of business problems…you can’t just cut the price.
Corollary: Always recognize that you must educate your client as a part of the marketing and sales process.
Kathy’s comments: It really boils down to the value and the results you provide in alignment with the client’s needs. The more value and results you provide, the more money people are willing to pay for it.

Mistake #7 - Not making doing business with your company easy, appealing and fun.
Corollary: Make doing business with your business easy, appealing and fun.

Mistake #8 - Not telling your clients the “Reason Why.”
Corollary: Always tell your client the “reason why.”
Kathy’s comments: I would say as an aside to this that the reason why should be based on a “deep” need the client/patient has. Not just what they say they are looking for. Their real reason usually is much deeper than what they tell you. An example would be a patient with a broken tooth. They may say they want to fix that tooth so they will look better and be able to smile again but the deeper reason is to get rid of the feeling of inadequacy and lack of confidence they are experiencing by having the broken tooth.

Mistake #9 - Terminating marketing campaigns that are still working.
Corollary: Don’t stop marketing campaigns that are still working just because you are tired of them.
Kathy’s comments: Or in other words, you are NOT your client or patient. I have to tell clients this a lot.

Mistake #10 - Not specifically targeting your marketing.
Corollary: When you prepare your marketing, focus on the intended prospect and no one else.
Kathy’s comments: This goes hand in hand with Mistake #3.

Mistake #11 - Not capturing prospect & addresses, email addresses as well as pertinent contact information.
Corollary: Capture everything on a prospect or client that you can in an organized, retrievable system.
Kathy’s comments: Goes on more often than you might think and it kind of amazes me. When all is said and done, your business boils down to your client/patient database. Without that, you don’t have a business.

Mistake #12 - Not being strategic.
Corollary: Always having a strategy which tactical actions and methods are integrated into.
Kathy’s comments: Again, too many business do shotgun approach marketing and shockingly it doesn’t work very well. Marketing power comes from integrating all the pieces parts.

Mistake #13 - Not having a marketing or sales system.
Corollary: Have a marketing and sales system in place and refine it continuously. Using letter/call/letter call or email/letter/call strategies.
Kathy’s comments: I love this one! This is the beat of my drum… call me for help with this!

Mistake #14 - Not taking advantage and integrating the Internet into every aspect of you marketing and sales efforts.
Corollary: Integrating the Internet into all your Marketing and sales activities.

Mistake #15 - In sales situations, shooting from the hip.
Corollary: Constantly using and refining a sales script.
Kathy’s comments: Who hasn’t heard or seen sales presentations like this??? Waste of time for both the client and the salesperson.

Mistake #16 - Being stuck doing “what works.”
Corollary: Always be willing to change.

Mistake #17 - Not reinvesting your profits.
Corollary: Always parlay your success and momentum into greater achievement.
Kathy’s comments: The best return on investment you can make hands down is in your own business. Not the stock market, bank or real estate has ever shown returns you can get when you invest in your business. Many practices and businesses treat marketing as an expense. It is an investment and should be measured like an investment, showing ROI.

Mistake #18 - Not knowing and leveraging the lifetime value of a client.
Corollary: Always understand the lifetime value of your clients.
Kathy’s comments: Sometimes this can be hard to figure out, especially if your business has several different segments. Once you know this dollar amount, it makes decisions on marketing spend much easier to make.

Mistake #19 - Not maximizing your assets, relationships, opportunities, resources, etc.
Corollary: Always explore and maximize your resources, assets and opportunities.
Kathy’s comments: Jay goes into a lot of detail about this in many of the books and articles I’ve read.

Mistake #20 - Treating marketing and sales as operational “silos.”
Corollary: Do your best to integrate marketing components into all your operational and backend processes.

One of the biggest mistakes a company can make when starting a blog is the lack of a strategy. It is important to make a list of the goals you want to achieve before taking on this task. An often common goal of businesses that blog is to showcase expertise and build credibility for the company. Developing relationships with patients or clients is also a common goal. Generating feedback from your clients gives you opportunity to also show them another side of your business.

When creating a blog there are a few things you need to keep in mind to ensure efficiency. Understanding the definition of your audience, value of keywords and linking, and your means of distribution are all important factors that will lead to successful blog.

Define Your Audience

Readers of your blog usually have one objective, and that is to gain useful information. Understanding the information that your audience values will help determine what type of content you create. The forms of media content also depend on your audience. Knowing when to use certain media such as pictures, audio, or video all depend on the audience. Once you define your audience, you can then understand their knowledge base and create content accordingly. This helps with differentiation of content and will set you a part from other companies.

Value of Keywords

To generate awareness of your organization’s message your blog must be easily found. Search engines are the number one way customers seek information on the Internet. Strategically placing keywords is a great way to show up in search engines. Placing important keywords in the title and a few times in the body of your post is the perfect amount, because you want to avoid over optimizing and what is known as “keyword stuffing”. Google doesn’t like that.

