Drayton Bird

Sometimes you read a blog, in this case from Drayton Bird one of the world’s most successful copywriters, and you know there is no way you can improve upon it. Yet the message is so topical and relevant. And so I asked Drayton if he didn’t mind me reproducing his words in their entirety for today’s Blick Blog. Before you are tempted to part with large or small sums of money from the many gurus floating around cyberspace, contemplate this message. Thank you Drayton.

Why are you struggling?

“As you may have noticed, I take perverse pleasure in reading the emails sent by the sundry charlatans who inhabit cyberspace.

A great many start with questions like the first at the top, and answer them with an easy solution and an appealing offer.

These solutions often have these things in common:

a) You won’t have to work hard to become whatever it is – an instant guru, an acclaimed author, a sought-after public speaker, a brilliant copywriter, or whatever your brain tells you is clearly impossible, but you would like to believe is not.

b) The money will be incredibly good and you won’t have to wait too long for it to arrive.

c) It is all achievable because this guy did it. Here is the touching tale of how he climbed from trailer park to mansion in months – and how you can too. Sometimes there is more than one guy, and maybe the guy is a lady.

d) You don’t believe me? Come and watch this free webinar/interview/whatever.

e) Wow! My webinar/interview/whatever was “awesome”. I was blown away. Far more people attended than I expected. Many enjoyed orgasms of pleasure. But I’m worried that you missed it, so here’s another chance. But it won’t be around for long, because I’m taking it down, so act now

If you don’t recognise all these signs of a scam, there’s another pretty good one.

It is when you get variations of the same message from lots of people, most of whom make money not by running a business but by selling off vacant lots in Promiseland to gullible mooncalves.”

Please share your thoughts too.

“To think creatively, we must be able to look afresh at what we normally take for granted” George Keller

I bumped into a friend in the supermarket yesterday and what started out as a gentle conversation rapidly turned into a marketing session. My friend has bought a franchise and has been following the franchisor’s blueprint to the letter, investing huge amounts of time implementing the franchisor’s prospecting process. The problem is it’s not working. The franchisor’s marketing blueprint has remained unchanged in the last few years and herein lies the problem. What I’m increasingly finding as a marketer when I speak to small businesses and franchisors is that the marketing plans that served you so very well several years ago are insufficient now.

Why?

Well in the current climate especially ,although money is still available, businesses have to invest more targeted energy to find prospects; wooing them along the continuum of behaviour – awareness, interest, evaluation, desire and, ‘kerching!’, action. You cannot assume that the sales prospecting model that was good to go last year will be just as successful this year. For example, this particular franchisor’s tried and now rusted model is predicated on leafleting and cold calling; the logic being that the businesses of the first few franchisees were successfully built in the early years  on these two marketing tactics alone.

Chatting to my friend I could see that a more personal approach was needed with her marketing, underpinned by some training in how to make successful cold calls without appearing pushy. Cold calling most definitely does work but most people need training in how to make those calls, and in how to use social media to locate prospects and build a mutually beneficial two-way relationship before the telephone is picked up.

You may need to push well and truly out of your marketing comfort zone in 2012 and embrace tools and tactics that you’ve previously ignored. It’s not just about investing inordinate amounts of time on doing what you’ve always done. It’s about looking at your prospects with a fresh pair of eyes and being willing to make subtle or dramatic changes as required.

What do you plan on doing differently this year with your marketing?

• Did you grow your customer base last year and if so how?
• Did you increase your sales last year and if so by how much?
• Did you improve your products or services? What prompted this?
• Did your sales fall? Why was this? Did you take your foot off the pedal, were market conditions against you or did you do well to generate the sales that you did achieve?
• Did you put marketing at the heart of your business or did you stay in your marketing comfort zone?
• How much did you spend on marketing and how much of this spend actually delivered?
• If you had to summarise your business performance in a few sentences what would you say?

