Go ahead, take a few minutes today and look at every marketing message you are putting out…

Ask yourself:
Am I providing my reader, viewer and listener the proof and credibility that what I’m saying is indeed true?

How many times have you seen an ad on TV and said to yourself “Yea. Right. Sure it is?”

Let’s face it… we are all slammed with so many marketing messages a day, that we stop believing most of them.

So how do make your marketing messages more believable?

Start by take a closer look at the benefits of what you are selling.

Think about all the ways you can prove your benefits actually exist.
Ask yourself:
•    What are the strongest “Reasons Why” anyone should believe they’ll get what I promise?
•    How much more specific can I be?
•    What solid proof have I offered showing what I claim it true?
•    Have I begun to think about how I can strengthen my guarantees?
•    Is there a way to demonstrate your product/service in action?
•    Can you get a celebrity endorsement?

Answer these questions and apply these ideas to what you are selling and you are well on your way to providing the proof people need to believe your benefits will deliver.

“No way of thinking or doing, however ancient, can be trusted without proof.”
-Henry David Thoreau

Quick Bonus Marketing Tip:

Thousands of marketing experts say that it costs 5 to 6 times more to win a new client than it does to retain an existing one.  What about your company? Is it true for you too?

Yet, most companies spend a small portion of their sales and marketing budget on client relationship management.

Take a moment and think about how much more profit you could generate by deepening your existing client relationships?

Rather than finding ways to get your sales people to “make 20 unqualified appointments this week,” instead, think about the easiest way to building stronger relationships.

Think about all the way you can say “Thank You.” All the ways you can show that you appreciate their business and enjoy the relationship you have.

Here are a few simple ways to get you started.
1. Send a hand written thank you card or note.
2. Drop off a small gift.
3. Bring a flower to the gatekeeper you’re trying to get past.
4. Take your client to breakfast or lunch to talk about ways to improve profits in the coming year.
5. Hold a customer appreciation party.
6. Have your CEO write a personal letter of thanks.

Now go out and give thanks. Show your appreciation.
It feels great and is sure reduces your client attrition rate.

Everyone loves to know they are appreciated.

The right gift lets your clients know that their friendship and business is important to you and helps cement your relationship.

The best client gift takes your client’s personal interests into account and impresses him with your thoughtfulness and sincerity.

While giving client gifts during the holidays is popular, you’ll find that clients appreciate them any time of year.

Give your clients gifts any chance you can get. Birthdays. Holidays. Important events in their lives. They will be remembered for a long, long, long, long, long time.

Silent gratitude isn’t much use to anyone.
G.B. Stern

Be creative, A box of chocolates, a magazine subscription, Tickets to the movies.

How about a gift certificate to Starbucks, Home Depot or Office Max
But, here’s my rub about giving gift certificates to specific businesses…
why aim your client to spend their money at a business of your choice? Let them choose.

Here are a few Gift Ideas:
•    Custom made gifts
•    Gift certificates to events or services you know for sure that  they would enjoy
•    Send edible enjoyment: cookies, cakes, cheeses presented with class
•    Flowers, on Monday so they last all week or living plants that sometimes last for years
•    Books or magazine subscriptions relating to interests or hobbies

Warning: Be sure to look into the gift-giving policies of your clients’ companies before sending along your present.

Sadly, some companies have a “no gift” policy for their employees, and it could lead to an embarrassing situation if they must refuse your gift for this reason.

Now, how will you thanks your clients for their friendship and business?

Simply ask your friends, business associates, clients, members of your family, etc., “Who do you know who could help me with (Fill in the blank here).”

Start thinking about all of the people who could help you to achieve your goals (you do have written goals, don’t you?), realize your dreams, and help you to become more successful.

Ask everyone you know to give you an introduction to someone who might help you to reach your goals.

Twenty percent of the people you know will introduce you to individuals who can help you without even having to ask the person you know for an introduction.

Sixty percent will give introductions to you after you
ask them.

Twenty percent will never help you, no matter how many times that you ask them.

“You can’t help someone uphill without getting closer to the top yourself.”
- Unknown

It’s been said that you are never further then three people away from being introduced to the person who can help you.

Keep this in mind:  NEVER ask for help from someone who doesn’t know more than you do.

About a year ago, I wanted to interview the president of a local fortune 500 company in Detroit. I was looking for help putting together these secrets (he did know more than I did).

I started asking everyone I knew if they could suggest anyone who could introduce me to him. After about two weeks, I got a call from one of my clients, who said that his brother-in-law worked for that company.”

I called the brother-in-law, who turned out to be a vice president of the company. This gentleman said that he would speak with the president about the possibility of  interview with him to talk about his marketing efforts. The following week, I received a call from the president, he inviting me to come in and interview him for this guide.

It doesn’t always work so smoothly, but you never know. You have to keep trying!

What problems do you need solved?

Who will you ask for help?

Photo provided courtesy of J.D. Hillberry www.jdhillberry.com

We’ll in my humble opinion; the loneliest number in business is the number “one.”

When you have only one client, one product, one source of income or only one of anything, you are leaving yourself or your business vulnerable to any changes that might occur in your industry or in the general economy.

“Put all your eggs in the one basket and – WATCH THAT BASKET.”
- Mark Twain

Many stockbrokers made “big money” during the “dot-com” boom of the “Roaring 90s and more so during the latest stock run up before the bottom fell out.” They are hurting now because the stock market crashed and many investors moved their money out of the market into safer investments or took a big hit in their 401k’s.