Value of Linking

Another means for search engine optimization is providing links. Not only do search engines look for keywords, but also how linked you are to other sites. The more external sites link to your blog or website, then the more credibility you gain with the search engines. So when mentioning other organizations connect a link and they may eventually return the favor. Internal links on your blog are also extremely valuable. Linking to previous posts also help your search engine optimization and it recommends related posts to your audience.

Means of Distribution

Your blog really serves no purpose if no one can find it. Now linking and keywords will help you get found via search engines, but ultimately you need to promote your blog yourself. The use of your social media sites are an excellent way to distribute your blog content your loyal following. Your email signature can be used as well to highlight a blog post and provide a link.

If not, it could be the difference between an increase or a loss in revenue.

Consider this scenario-

You are looking to purchase two exact items. The only difference between them is that one states a 30-day, no questions asked return and the other does not. Which product would you choose?
Of course, the one that removed all of the buying risk from you.

Now the other product could very well have had a guarantee of similar nature but unless it is made known, it is virtually of no value to the client or you. Therefore it is critical your clients are made aware of your guarantees.

Offering risk reversal or a guarantee can be nothing but a reward to a business and this is especially true when you are selling a high ticket item where the decision to buy is much more involved both financially and emotionally. But even if what you offer is not in that category, there is still a huge benefit here. Buyers are ever more discriminating these days. They want more now than what they used to accept in the past and offering a guarantee and making sure your prospects know about it can only advance the sale in your direction.

I’m sure many of you have signed up for free trials because there was no risk involved. You knew that if you weren’t satisfied in any way you could return it for a full refund. Often times it was because there was no risk that you decided to try it. There was no pressure and no real thought involved in the purchase decision. This is what everyone is looking for when they buy something. They want to be assured they made the right decision. When you can make them feel completely comfortable and confident that purchasing from you is no risk on their part, you will easily improve your chances of getting their business.

Think about breaking away from the conventional approaches you have been taking in the many different areas in your business.

Recently, I saw a clever sign at a Dairy Queen. It read:

Happy Hour
50% off drinks
2pm-4pm

A few instructive things here.

One, they borrowed a very common business practice of restaurants and bars. Happy Hour is not something typically done at a fast food restaurant so it is attention getting in this arena.

Two, they are doing it at a time of day that is most likely their slowest and least revenue generating. Their soda fountain isn’t getting much use at this time. Hence, if they can make 50% it’s better than 0 and since soft drinks are a very profitable product, it’s a good chance they’re still making money.

Three, they have the potential to get add-on sales by simple suggestion at the drive-thru window.

All in all, this has to be a winner for them.

So how can you cultivate breakthrough ideas in your business? Here are some things you can do to uncover the hidden potential that lies in your business-

• Look at innovative, successful and profitable things that are going on in other businesses and devise a plan to implement them in yours. If it was successful for them, it can be successful for you too with some tweaking. There is a wealth of new perspectives and ideas by being observant.
• Ask yourself how you can take something you do that is mundane and make it fresh and more exciting for your customer. This will help you to outperform your competition and dominant your market.
• Continually ask, “How can we make this new, better, and different?” Not just for the sake of doing so but to improve the overall experience for the customer.
• Take what others see as problems and obstacles and work on what can be done to turn them into opportunities.

Your objective in all this breakthrough brainstorming is to create more value for your customers. Value is where it is at these days. People are more discriminating than ever and any additional value you can create will definitely return to you in increased sales and profits.

Besides the basics of speaking clearly, using a pleasant tone of voice, keeping slang out of your vocabulary, and keeping food out of your mouth while talking, there are two other items equally, if not more important.

One of the biggest items is allowing the caller to make their initial inquiry. Many times when I am standing at a reception desk and the phone rings, because the person is taking care of me, they instantly put the caller on hold. It goes something like this, “Thank you for calling Dr. Jones Dental, will you hold?” Now I can see that the phone rang and that the person needs to answer it, but the caller can’t see that I am standing at the reception desk. Who do you think should take priority?

This very scenario happened to me a couple of weeks ago but I was on the calling end. The woman answered the phone and immediately put me on hold. It really irritates me when this happens, especially if I am asking a simple, one answer question. If they would have just let me ask my question, the phone call would have terminated in 2 seconds. All I wanted to know was how late they were open. Instead, she put me on hold. As I was on hold for what seemed like an eternity, (probably two minutes) I was able to go online, find their website and locate their hours of operation. I hung up. I’m sure she either felt bad about getting back on the line and finding it dead or she was thankful I was gone since it appeared to me that I was interrupting her anyway.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, there is the long-winded, I-have-nothing-to-do-all-day caller. These people consume your receptionist’s time and prevents her or him from being of service to other callers and clients or patients in your place of business. Calls such as these need to be handled very tactfully. You don’t want to make the caller feel like they are a nuisance or that they are not important to your business.

The best way to handle this call would be to be sure the phone operator has answered the reason for their call by asking, “Is there anything else I might be able to help you with?” Be sure the tone of voice is helpful and courteous and not condescending.

