Inspiration a la Ned Flanders

Taking a slight break from marketing to enjoy a rare snow day here in the Northeast. School is closed. So how do you turn those little frowns upside down? Make a mug of Ned Flanders Cocoa for the rug rats… Read more

Free International Prepaid SIM Cards

Ten thousand lucky podcast listeners are being offered the chance to start saving up to 85% on their cell phone calls when calling home from outside the United States, for free!

A pay as you go SIM card can help you stick to a budget to reduce the risk of unexpected high cell phone bills. If you have an unlocked mobile phone that’s compatible with a network in the country you are traveling to, you simply swap out your cell phone’s original SIM card and use the prepaid SIM card to make calls back to the U.S. When you return home, put the original SIM card back into your cell phone and hang on to the prepaid SIM card until you travel again.

Prepaid SIM cards are a great benefit for those who travel overseas and need to call back to the U.S. to stay in touch with family and loved ones. Examples:

• Business travelers
• Vacation travelers
• Members of the military
• Parents give to sons/daughters studying abroad
• Volunteer workers

Perhaps it’s right for you. Learn more about this offer:

• GO-SIM Offer Page
• GO-SIM and podcast network RawVoice: Press Release

Full disclosure: I’m helping the marketing team with this promotion. It’s a legitimate offer and one that will benefit people in a variety of situations.

Subject Matter Experts or Intimidating Puss Faces?

Sears has a long way to go to convince me that they’re the place to go for advice on home electronics. Quite franky the only thing I ever buy from them is a Craftsman screw driver or socket wrench every 5 years. So when I started seeing these “Blue Crew” ads, I really have to wonder why should I talk to intimidating looking puss face employees?

Shouldn’t they be warm and inviting and give me a sense of confidence? Shouldn’t they make me feel comfortable talking to an enthusiastic and knowledgeable floor staff who can demystify some of the techo-babble? Instead (in my opinion) they appear angry, condescending and don’t want to be bothered.

First impressions count. Whether you’re the size of Sears or a solo-preneur, your business needs to make a good impression from the top all the way down to the front lines.

So when was the last time you observed how your customer facing employees present themselves to prospects and customers? Not lately? Then why not conduct some secret observations to check how your business comes across to those who want to do business with you? Make some some blind calls or inquires through the website. Evaluate common points:

• Time to respond
• Enthusiasm
• Knowledgeable
• Attentiveness
• Was your problem solved to your satisfaction?

Document it. Share the results (and your expectations) with your staff. Then do it again next month.

What else would you suggest?

A Professional Email Account Adds Credibility

Notice to all “Professional” Service Providers, Executive Recruiters, etc. that contact me… I do not take you seriously if you contact me with your @aol.com, @gmail.com, @hotmail.com, @comcast.com, @verizon.net, etc. accounts.

I don’t care if you have the most amazing offer, you’ve place doubt in my mind about your credibility as a real business. So I delete your messages, unopened.

Why? Simply put, I don’t have the time. Nor do many others like me.

Here’s what you need to do:

• If you managed to register a domain name and build a website, there’s no excuse for you not to have an email address with that same domain name.
• Contact your registrar for help.
• Search for do-it-yourself solutions like Google Apps and follow the instructions.
• Hire a consultant who can have you up and running in a few hours.

Your professional email address is an extension of your personal and business brand. While it is one minor piece of your overall marketing effort, it’s part of your first contact with a prospect. Get it right and reduce one more barrier to a great conversation.

Thoughts?

HSCS-010 – 9 Cheap and Easy Ways to Energize Your Marketing

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (13.4MB)

There’s lots of opportunity to light a fire under your marketing efforts for the rest of the year as you plan for 2010. Here are 9 tips for 09/09/2009.

1. Get in sync.
   Lay all your promotional materials out in front of you — business card, fliers, mailers, website, online ads — and take a good, long, hard look at them. Do they make sense? Is it confusing? Do they look consistent?
2. Develop some interesting stories that tell how you helped clients succeed.
   Sounds better than tooting your own horn.
3. Play to your strengths.
   If 90% of your business is selling a particular service, then lead with that message instead of confusing prospects with a menu of services. Get your foot in the door before you cross-sell.
4. Experiment with something you are uncomfortable with.
   You might be surprised how you may connect with new prospects.
5. Get out and meet new people.
   I’m shocked at how many people I invite to networking events will not come, ever.
   You can’t afford not to!
6. Smile and dial.
   Dust off all those business cards you’ve collected and reconnect with those business contacts.
7. Become news worthy.
   Share an *interesting* human interest story that the Media might pick up on.
8. Build your Linkedin and Facebook contacts.
   Strive for quality, not quantity. Regularly let your contacts know what you’re doing. Ask for introductions, testimonials and opinions. Treat them as an advisory panel.
9. Spy on the competition.
   Okay, maybe that sounds a bit sneaky. But you should know what your successful competitors are doing right.
10. BONUS TIP: Hire a consultant.
    Seriously, find someone who can either do the work for you or teach you what you need to know to do it in-house. If you can’t afford it, suggest bartering for services.

Okay I know someone will say, what, why didn’t you include Social Media in the list. Truthfully, for newbies, I only advocate investing time in Linkedin and Facebook. Over time, as comfort level and experience increase, then there’s plenty of opportunities (e.g. Twitter) to experiment with and add to the marketing mix.

Thanks for listening/reading!

What do you suggest?

Read more

How Healthcare Systems Waste Money

It’s outrageous. People are losing jobs. Families are losing homes and health insurance. Yet this healthcare company is sending out 100 page coffee table books. Read more

How Clients De-value Expertise

I always try to establish myself as a “marketing partner.” I can’t stand being referred to as a “vendor.” It takes a lot of effort to move that perception of value in the minds of some people.

This parody video just made me sick to my stomach…. because it’s spot on. I’ve heard every one of these excuses so many times during my career. It’s incredibly frustrating and demoralizing how some people undervalue the expertise of others.

• “I want the highlights. But can only pay for the trim.”
• “I don’t want you to work for free. It’s just a test. You can roll the cost over next time.”
• “I’m not making any money either. You gotta work with me.”
• “We’ll make it up on the next one.”
• “I can cover your hard costs. But that’s as far as I can go.”
• “We need you to show us how you make it so we can do it in-house next time.”

My advice is to stick firmly to your position and don’t give it all away. Sure there are times you may want to barter or there could be some tangible benefit. But there’s no reason to be bullied into giving your skills away especially to someone who obviously has no respect for you.

What are your thoughts? How do you combat this behavior in your day-to-day business relationships?

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