Most of us only read the headline and take a quick glance at the photo on direct mail pieces – using less than five seconds of our attention to decide if we are interested to know more about this product or service. LESS THAN FIVE SECONDS! The same is true for a radio ad and television spot, too.  Our ears are finely tuned to discern an ad spot from a news spot. We as consumers are inundated with new offers every day. The novelty of direct mail and other advertising venues has worn off. The sheer volume of promotions being pushed at us is overwhelming.

Use your five seconds wisely by getting to the point and getting there fast!

For example, tax season is here. If you’re a tax preparer, it’s prime time for you to advertise … right along side your competition. Which of these headlines have the best chance of being noticed?

A.  Taxes ‘R Us offers fast, dependable service.

B.  Put More Money in YOUR Pocket on April 15th!

For my money, “B” gets my five seconds of attention. As the client, I want to either pay less or get back more. That’s my bottom line benefit. “A” tells me too much about YOU … I dont’ care about you, I want to know about ME.

Here’s a three-step process to help you create your client’s or customer’s bottom-line benefit headline:

Step 1:

Using a two-column page format, make a list of features of your product or service in one column. Directly across from that, identify the “bottom line benefit” of that feature for your client/customer.

For example, in the above tax preparation ad, a feature of your business would be: “We work hard to find every tax deduction possible for your individual return.”  To transform that feature in a benefit, simply ask, “Why does my client care about that?” What good is it to the client for you to find every tax deduction possible?

Answer: You save your client money in what they have to pay in, or you put more money in their pocket with a refund. That’s a bottom-line benefit for your client.

Features focus on you. Benefits focus on your clients. List as many features and benefits as you can.

Step 2:

From your finished list choose a recurring benefit or one that is unique that can’t be claimed by your competition. Maybe you are equipped to process returns in 48-hours or less. If that is unique to your company be sure to say so in your ad to differentiate yourself from your competitors. (Caution … don’t promise something you can’t deliver.)

Step 3:

Once you’ve chosen your strongest bottom-line benefit, experiment to work it into an eye-catching, PERSUASIVE headline. Try to keep it to ten words or less. Five words would be even better to make the benefit unmistakably clear. And remember, when crafting the verbiage, clients don’t really care what you can do; clients care about what you can do for them!

It’s difficult to master bottom-line benefit advertising, but if you take the time — or spend the money — to develop just one great ad headline, it can double or triple your ad response from your targeted audience.  And that kind of return on your investment puts MORE profits in YOUR pocket!

After a few email exchanges to determine how she was approaching clients, I was a bit stunned to learn the way Donna was going about it. In a nutshell, she would send her clients thank you notes and include about a dozen of her business cards, asking them to hand them out to others who might need her services.

Yikes!

Now, let me first say that the thank you note is a great idea. But the sincerity of appreciation is kind of kicked to the curb by asking the client for something in return. At the very minimum, when asking for referrals keep the same client-benefit perspective in mind that you had when you first attracted the client to you.

Donna is a seamstress, so here are just three things she might do differently:

1.  Use “give to get” enticements.

Instead of enclosing business cards, Donna could enclose a few small postcards that offer a 20% discount on services – for BOTH the referrer (your client) and the referral (your potential client).

The message she would be sending would say, “thank you” in a beneficial way by giving something to get something: the offer benefits your client, and it allows that client to pass on a benefit to someone else.

2. Partner with a complementary business.

Donna’s business would share clientele with (without being a direct competitor of) a nearby dry cleaning service. The two businesses could simply agree to place business cards at each others’ place of business. Better yet, they could each print up discount coupons for customers to take.

3. Propose a direct mail joint venture with a complementary business.

Donna could seek out one or more complementary businesses (like the dry cleaner) to propose sharing the costs of a promotional mailing. Each business contributes an equal number of contact addresses and they share the printing and mailing costs.

Asking for referrals doesn’t have to be elaborate and it doesn’t have to be difficult but it does have to be well thought out. Think through the process and place yourself in the other person’s chair. What would entice YOU to pass along a referral? Then act and react so that it becomes effortless and profitable.

We give it out to (almost) anyone who asks for it.

We conduct research and gather valuable information with it.

We rely on it for communication with associates, friends and family.

“It” is e-mail. And there’s no denying that e-mail is as common of a communication tool as telephones — maybe even moreso. Regardless of whether or not you have a Web site, if you are NOT using e-mail marketing for your products and services, you are ignoring a very low cost (and often no cost!) marketing tactic with high-return (and profit) potential. Why not squeeze every ounce of communicative powers e-mail has when dealing with clients and customers?