If business with the caller appears to be finished and they are talking about personal things such as vacations or their children, it’s good to engage somewhat with the caller but when there is a pause in the conversation, politely let them know you have another call waiting or a client to attend to.

Sometimes pointing out other ways they can interact with you such as a website, email, fax, etc. can help to alleviate bottlenecks on the phone.

But if you associate with eagles, you will learn how to soar to great heights. A mirror reflects a man’s face, but what he is really like is shown by the kind of friends he chooses. The simple but true fact of life is that you become like those with whom you closely associate for the good and the bad.

The less you associate with some people, the more your life will improve. Any time you tolerate mediocrity in others, it increases your mediocrity. An important attribute in successful people is their impatience with negative thinking and negative acting people.

As you grow, your associates will change. Some of your friends will not want you to go on. They will want you to stay where they are. Friends that don’t help you climb will want you to crawl. Your friends will stretch your vision not choke your dream. Those that don’t increase you will eventually decrease you.

Consider this:

Never receive counsel from unproductive people.

Never discuss your problems with someone incapable of contributing to the solution, because those who never succeed themselves are always first to tell you how.

Not everyone has a right to speak into your life.

You are certain to get the worst of the bargain when you exchange ideas with the wrong person.

Don’t follow anyones who’s not going anywhere.

With some people you spend an evening; with other you invest it.

Be careful where you stop to inquire for directions along the road of life.

Wise is the person who fortifies his life with the right friendships.

Choose to rise…

Don’t settle…and go for your dreams!!!!

Author Unknown

Rapport Tip #2 – Listen?
The greatest communication skill you can have requires no speaking, but intense listening. Listening requires your undivided attention and proper eye contact. When you really listen it will allow you to learn your client’s likes and dislikes, and pick up on certain behaviors or preferences. Try asking open-ended questions to find out what they think about certain topics. This shows that you value their opinion as well as it helps you learn more about their personality.

Rapport Tip #3 – Be Genuine
In the business environment it may be difficult to always be yourself. It is very important to show class and be professional when dealing with your clients, but you don’t want to do this to the point of being stiff and not Authentic. The best way to make your clients comfortable is to have that perfect balance of professionalism and your genuine personality. Ask them about their interests.

Rapport Tip #4 – Go The Extra Mile?
Nothing builds a quality client relationship then going the extra mile. It shows your dedication to your profession and instills in your patient or client a sense of loyalty. There are many ways to achieve this. You can go the extra mile by completing the project well before a deadline, throwing a little something extra they weren’t expecting or staying well under budget, sending birthday cards or taking a client out to lunch.

This type of image or brand awareness advertising is a major “no-no” for small business and practices. Marketing budgets in small companies do not allow for this luxury. But many small businesses do exactly this. They copy what they see the big boys doing, either knowingly, thinking this is way to advertise, or unknowingly.

I know first hand that tracking is not being done in most small business and practices. It’s one of the first things we find out about when we start working with a client. Not having this information makes our job a bit harder in the beginning, but once the business owner has these valuable stats, there is no turning back.

Marketing is an investment, not an expense like many business owners think. It needs to be treated like an investment. You wouldn’t give money to your broker and not expect some type of return, as well as regular reporting of how your investment is fairing in the marketplace. It should be the same with your marketing spend.

Each marketing activity needs to produce. If it is not producing, it needs to be eliminated. If you do not know if a certain marketing vehicle is producing or not, you are wasting huge amounts of money. If you “think” it’s working, that’s not good enough. You need to know exactly what you spend, what you get from that spend, and be able to calculate the return on investment.

If you are not tracking your advertising spend, the only real outcome you can expect to happen is that you will quit advertising. As the speaker of a marketing event said (and I have heard this before), “The best investment with the greatest rate of return is in marketing your business.” No other investment vehicle out there can do better.

What common trait do these companies share?

Systems.

If you don’t have systems in place you will spend your time reacting to everything on a constant basis and consume much time and energy.

Does your company have a marketing system in place to follow?
Marketing systems can be the most valuable of all systems.

Consider having a system in place for each of these steps to a sale.

Lead Generation
Presentations
Sales Process
Post Sale Follow Up

Having systems will leave no question as to what to do next. If everyone follows the same system it will improve communication, customer satisfaction and customer retention.

No. But a lot of people think a lack of response means people are not interested.

There are many reasons why people don’t respond to an offer.

Consider these-

1. They were out of town.
2. They have a lot of reading material in a pile and haven’t been able to get to it.
3. They didn’t see the offer.
4. They just don’t know your company well enough.
5. They are not sure they trust your company.
6. They are looking for more information or have questions.
7. They are not interested at this particular time.
8. Their budget is already spent for the month.
9. What you are offering does not appeal to them at this moment.
10. They didn’t understand what you are offering.
11. They are swamped with other more important matters.
12. Your offer was poorly designed.
13. Your offer was not strong enough.
The list could go on and on.

The point is to keep following up time and again with a variety of offerings and give them every opportunity to become your customer.