OPTIMIZING YOUR IMPACT: Only Say What Needs to be Said and Nothing More

Optimizing Your Impact with Jeff Schomay

You have a great, clever, intricate, and well-devised business/ invention/ product/ story/ message/ etc. and naturally you want to tell the world all about it. You try hard to figure out how to explain to people so they will understand it, and also take interest. Unfortunately, most people in this situation just end up shooting themselves in the foot by saying too much!

Only say what you have to say. But how do you know what you have to say and what you don’t? Obviously you need to give enough information so that people understand what “it” is and how they would interact with “it.” And most importantly, what they have to get “it.” But how much is too much? How much is enough?

The biggest key here when talking about what you do is to understand the role and goal of your current communication, whether it’s a carefully developed advertisement, a presentation, or just a face-to-face conversation. Think of each instance of communication as a tool you are using for a certain task. In the end, all the tasks will build up into a full goal (likely making the sale), but you have to take it step by step, based on where your audience is at. What is the objective of each specific task? To get people to visit your website? To get someone to ask questions and become more interested? To take out their wallet? For each objective, focus your communication on just what’s need to accomplish it, and don’t get into anything else. Then repeat with the next step.

Here are some tips that will help:

Sell the idea, not the thing:
All great salesmen know this, they are not selling a thing, they are selling an idea about the thing. “I’ll look and feel really cool in that new convertible” rather than “What a unique mechanical engineering solution to improving airflow during transportation.” Or, “ I’m a reliable guy, I need a reliable watch” rather than “This watch is precision made with a special kind of quartz crystal and tons of little tiny gears to make it keep time well.”

Talk in emotional response terms:
All decisions are ultimately emotional based, so work on that level. Either tap into emotions that are there already, or plant an emotion that resonates. “Don’t you hate wasting time waiting for the bus? Sure, a personal driver is more expensive, but isn’t your time more valuable than money?”

Give them something to picture:
A picture is worth a thousand words. Conserve words, use pictures. Either show or give them something physical to see, or paint a picture in their mind. They’ll understand much better and much quicker. “Picture yourself laying under a palm tree in the warm sun on the beach, hearing the surf and the gulls. Tickets to Florida are now only $299.”

Talk in terms of what benefits they experience:
People understand things more naturally when they are put into their own perspective. They might not know anything about 3G networks, but they know very well how helpful it is to be able to check their emails from their phone on the go.


Having this strategy in play will increase the effectiveness of your communications and generating interest. And there’s nothing more to be said about that.

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Written by Jeff Schomay
Inspire Your Buyer - Branding and Marketing
Optimize Your Impact. Get Better Results.
www.Inspire-Your-Buyer.com
(c) 2009
Jeff Schomay is an expert brander and marketer and a professional film writer and director.

For more information, please visit Jeff's TNNW Bio.

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OPTIMIZING YOUR IMPACT: Only Say What Needs to be Said and Nothing More

UK Networking at Its Best - BoB Clubs, Come to Canada

By Kensel Tracy
Canadian Bureau Chief

When you talk the founder of Business Over Breakfast Clubs International, Geoff Cox, over the phone from Birmingham England, you immediately get energized and you know you have met someone that has a passion for networking. Geoff sounds really excited about bringing his Business Over Breakfast Clubs (or as they are commonly called in the U.K, BoB Clubs), to Canada with the first ones expected to open in Ottawa and Toronto in early 2009.

Started by the former IT sales professional while he was still selling to blue chip, hospitality and international companies in 2004, there are now 25 Business over Breakfast clubs all over the U.K. and with dozens more forming throughout other parts of England, India, South Africa, and Australia and now in Canada and the U.S.

BoB Clubs operate like other breakfast networking clubs, such as Business Networking International (BNI) where only one member of a business category is allowed to join, but with BoB Clubs, there is a major difference...

...if you join a BoB Club you only need to go to a meeting once every two weeks.

Geoff’s groups originally met every week. However after polling the club’s members it was realised that most preferred meeting every two weeks. Members also quickly noticed that the amount of referrals did not reduce and that the real networking took place more heavily between meetings. BoB Clubs were also attracting members from other clubs that met weekly as these new members felt they could no longer make the time commitment or the pressure some organizations put on members to attend a meeting every single week as most already had plenty of other weekly family or business commitments.

Another difference in meeting every two weeks is the added benefit of reducing the cost of meetings by over 50% through reduced breakfast costs and also a reduction of a member’s carbon footprint as well by over 50% through a saving of fuel and travel costs. Meeting every two weeks also reduces the stress on members to attend a weekly meeting and therefore BoB Clubs have a extremely high retention rate and this also makes it easier to ensure that more visitors can also attend every week.

Geoff says that BoB Club members now see the meetings as more of a classroom to allow members to connect and learn more about each other businesses through one minute infomercials and presentations. Members are then able to take two weeks to develop qualified business referrals or find other ways to promote each others business through activities between each meeting. Members are also encouraged to network outside of the club environment as a way to increase more business options which in turn helps to grow the overall Bob Club network.