It’s a good idea to look back at what you’ve achieved with your business and how you achieved it before steaming ahead into the next year with your to-do list. This is your marketing audit, an opportunity for you to weed out those marketing activities and tactics that did not serve you well and to refocus on generating sales with the right customers. With your marketing audit under your belt, it’s then time to look forwards, to establish your marketing plan for 2012. But nothing is set in stone. Your marketing plans can change and change dramatically as new unanticipated opportunities unfold.

If you can address the following you’re off to a good start.

1. Assuming I want to retain my existing customers, how will I build on their loyalty this year so they want to stay with me?
2. If I am planning on growing my customer base this year, who am I going to communicate with and why? Where will I find them and what are the initial messages and the products and services that will captivate them sufficiently to build a dialogue?
3. If I am going to continue with my present offering, do I need to improve it? Would a little competitor research kick start my improvement programme? Should I be talking to existing customers and finding out what else I can deliver?
4. What marketing opportunities am I currently shrinking away from or unaware of? How can I become more marketing savvy?

I wish you much success and happiness in 2012.

PS: By the way if you want to grow your business dramatically this year through powerful sales letters, adverts, newsletters and web copy, there are just 2 places left on my copywriting boot camp. You can find out more by following this link: BootCamp

'Humph! I go the extra mile and then get moaned at!'

You can make any customer ripe for defection by delivering a lacklustre, insincere or unhelpful service. Unwittingly you are sowing the seeds of discontent in their subconscious mind.  When approached by a competitor, although not completely dissatisfied with you they will still be open to considering their offering.  Of course, the oppositecan also be true.  If you can consistently go the extra mile for customers, you are sowing the seeds of contentment and gaining advocates that will lead to a pipeline of referrals.  It doesn’t take much to delight your customers.  Use the simple but effective +1 model that I have shared in customer service training over many years.

Delight your customer:  delight  = expectation plus 1

+ 1 more contact

+ 1 moment of thoughtfulness

+ 1 extra minute of your time

+ 1 check to see all is ok

The +1 effect leads to the WOW factor

Wow – that’s great

Wow – that’s what I call service

Wow – that was thoughtful

Wow – I didn’t expect that!

The best +1 factors meet the following criteria

They’re instantly noticed and valued by customers and prospects

They’re quick and easy

They cost little or nothing

They are implemented on a consistent basis not just when you are in a good mood

They are genuine, delivered in good spirit

 Are you delighting your customers now, and if so how?

Rudeness is the weak man's imitation of strength. Eric Hoffer (1902 - 1983)

“You have absolutely no interest in me and you’re not even bothered about concealing this fact.” I’m sure that you have attended many networking events and after giving it your all in the rapport building department with a fellow business networker you’ve walked away with that conclusion under your belt. But should you walk away or should you actually confront such rudeness? I found myself in this situation a few weeks ago and I would love to know how you would have handled the situation had you been in my position.

Here’s what happened…

I was introduced to a person at a networking event and as he seemed a little reluctant to engage in conversation, I began the process, asking him what he did, even discovering we had some common ground which I mentioned in a bid to stimulate a two-way conversation. What happened? After asking several questions and showing an interest in him only to be rewarded with monosyllabic responses and absolutely no interest whatsoever in me, I decided to let the silence hang in the air. What did he do? He saw it as an opportunity to whip out his mobile phone, check his messages and to add to this ignominy, to compose text messages.

To say that I was absolutely shocked and horrified by this behaviour is an understatement. But instead of saying something to him, I simply walked away, smarting and quite outraged.

You see, I don’t understand the point of attending networking events if you are not going to build relationships and generally be open to the hardly spectacular concept of being professional, friendly and sociable – maybe, maybe even meeting people that you can help instead of the other way round. Okay, not everyone that you meet is going to float your boat and there will be some events where you will walk away with nothing other than a nice feeling at meeting new people, or a feeling of frustration that this event was a waste of your time.  But if you’re going to make the effort to turn up to an event, surely it’s incumbent on you to make the effort to be present, professional and have a smattering of good manners  with the people you meet. If that seems a bridge too far, don’t bother.

What would you have done in my position?

