Back Create products that sell when you're asleep
WHERE to find `no-cost and low-cost' secrets of selling? In Off-The-Wall Marketing Ideas by Nancy Michaels and Debbi J. Karpowicz, from Viva Books P Ltd (www.vivabooksindia.com) . The book begins with the most important component of marketing - you! "Project a professional image," urge the authors, drawing inspiration from McDonald's. "If there's any one thing that an entrepreneur can do for himself, it's to McPosition himself, and create an easily identifiable, consistent image that all customers will recognise." A tip for immediate adoption, if you care.
Then, there's the `image IQ' to work upon. "Check the `walk-away' view in the mirror," is an advice for women. "We are seen more from the back and the sides, than we are from the front," is a clue from the authors' experience. "The only acceptable jewellery for a man is a watch. Own two: a dressy one for traditional business clothing and a casual timepiece for informal attire."
After you've groomed yourself well, get ready to `maintain a professional look on paper' too, so that you can `make every communication count.' Sit down with a professional designer or stationery expert and look at all the options available, instruct the authors, weaning you away from generic business cards available off the shelf. The effort will pay off by identifying you as an established professional, and not as a fly-by-night operator.
Don't go it alone, because "it's almost impossible to do everything alone." For those who complain they can't afford to hire a PR firm, the book has the next best thing to offer: Board of Advisors. "These folks will become your publicist as well as your sounding board, consultant, and resource for referrals." The board is a mentoring group, explain the authors. "It is composed of colleagues, respected community members, fellow entrepreneurs, and anyone who can assist with the development and growth of your new business."
A chapter is rightly titled `Do the Write Thing' and mentions three points: "Make it snap, crackle, and pop; publish or perish; and tell — don't sell." A simple equation you can remember is `visibility = credibility = name recognition.' How should your story be, whether it is for the trade newsletter or alumini publication? It should be `informative, interesting, provocative, humorous' and the words should "leap off the page and have readers clamouring for the next sentence."
You may be against personal promotion, but Nancy and Debbi share an insight: that people tend to feel better about a product or service when they can associate it with a real-life human being — and someone they can relate to. "Becoming a personality is one of the savviest things an entrepreneur can do."
Create products that sell when you're asleep, exhort the authors. "In this day and age, when people practically live in their cars, audiotapes are a smart tool. Just ask Deepak Chopra!" Or, produce `continuous-play videotapes' and give to all your retailers. If the video is good, customers stop to read.
For those who've stayed on, part four is where `madcap marketing' starts. "In today's business world, even if you're the best, you've got to keep reminding your customers. Sometimes it means doing something unusual to attract attention, to make sure that clients and customers remember you."
Seize opportunities to make an impression, even if you made a mistake, advise the authors, and narrate the case of a travel agency that decided to interact with prospective clients it hadn't been in touch with. It sent a direct-mail piece that resembled a stovetop — a box with a teal-coloured square on its top. "The message read, `We know your decision on choosing a travel company has been put on the back burner.' When the box was opened, another teal square bore the message, `We hope this helps move it to the front.' When that square was lifted, clients found a potholder with the travel agency logo on it."
A book you may not like to put on the back burner.
D. Murali
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