There is also no ‘hard sell’ for visitors to join, if they like it they can join with no pressure providing their business category open. Statistics show that over 60% of all visitors join a club. BoB Clubs also provide a cost effective, structured and enjoyable meeting platform which provides measurable results by generating quality referrals, a high percentage of which turn into long term profitable business opportunities for all members. BoB Clubs also do not open a new club until they have officially signed up 15 members. This ensures that each club operates with a solid base of members before it opens its doors allowing for maximum interaction and solid business referrals right away

Unlike BNI which focuses on pushing members to give referrals, BoB clubs do not pressure members to give referrals every week as this tends to generate bits of paper instead of good solid business opportunities. Instead BoB Clubs focus on providing innovative online tools to train members in other aspects of selling and promoting club services and stressing why business building and why quality permission based referrals are important to the growth of the club. The club uses a referral slip that also better pre-qualifies the referral by asking more direct business questions and making sure there are more details for members to consider.

The Clubs also provide members access to powerful online tools, including online referral programs, a high quality membership pack and additional benefits and value added business services at no additional charge. BoB Clubs also utilizes online technology as much as possible to ensure that running and marketing the clubs is as automated as much as possible and therefore removes much of the manual effort required by the leadership team and the members.

Club members also have access to a powerful online Business-2-Business website called www.network2connect.com where they can network with many tens of thousands of other business people locally, regionally, nationally and even internationally. This allows a club member to look for opportunities for each other as it is available to any business, not just BoB club members.

In January 2009 BoB Clubs be launching two new clubs in Mumbai, India and then expanding throughout India, at the same time BoB Clubs will open the first clubs in South Africa and has hopes to have the Canadian clubs open in Ottawa and Toronto, Ontario later in the year. At the present time Geoff has interest from other 8 other Canadian Cities and provinces such as, Fredericton, New Brunswick, Vancouver, B.C. Oakville, Toronto, Mississauga, in Ontario and U.S. markets like New York, Lexington and San Francisco. In Canada it’s expected that club memberships will include a participation fee of around $445.00 to join along with a one-time registration fee of $115.00 plus GST with a similar fee range for the U.S. market to be competitive with other clubs.

BoB Clubs are not only a good networking group to help build one’s own business and can also be a great small business networking opportunity as a Bob Club coordinator can build a network of members and a small business opportunity at the same time.

This is done by becoming a Regional Coordinator and coordinating a club, setting up the venue and collecting membership fees and remitting 50% of the membership fee and the administration fee and the cost of member’s kit to head office to help Bob Clubs grow. This is all done through an online payment and marketing system. Although BoB Clubs does not sell franchises, as Geoff says this tends to attract to wrong type of people that don’t want help build a networking system, Bob Clubs will sell regional licences to give those individuals sincerely interested in building a business and a business networking group in a protected area by owning a protected area or city.

For more information on BoB Clubs in Canada contact Kensel Tracy at kenselt@sympatico.ca or Geoff Cox at BoB Clubs International at bobclub2003@aol.com.

Kensel Tracy is a business coach and Senior Partner in the Corporate Coachworkz Inc. located in Chelsea, Quebec.

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UK Networking at Its Best - BoB Clubs, Come to Canada

Better Marketing in a Tougher Economy

By Bill Doerr
Sales and Marketing Editor

Bill's section is brought to you by qAlias

The ‘doom and gloom’ media hype notwithstanding, the consumer’s perception of just how things are – good or otherwise – always affects your business. But planning and implementation of marketing always benefits your business in any kind of economy.

Business Marketing Success, Inc., headed by Joe Costantino, was interviewed for his thoughts on how to do this simply, effectively and affordably by small business owners.

THE BACKGROUND

I recently attended the Connecticut Business XPO in Hartford, CT. While there, I met a number of small-to-medium sized business owners. The common chant was, “The economy is softening and I’m struggling”. Can you relate?

Later, on a podcast with Joe Costantino, I brought up what I’d been hearing. I wanted to see what ‘words of wisdom’ Joe might have. Why? Because Joe’s been working with small-to-medium sized businesses for a number of years. Joe’s based in Abington, MA and heads up Business Marketing Success, Inc. – a marketing consulting and coaching firm. What I like about Joe is his ability to bring a perspective to a business that is often unavailable to the owner who’s working inside of it. Working with Joe, his clients get a handle on why they’re not where they want to be and they discover how to get there . . . simply, effectively and very affordably.

THE INTERVIEW

On the podcast, I asked Joe for his insights gained from working with a number of clients over the years. Joe obliged. He shared four (4) common causes of markeing malaise as well as some good thoughts on what to do if they’re happening to you.

THE ISSUES

#1: “You Don’t See Yourself as a Marketer”

“This is often the result of either a lack of training or experience in this critical business

function . . .” Although Joe’s an MBA, making marketing make sense on the ‘micro’ vs.

the ‘macro’ level isn’t something he feels you can learn in school. “But that’s no excuse.

No matter what you ‘are’, you had better also be a ‘marketer’ or you’ll be hurting!”

#2: “You Have No System for Marketing”

“The famous Michael Gerber (The E-Myth) was renowned for arguing the importance of systems – for everything a business needs to operate effectively and profitably. Well, marketing is something every business needs and that requires a system, as well. But most small firms don’t have a marketing system. And their sales suffer because of it.”