I suspect I was a chicken for not confronting this person…

'I need to review my client list'

I can remember having a conversation a few years ago with the franchisor of a successful  franchise. He explained to me that his franchisee recruitment policy had changed dramatically over the years. When he started his franchise, with no franchisees on the books and a whole raft of costs to recoup, his franchisee selection process was roomy and expansive! If the potential franchisee had the funds and was keen to start, he was more than happy to sell them a franchise. Fast forward several years and the new franchisee recruitment process is much more stringent, including psychometric profiling and several tiers of interviews; the net result being that many potential franchisees are turned down.

 Why the change?

To be brutally frank, like many business owners, the franchisor did not have the luxury in the early days of being overly selective in his selection process. And whilst this worked to some degree, there were casualties along the way – franchisees that could not cut the mustard despite their keenness. With more franchisees joining the business and significant inroads being made into recovering his initial outlay, the franchisor could become more selective. This was also imperative if he was to recruit only those franchisees that he knew were likely to make it.

When you started your business were you happy to supply your products or services to anyone and everyone within earshot? But with your confidence and success growing are you now at a crossroads? Is it time to make a few judgement calls, to gently prune your client base of those clients that are costing you an inordinate amount of time and energy for very little remuneration?

Because the time spent servicing these clients  is time that you could invest in targeted marketing to attract your ideal clients.

'The bad news is that our customers hate us. The good news is that we have far fewer of them.'

Sometimes it leaves you with a sinking feeling and you just want to ignore it… other times you feel like standing in the middle of a bustling networking event announcing the glowing accolades. Yes, customer feedback can generate these intensely contrasting emotions. But the fact is that if you want to grow and prosper through continually improving and enhancing your customers’ experience, you need to listen to it. You won’t achieve anything by sticking your fingers in your ears.

You must ask your customers for their feedback on what you are offering, how you are delivering your offering, what they love about your service, and the improvements they would like to see.

It’s easy to trundle along in business repeating yesterday’s actions today; to assume all is well because you’re not seeing any signs to the contrary. You may hear the odd note of disapproval but instead of finding out if it’s the tip of the iceberg, you dismiss it as an isolated problem – probably the customer’s fault anyway. In other words, you have started to become complacent and in doing so have fallen into the dangerous trap of taking customer loyalty for granted.

The inescapable fact is that most customers, especially British customers, do not like to complain unless they are really pushed to do so. They are likely to put up with a high level of dissatisfaction before making any noise about it. But those customers that are not actually complaining yet are nevertheless unhappy in some way with your service, are entering an extremely dangerous zone. They are becoming ‘ripe for defection’.

This means that they will continue using you, but only until a more customer focused competitor comes along. Then they’ll pack their bags and leave you, and you’ll be left none the wiser as to why they stopped using you because they never voiced their dissatisfaction in the first place.

Don’t let it get to this stage.

Be bold and fearless! Whip up a simple survey and ask your customers to rate your services, your products and your customer service. Are you consistent in your delivery of a first-class customer experience? Consistency is at the heart of building a successful customer focused brand.

But do you know what?

If you have been doing your job properly, your customer survey will reveal an abundance of positive feedback. And in amongst the lavish superlatives will be  constructive nuggets that you can use to improve your customer’s experience of your business even further.

'I don't want to pester. He'll ring back in his own time.'

During a conversation with one of my clients recently I was curious to find out what he thought were the reasons behind his many business successes.  Interestingly, (but not unsurprisingly given he is a bullish Yorkshire man), he conceded that tenacity – not giving up until the miracle happens – combined with an unswerving belief in his service are what fuels his success. He illustrated this with a case study of a second meeting he had managed to secure with a prominent membership organisation in order to hammer out the nuts and bolts of a contract.

After being introduced to the chairman of the membership organisation via e-mail, an initial meeting was arranged with my client.  But after this meeting, everything went quiet. His e-mails were unanswered and it was only at the 15th telephone call that he managed to secure the vital planning meeting to convert those promising conversations into a contractual agreement.

