Are you using plain, nondescriptive words on your website and marketing materials? Words that everyone else is using? If so, you might be falling into the copy dead zone.
I learned a technique as a magazine writer. As an exercise, we wrote a sentence or paragraph using ordinary words, as in this example:
If you have ever been to a networking group, you were probably asked to stand and give your “elevator pitch” to the group. Members are trained in how to present who they are, what they do, and the benefits of their product or service in 30 seconds or less, or the time it would take to travel in an elevator from floor to floor (which is why it’s called an elevator pitch).
Even if you don’t network, you will constantly be asked, “So, what do you do?” It will happen at family gatherings, parties, social events…pretty much anyplace people gather.
Therefore, you need to be prepared with an elevator speech. It doesn’t have to be canned, but it does need to outline the basics that not only tell what you do, but inspire the listener to ask more. Here are some simply steps to developing your perfect pitch. Continue reading →
Many an entrepreneur has started a business from home. You might recognize some of the more famous names: Jeff Bezos (Amazon.com), Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak (Apple), Sergey Brin and Larry Page (Google), and Walt Disney (Disney). These men all started their companies from their garages.
In 2013, Small Business Trends reported that 69% of startup and 59% of established businesses were home-based. Even more interesting, the 2012 Global Entrepreneurship Monitor report stated that more than half of U.S. entrepreneurs continued to operate their businesses from home long after they had been established.
There is no stigma in stating that your business is run from home. In fact, there are many smart reasons to continue doing it Continue reading →
It’s time for a website audit.
I can’t believe how many websites I see that are just plain awful.
Egads! Are people turning away from your site because they get a bad impression from it?
When’s the last time you changed or updated your copy? One year? Two years? Ten years? Continue reading →
On Thursday, April 16, 2015 Linda Barrett led a teleseminar on “The Art of Closing the Sale,” for the members of the Association of Image Consultants International (AICI).
In the seminar, Linda gave tips and techniques to closing the sale, covering topics including:
Linda Barrett offers one-on-one and group sales coaching designed to help business owners and salespeople overcome their fears of selling or rejection, set systems into place, increase their sale price, and close more business. Contact All the Buzz for more information or for a copy of our tips sheet titled, “The Art of Closing the Sale: 22 Big Mistakes Salespeople Make.”
Preferred Customer Communication Channels, MarketingSherpa
Business owners may say that they aren’t using direct mail any more, but statistics show that customers want to receive it. Direct mail isn’t dead after all. Following email as the first choice in receiving business communications, direct mail showed a very strong presence.
In a recent study released by MarketingSherpa, 2,057 adults were asked how they would prefer companies to communicate with them. Their top two responses were:
When speaking with your clients, let them know what you CAN do, not what you can’t do.This positive attitude can make all the difference in a positive outcome.
In The Freelancer’s Bible, Sara Horowitz compares the “I can’t” statement to the “I can” statement. Here are a few examples:
Girl Scouts’ Thin Mint Cookies
If you are in the Northern Virginia area, good news! Girl Scout cookies are on sale this weekend! To find out where you can purchase them, go to the Girl Scout website and on the top of the page under “Find Cookies,” enter your zip code.
Other than sparking my desire for Thin Mints, this news got me thinking about my own sales success as a Girl Scout, and how we all can learn a little bit about marketing from these junior saleswomen. Continue reading →
According to the Content Marketing Institute/MarketingProfs research,
over 90% of all marketers use content marketing in some way.
If you’re not using content marketing, you should be. Here is a graphic of the most popular tactics of B2B content that you should find helpful when defining your content marketing strategy. (Detailed below).
Want to know what’s hot for 2014? Read on…
Large sites such as Buzzfeed and Facebook report that 50% of their traffic now comes from Continue reading →
