The other day I was asked:
Should I continue to promote my business when I am already incredibly busy and have too much work on?
And I answered with a resounding YES.
Why? Because you need to have your wits about you at all times in business. So when you’re coasting downhill and everything is going like a dream, remember things can change very quickly and you could soon be looking at a totally different landscape.
That’s why you should always be filling your well – YES… even though it’s not empty.
After all, there’s worse problems to have than too much work,
isn’t there?
Or too many people at your shop.
Or too many clients if you’re a bookkeeper or solicitor.
Or too many retailers and wholesalers buying from you if you’re a distributor.
You see, most businesses make this mistake:
I received a call from a guy in the United States a few months
ago, and he was desperate for me to work with him because
business had quietened down.
2 days later, all of a sudden, he received a new job. And decided he
didn’t need to be concerned about promoting his business any longer.
I can tell you right now that this guy is in for one heck of a
rollercoaster ride. Up and down like a never-ending yo-yo.
The key to a stable business is to never stop marketing. Always
promote your business. And be consistent about it.
There’s another reason for this as well.
If you’ve got too much work on, this enables you to lift your
prices because it doesn’t matter whether or not you end up landing the job. (and you’ll
probably find your calm – rather than desperate - attitude increases your conversion rate too) You can push yourself to manage the additional work-flow through setting up additional systems in order to generate
leads. And take your business to the next level.
So how do you achieve all this?
It’s easy. If you’ve got an advertisement (or a sales letter, flyer or any other kind of promotion) which works for you, then keep running it week in and week out.
If you’re really busy, always remember that when the job finishes,
you’ll be sitting around wondering what happened if there’s nothing else lined up.
And make sure you put aside some time everyday to market your business. That’s the key to your longevity and success.
In Anthony Robbins program called the ‘Rapid Planning Method’ he
talks about a space called ‘the zone.’
Basically, when you’re in the zone you are focusing on the
things which are important but not urgent.
Most of us spend our time in the urgent and important. Or the
not urgent, not important. Or the urgent and important.
However the key to business growth and stability is to spend a
some time each day on the not urgent… but important
activities. And for most of us, that is marketing, promotion and advertising.
Scott Bywater is a professional direct mail and direct response copywriter, and the author of Cash Flow Advertising. To receive a complimentary copy of his exclusive report ‘7 Ways To Boost Your Turnover… No Matter What The Economy’ (valued at $29.95) hop along to his web site at: http://www.copywritingthatsells.com.au
Recently, on the suggestion of my wife and a friend of hers I
was ‘dragged along’ to a Michael Buble concert.
Well, actually… I bought the tickets. But only because I love my
wife so much – and knew she’d be thrilled.
Anyway, the concert was scheduled for a Saturday night on the
forecourt of the Sydney Opera House. But it was as windy as
Wellington that night and so the event got cancelled.
So after dinner we left and scheduled to come back the next
night to see if we had better luck.
Thankfully, we did.
I say thankfully because I learnt a few lessons that night. The
master of jazz is not only a great musician… he’s also an
incredible communicator, and has a solid understanding of human
psychology. (could this be one of the reasons he’s achieved the
heights of success?)
Here’s what he did.
1 .He opened up the concert by addressing the guys. And saying…
“Men. I bet when you found out the concert was cancelled last
night, you breathed a sigh of relief and thought… thank god.
After all, when you see me on my album, you probably think ‘What
a smuck.’ I know I would!
What’s the psychology behind this? Firstly, he went straight for
the jugular as to what people were thinking. He knows his target
audience is female (they go wild over him) and he knows the guys
are coming along for the ride.
The majority of guys aren’t that into him. And in fact, many of
us men are probably jealous he gets so much damned attention
from the ladies.
He also realises some people are a tad upset over the fact the
concert was cancelled.
In short… he brought the objections up to the surface and
handled them immediately.
And you need to do the same in your ads and sales letters.
Here’s an example of something I wrote in a sales letter to immediately answer people’s objections about the property market (which at the time was seen as something to keep away from).
—
Notice how everywhere you turn today… the media keeps hollering
at you:
“The property bubble is over”
“You can’t make money from property anymore”
“Interest rates are going to go through the roof”
Give up. Don’t invest now. Hold off… we keep being told. Yet in
some areas the prices continue to rise. Like in… (then I listed
areas where property has risen)
—
And here’s another way of dealing with people’s objections
upfront…
—
“I know what you’re thinking. You think I’m a stark, raving
lunatic when I say…. (whatever claim you are making).
Well, before you have me strapped into a straight jacket and
dragged to the nearest funny farm, think about this…
—
So take a lesson from the king of Jazz… and think about what’s
going on in the back of people’s mind when they read you ad or
sales letter. Then answer that objection upfront.
If you’re a mechanic… they’re probably worried you’re going to
rip them off and overcharge them.
If you’re a pest controller, they’re probably wondering if
you’re environmentally friendly. And if the toxins will damage
their pets and plants.
—
Can you see how powerful this principle is? Can you see at
one of the reasons Michel Buble has risen to the top…
when someone of equal musical skill would have remained
a brilliant but virtually unkown performer?
I don’t know about you, but my experience tells me that
our ability to get our message across has more to do with
creating wealth and success than anything else – no matter what industry you’re in.
What do you think?
Scott Bywater is a professional direct mail and direct response copywriter, and the author of Cash Flow Advertising. To receive a complimentary copy of his exclusive report ‘7 Ways To Boost Your Turnover… No Matter What The Economy’ (valued at $29.95) hop along to his web site at: http://www.copywritingthatsells.com.au
Let me ask you a very important question:
Why do people buy a newspaper or magazine? To read the articles,
right? Well, then doesn’t it make sense that if you want your ad
to get read, then…
YOU SHOULD DO EVERYTHING POSSIBLE TO AVOID IT LOOKING LIKE AN AD
And make it camouflage in with the newspaper’s articles as
closely as possible.
So how do you do that?
1. Read the headlines of the publication you are considering
advertising in.
2. Model your style on the way they write their articles.
3. Use the same typeface the newspaper or magazine uses.
So why would this work better than something which looks like an
ad? Simple. Advertorials work so well because of the way people
disbelieve ads… but tend to believe what journalists communicate
within their articles.
Try it next time… and test it out for yourself.
Scott Bywater is a professional direct mail and direct response copywriter, and the author of Cash Flow Advertising. To receive a complimentary copy of his exclusive report ‘7 Ways To Boost Your Turnover… No Matter What The Economy’ (valued at $29.95) hop along to his web site at: http://www.copywritingthatsells.com.au