What was his secret for success? He did not give up.

It would have been too easy to consign the project to the backburner or, after making several phone calls, to wait for the chairman to ring him. But my client has been around the business block for many years and knows that unless the other person’s need is urgent, that phone call could be a long time coming.

Of course, there may come a time when the sheer volume of unanswered phone calls and ignored e-mails leads you to the conclusion that brinkmanship is your final strategy. You have to ask the elusive person that you’re hoping to clinch a deal with whether it’s worth carrying on. Are they interested but too busy to contemplate or just too polite to tell you to go away?  Where do you stand?

Reassuringly you may find that when you get to this stage and ask this question that it results in a positive response. So don’t give up too readily; don’t become disheartened too easily. It’s not that people don’t want you, that they don’t have a need for what you offer. It’s often the case that there’s an army of people vying for their attention and budget. Only give up when you’re convinced you’ve gone as far as you can go and it’s just not worth going any further.

Remember, failure takes the path of least persistence.

I would love to read your experiences on this subject and what successes you have enjoyed as a rightful reward for your talent and persistence.

'No way am I leaving my comfort zone.'

Something I talk frequently about is the need to push out of our marketing comfort zones.

What do I mean by this?

Well, in the last 20 odd years I have spoken to thousands of small business owners and invariably once we’re in conversation, I like to find out how they market their business; what works for them, what less so. What often comes across loud and clear is that the business owner has fallen into a comfortable but often unproductive regime with their marketing. They enjoy networking for example and so they place all their marketing eggs in the networking basket. When times are tough, they simply step up the networking and when they are awash with work  their enthusiasm to polish up their elevator statement and practice their sparkling rapport building skills diminishes along with their networking attendance.

When I press said business owners further on why they have not tried other marketing activities such as telephone cold calling, PR, direct mail and social networking, you can bet that most of the responses will be along the following lines:

“I don’t like telephone cold calling.”

“I don’t have the time to write press releases and wouldn’t know where to start.”

“Nobody reads letters anymore do they?”

“I am baffled by social networking.”

As opposed to: “I have tried and tested these marketing channels and can tell you conclusively they are ineffective in leading me to my target audiences.” (The right response!)

And here’s the rub.

That comfort zone can start to become distinctly uncomfortable. The likelihood is that there’s an army of potential customers waiting to be engaged with; you’re just not going to reach all of them through the one channel that sits squarely in your marketing comfort zone. By restricting yourself  to engaging with gusto only with those  marketing activities that you like rather than the ones that work and that could really could propel your business to the next stage, you are short changing yourself and your business.

Is it time to break out your marketing comfort zone? Tell me I would love to know.

'There are two rules to staying an expert. 1 - Never tell anyone everything you know.............and that's it.

Forgive me for repeating a somewhat timeworn tale but I’m confident you will identify with it. It’s about what can happen when you become so effortlessly expert at what you do that folk think it’s as easy as falling off a log!

The tale is about the industrialist whose production line breaks down at a cost of many millions per day. After a long search he finds an expert who upon investigating his machine takes out a screwdriver, turns one screw and the machine whirrs  into action. He presents a bill to the factory owner for £10,000. Somewhat baffled and indeed affronted by the bill, the owner demands an itemisation.

The expert responds; “for turning the screw: £1. For knowing which screw to turn: £9999.”

How does this apply to you? Well, most folk want to see and feel that they are getting real value for money but ironically, the more expert you become at what you do, the easier you make it look. A client may come to the erroneous conclusion “if it’s that easy why am I paying so much for it?”

The moral of this story is to never undersell what you do for your clients.

Explain the process you have taken to deliver their piece of work; outline the training you have undergone and the qualifications gained in order to deliver such a fantastic service in a timeframe that’s a consequence of your expertise and talent. Let your clients know they are getting value in spades because your experience and expertise enables them to have results in a much shorter time frame than a lesser experienced mortal!

When we are paying for services in particular, most of us are looking for a specific result. But we’re just as keen to see that the person we’re paying has broken a sweat on our behalf!