How? By using this easy four-step process:

Step 1. Develop a list of Frequently Asked Questions

Every business receives telephone calls from customers/clients or potential customers/clients asking for the same information over and over again. Retailers get questions like “Where is the business located?”; “What are your store hours?”; “Do you sell such-n-such brand name?”; “What is your return policy”, etc. Service businesses field calls asking for a description of services, pricing, and credentials or references.

Make a list of the calls your business gets most often and use this list to document these frequently asked questions – along with the answers.

Step 2.  Add an opening and closing paragraph to each document.

For each response:

1. Add an opening paragraph that specifically thanks the customer/client for requesting the information,
2. Provide the information, and
3. Add a closing paragraph that, again, thanks them for requesting the information.

Sign off with a specific contact name and phone number with an invitation to contact you directly for further assistance, to place an order, set up a meeting, or whatever else might be a “next step” to continue the communication. If you have a Web site, be sure to list it here and invite readers to visit it to find out more about the company, products, services, you, etc.

Step 3.  Develop a follow-up e-mail.

Just as you would initiate a follow-up phone call with a prospect, so should you prepare a follow up e-mail. Prepare a message to be sent a day or two (or longer depending on the information requested) after the first one. This e-mail should ask recipients if they received the requested information and if there are further questions you can answer. This would also be an appropriate time to announce a current special or sale, offer a limited-time-only discount, or introduce a referral program.

Step 4. Create a computer file containing the questions and answers.

Set up a folder on your computer that contains as many Q & A documents and follow up e-mails that make sense for your business. Some of the information may be best combined into one document, like store location and business hours. Other documents will require separate files.

The objective is to be able to easily access these response files so you can quickly send them to people asking for the information.

Once you have these documents ready for use, USE THEM! The next time you get a phone call asking for information you have created in your Q&A file, you can say, “I’d be delighted to give you that information. Do you have e-mail? I can send it to you right away!”

As your list of email addresses grows, so does the opportunity to reach a targeted group of current and potential customers with updates, promotions, or special offers. This kind of list is a small business marketer’s goldmine. Start building your list today!

Note: The above article is an excerpt from a more in-depth how-to for using this marketing tactic. The remainder of the article can be found in “29 Ways to Increase Profits and Productivity” – the FREE eBook available by entering your name and email address in the above right-hand box.

The best advisory boards are made up of business owners and professionals who will ALL benefit from its formation. Here’s how to put one together:

Itemize the “give and take.”

Make two lists: one of the skills and expertise that you have to offer others, and another of the skills and expertise that you need (from others) to better operate your own business.

For instance, are you a whiz at dreaming up great promotions but a bust at understanding the tax laws that affect your business? Can you cold call with the best of them, but unsure of how to put together an impressive client presentation?

Knowing what your strengths are and where your weaknesses fall will help to determine whom to approach about forming your mutually beneficial advisory board.

Seek out potential board members.

Finding your board members may be easier than you think.

Do you belong to an association or the local chamber of commerce? Don’t just attend the meetings – network to find good board member candidates and to spread the word about what you’re trying to accomplish. Ask contacts for other names of entrepreneurs, chief executive officers of small, privately held companies or consultants to small businesses. Talk to your banker, vendors or accountant and ask them for leads. Review the business section of your local newspaper or specific business listings from the yellow pages of a telephone directory.

Contact each prospective member individually.

Once you’ve chosen candidates, call each one to introduce yourself, discuss your objectives and determine mutual benefits of forming the board. If you do not personally know the individual, invite him/her to lunch to get acquainted. Tell prospective board members about your business, market and specific challenges. Invite them to tour your offices and meet your employees. Give them your company brochure and relevant industry information.

Know what you want to accomplish.

How often you meet will be determined by what you want to accomplish. There may be times when one-on-one meetings will be more productive, but schedule full board meetings no less than quarterly to solicit input and feedback about your specific business objectives, progress and accomplishments. Remember that members are there to ADVISE you, not to do the work FOR you. While you may eventually decide to barter for services with other members, that is a separate action from the intent and purpose of an advisory board, and should be negotiated outside of the board meetings.

Be prepared to get what you ask for.

Understand that when you ask for advice, honest feedback and others’ opinions, criticism will often creep into the mix. Suppress your natural reflex to defend your actions, listen to your peers and use the information constructively.

Final thoughts . . .

If an advisory board sounds too formal for your fledgling business, but you still need access to one-on-one expert advice, contact the nearest chapter of SCORE. This organization of retired executives can prove to be an excellent resource to help answer your questions and connect you with free or low-cost resources.

I love that stuff. It’s amazing. It’s magic.