I wasn’t arguing. But I wanted to learn why Joe felt this is so common.

“Bill, small business owners are independent by nature. They take advice quickly but implement it slowly. So while most will tell me that a ‘system’ would be nice, most don’t have one or use one. In a robust economy, you can get by without systematizing your marketing. But in an economy like the one we’re settling into now, it could be devastating”. I asked Joe to elaborate. “Look, it’s simple. If you don’t know why something is (or, isn’t!) happening how can you address the underlying cause of that? You can’t! You may know what’s wrong – the symptom that ‘sales are off’, but unless you also know WHY . . . unless you know the cause behind an effect . . . you’re not in control. That’s true of marketing as much as anything. So having a marketing system gives you that level of control that not only improves your revenues and profits but it drives your competitors crazy!”

#3: “Your Message Isn’t Attracting Your Target Market”

“I love business conferences like the one in CT because I get to meet a lot of small business owners in a fairly short time. And you know what I find is painfully obvious? MOST . . . and I’m cutting a big check here but I can cash it . . . most can’t tell me what the heck it is they do for a customer or client or patient! Specifically, they can’t describe the impact they cause in someone’s life that would make them want to invest money to get that valuable benefit. Usually, it’s because they haven’t made the effort or taken the time to understand how their ideal clients perceive them and describe what they do for them to a friend or colleague. That’s an eye-opener! And, until they do, they won’t ‘stand out’ to the market they want to attract and they’ll be even more likely to suffer stagnant sales in a slow economy.”

#4: “You’re Seduced By The Latest and Greatest Marketing Opportunity or Idea”

“When I first meet with a new client, I ask to see what they’re doing now to market their business – assuming, of course, that they are actually doing some marketing already. Often, they tell me, “Joe, we did this for awhile, then we tried this.” And on and on it goes. Bill, it’s scary. It’s also inconsistent. That’s a symptom that they’re working without a coherent, coordinated and consistent approach to marketing. Again, in a good economy, you might get by with such an approach. But not in an economy like today. Rather than jump on some tactic that just pops up – e.g. “Hey Charlie, this guy’s got a deal on a half-page ad if we’ll agree to run it for six (6) issues . . . whaddya say . . . y’wanna do it?” it makes more sense – dollars and cents! – to do your marketing with a strategic gameplan in mind. Just the simple act of creating a marketing plan forces you to think about your options when you can best evaluate – and choose -- them . . . and that’s always better to do before you ‘have’ to make a decision about your marketing options.”

As we were wrapping up, Joe offered some final thoughts . . .

“Take an Obstacle Course and Get Over Yourself”

“You must assume responsibility for your own marketing. Embrace this truth: If it’s going to be . . . it’s going to be . . . up to ME! If you don’t see yourself in this role now . . . change how you see yourself and what you’re really responsible for doing in your business.”

“Get a SYSTEM for Marketing”

“Cash in a business is like blood in your body. If it’s not flowing, you ain’t going to go on for long! Don’t allow such a critical business function as your marketing to be done by chance. Marketing is always done better . . . by design than by accident.”

“Get Clear About What You Do FOR Your Customer”

“If you’re not clear on this . . . do something about it. If you’re too close to your business to see the impact you have to offer a qualified prospect, seek some insights from your best clients. Ask them, “What did you want from a company like mine?” Then ask, “Why did you pick my company?” The first answer reveals WHAT people really want to buy. The second answer reveals WHY you’re a preferred provider of that valuable outcome. Both your ‘mission’ and ‘position’ are key insights you’ll want to communicate with your marketplace to attract interested and qualified prospects to your business in this economy”

“Plan!”

“Unless you plan to do things by design, you’ll do them by accident. And, you’ll probably do them sporadically, erratically and far less effectively than you’ll like. So, have a marketing PLAN!! Or, hire a marketing consultant or coach to help you do this.

As I was driving back to my office, I thought . . . “Joe’s right on. Marketing is more important than ever . . . and, done properly, it’s just as simple, effective and affordable to do, too.” Joe makes some good points here. I hope you heed them and put them to good use in your business or practice . . . NOW!

About Business Marketing Success, Inc.
Headed up by Joe Costantino since 2002, this firm helps small-to-medium size businesses grow revenues by defining clear goals, choosing affordable marketing strategies and implementing effective marketing tactics. As a result, their clients grow their businesses by design, not accident

. . . in any kind of economy . . . hot or, not. To learn more go to: www.businessmarketinsuccess.com or call: (781) 727-0656.

Bill Doerr, CCO of SellMore Marketing, LLC is the creator of The Preferral Prospecting System™,

The Expert Directory™, The Client Machine™ and The Ultimate Client Development System™.

Bill uses these services to 
help service providers build their business by leveraging relationships and generating more introductions to new business. You can reach Bill by phone at: 860-798-6964, online: www.sellmoremarketing.com or www.getnewclientsnow.com by 
email: billd@sellmoremarketing.com or through the TNNW Blog: http://thenationalnetworker.blogspot.com

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Better Marketing in a Tougher Economy