Up until recently, mortgage brokers were enjoying a very profitable times, brought about because of the low interest rates and many other factors we’ve all seen in the media. Many of these brokers should be looking for new products, services or ideas to sell, because as we all know, things never remain the same.

Very few businesses can survive selling only one product/service.

The only one that I can think of is Lego.

How many of your product lines or services can be expanded?

Ask, what do people need before, during and after they make a purchase from you?

Can you think of anything you may offer to help fulfill those needs?

What can you do to offer more choices to your clients and add additional streams of revenue and profit to your business?

The speed with which you make a personal, business, or marketing can be the difference between success and failure.

Often, it doesn’t matter what the decision that you make actually is as long as you decide something.

The more quickly that you make a decision, the sooner that you can get on to the next item.

Because nothing happens until something moves.

Now, and I think you’ll agree. It is far better to make a wrong decision and then fix it than it is to make no decision at all. You can learn from your mistakes, but you can’t learn if you don’t act. To quote Ross Perot, “Ready, Fire! Aim

In many instances, it takes a lot less time and effort to correct a wrong decision than it takes to analyze and procrastinate before making the original decision.

Think of yourself as a guided missile speeding toward your target, making the required adjustments as you go but always moving forward.

“Sometimes when you innovate, you make mistakes.
It is best to admit them quickly, and get on with improving
your other innovations.”
- Steve Jobs

When you learn to make decisions quickly you gain momentum.

Each quick decision adds additional momentum to your success flywheel. You will find that the more the flywheel gains momentum, the less effort that it takes to reach your ultimate goal.

I delayed making some important decisions while I was put these secrets together, only to become very frustrated when I calculated the lost opportunities that I may have left on the table.

Taking too much time to write “97 Marketing Secrets To Make More Money” cost me a lot of money. I should have acted more quickly. Nobody’s perfect. We all make mistakes at one time or another.

However, it is important that we move forward, learn from our mistakes, and try again with something else.

What decisions do you need to make right now?

If YES, then keep reading. These seven plus secret questions must be answered before you create your next marketing campaign.

If you would like a fresh set of eyes to take a look at your past, present or future marketing efforts, call me at 248-335-8080 or go to www.SMART-Marketing-Review.com and sign up to avoid the 7 fatal mistakes that WILL kill your marketing.

A Few More Tips, Tricks, Techniques,
Tidbit And Marketing Secrets That
Promise To Save You Time And Money
The following secrets are not in any order.
Each is valuable on it own or combined with other secrets.
I highly recommend that you combine these ideas in different ways.
Why? Because when combined you multiply their strength.

• Provide high level proof that what you are promising will be delivered. Credible third-party testimony that you deliver on your promises. Free trails, free samples are other forms of proof.
• Ask your future clients for a “Yes” or “No” answer. Either is OK. There is nothing worse then a TIO (Think it over), because you are the only one thinking about it. Your future client has moved on.
• Actions, not just words determine success.
• Admit your shortcomings. Everyone knows that nothing is or can be perfect. You product and services have flaws. you know what they are. If you don’t, ask you customers what they are. Being 100% honest about your defects builds credibility and can also separate you from the competition (I promise your competitors would be to embarrassed to admit they are not perfect).
• Keep learning
• Start each day with the 5 most important marketing things that will help you reach your goals. An do them no matter what.
• Money comes to those who move fast.

Now, which of these secrets ideas rang the bell for you.
Which ones did you write notes “To Do?
Add them to your “Do Next” list.
And do them.
Using these secrets will separate the sheep from the goats.

Now, promise yourself that you will use these marketing secrets.

Scout’s Honor!

Because, you know that if you keep marketing the way you always marketed, you’ll keep getting the results you’ve always gotten.

To Your Success
Sandy Barris
President – Business Marketing Services
248-335-8080 Read the rest of this entry »

In the stock market?

Capital equipment?
Gold?

Real estate?
Treasure Chest In the Attic?
Collectibles?
Or, are they invested back into the marketing of your business?

Yes, this is a personal question!

From childhood, we are told not to talk about money with strangers. However, everyone’s goal in investing is to return a profit.

You need to look at your marketing efforts as if they are long-term investments, similar to the other types of investments listed above, because they are.

Like many other long-term investment vehicles, an ongoing marketing strategy usually produces slow, steady returns.

As with other long-term investments, sometimes there is a loss along the way in marketing. However, there also are times when a marketing campaign can produce an instant and fantastic return on your investment.

Like with many other investments, at the end of the year you will know that you spent X amount of dollars on your investment in marketing and received Y amount of dollars in sales and profits.

“Invest in yourself – if you have confidence in yourself.”
- William Feather

You should try to calculate the exact return on your marketing.

Each piece of your marketing strategy involves time, effort, energy, and, in most cases, an investment of actual money.

Do not look at your marketing dollars as a business expense similar to utilities, office rent, or other fixed costs.

Rather, you should view them as an investment in the future success of your business.

The success of your marketing is something that can be measured directly.

Another thing that separates your marketing costs from most of your other business expenses is that you have complete control of the amount that you invest into your marketing program. The amount of time and money that you budget for your marketing programs can be expanded or cut back in response to how well or how poorly your marketing efforts produce the sales or profits that you expect.

It’s nice to know that you have the options of investing more into your marketing program when you discover a winning promotion or investing a limited amount during the testing of a new advertisement.

“Invest heavily in yourself.”
-Unknown

After discovering a winning marketing effort—a profitable success— you can invest more time and money into it safely, knowing that each time you invest X dollars you will earn Y dollars in profits.

One of the best investment decisions that you can make as a business owner is to re-invest in your own business.

How are you investing your profits?