But it wasn’t until I tried to learn a few simple magic tricks myself that I discovered the key to such effortless success. It didn’t come from the words being uttered, or the brand of top hat being used, or the type of cape being flung … those are just the props and tools of the trade. The success of the magic comes from  something we don’t see on stage … the endless hours of repetitive practice. Even simple slight of hand isn’t really simple … it is practiced and perfected before it is ever performed. The resulting trick performed to an audience must become seemingly effortless and automatic. It can be re-choreographed. It can be reinvented. Yet, the success is in being able to do it over and over again; not in being able to do it once every third or fourth try.

Can you guess where I’m going with this in how it relates to your business?

You are the magician of your business, and your customers are your audience.

Your customers are the ones who pay to receive whatever you promise to deliver. Whether it is a magic show, a product, or a service, you owe your audience (customers) an experience they’ll want to have over and over again.

The goal of simplicity begins with focused, rehearsed, and perfected behind-the-scenes work to achieve consistency.

Give your customers consistency, and you’ll solidify loyalty.

If you embellish with a few magic words and a prop or two, that’s great – but if you aren’t consistent, your audience (customers) won’t be loyal enough to keep paying the entry fee to see your show, or buy your products and services.

My long time followers of my former ezine and this blog know that consistency is my droning mantra of just about everything I write or try to advise on. And I’ll continue to drone on and on about it because it holds tremendous value to the ongoing success of your business.

Many of us focus on the props – promotions, signage, advertising – yes, these things are extremely important to attract people to your services and products. But if you are not delivering consistency to your customers and clients who are attracted to your props, they will not come back for more. Roughly 80% of your sales will come from 20% of your customers. That’s right, long-term success is in repeat business, not in pulling in new customers with gags and gimmicks only to have them leave after the first show.

Build consistency into your business by remembering the magician.

An audience may be dazzled by the words, hats, and capes, but if the tiger doesn’t disappear every single time, that audience won’t likely come back to see a second show.

As the old adage goes, old habits die hard. It happens just as frequently in one-person operations as it does in businesses with 10s, 100s, or even 1,000s of employees. It’s just easier to take the path of least resistance by doing what we have always done. And, until you realize how ‘doing what you’ve always done’ dramatically affects your bottom line, change is less likely to occur. For any change in behavior, procedure or practice, there must be a desire for it – the benefits of change must become more attractive than the comfort of keeping old habits.

So how can a desire for change be ignited?

That’s where the “no pain, no change” discussion starts. Quite simply, I relate the recommendations I make to actual bottom-line benefits. Let me demonstrate by using a real-life client example.

Overtime Expense Skyrockets

In a business assessment I did last year for a property management company, processing tenant payments was a four-step process from the moment the payment arrived, to the final posting and deposit of the funds. The company had two co-owners and four employees. Three of the four employees were involved in the payment processing procedure.

Now, this may sound like no big deal to you, but keep in mind that, as a property management company, they receive several hundreds of payments from tenants nearly every week for all of the properties they manage. There are many days when no other work is tended to, and they clock overtime to process checks the same day they are received; and then they clock more overtime to catch up on the work that was cast to the side. The more property contracts the business acquires, the more time it takes to process payments. The more time it takes, the more man hours are clocked. The more man hours needed, the less efficient – and more costly – the process becomes.

After talking with employees to understand the process they were using, and listening to the frustrations they were experiencing, it quickly became evident that the current procedure had lost significant value. What used to work perfectly had now become not only more vulnerable to errors, but costly. And, with the business continuing to grow, this was not a short-term challenge.

Cost-Containing Solution

With minimal investigation I discovered that the process could be shortened to two steps, performed by two employees, with one simple solution — an upgrade of the property management software they were using.

Naturally, the software upgrade was prominently placed in my assessment and recommendations report. I knew, however, that the owners would view this as an expense that would cost them more than $2,000 and, therefore would not likely top their To-Do list.

Time for the “no pain, no change” discussion.

In addition to recommending the software upgrade, I detailed a conservative estimation of the current ‘real’ costs associated with this procedure that primarily consisted of overtime and error reconciliation. I then detailed the estimated resulting costs associated with implementing the upgrade. The difference? A savings of nearly $7,500 a year! That’s a significant profit leak for a small, 6-person operation.

Do you think the owners were more motivated to change the habit that currently supports the $7,500 profit-draining leak? You bet they were! Suddenly, it was evident that the $2,000 software upgrade was an investment, not an expense. It carries measurable ROI.

Because I could demonstrate an immediate (financial) pain, there was an increase in desire for immediate (procedural) change. Every critical process of your own business should be looked at with this same “no pain, no change” assessment.

What is it really costing you to do what you’ve always done?

Identify the pain, and you’ll increase desire for change.

• A discount coupon for your products or services
• A “free with purchase” offer next time they stop in the store
• An invitation to sign up at your website to win a prize in your monthly drawing

You know what your customers want–or you should–so create an offer they won’t want to refuse and print it on your business cards.