Friday, May 30
Selling 2.0
From a book by Josh Gordon, Selling 2.0:
The book's 10 biggest lessons:
1. It is more important to be well trusted than well liked.
2. You have to create value, not just talk about it.
3. There are bigger differences between how you and your competition handles customers than between your products.
4. You sell to a customer network, not a collection of isolated customers.
5. Information is a commodity; knowledge is power.
6. You will sell more as an agent of change than as an agent selling products.
7. You are your client's personal brand manager.
8. Customer loyalty is the result of better customer strategy, not better customer service.
9. It is easier to differentiate your product in the future than in the present.
10. The biggest sales will go to the most aggressive customer motivators, not the most aggressive customer pushers.
The book's 10 biggest lessons:
1. It is more important to be well trusted than well liked.
2. You have to create value, not just talk about it.
3. There are bigger differences between how you and your competition handles customers than between your products.
4. You sell to a customer network, not a collection of isolated customers.
5. Information is a commodity; knowledge is power.
6. You will sell more as an agent of change than as an agent selling products.
7. You are your client's personal brand manager.
8. Customer loyalty is the result of better customer strategy, not better customer service.
9. It is easier to differentiate your product in the future than in the present.
10. The biggest sales will go to the most aggressive customer motivators, not the most aggressive customer pushers.
Friday, May 2
Same-o Lame-o is killing you!
So many coaches, consultants, and independent professionals use what I call "same-o lame-o" language.
It's not your fault.
You're wonderful, creative people with valuable unique things to offer your clients. You just SOUND like everyone else when you say things like "Empowering Individuals to Profit from Their Life's Passion."
What does that REALLY mean?!?
The biggest obstacle to getting good response to your written (website, letter, brochure, one-sheet) and oral (10-second audio logo, 30-second pitch, 2 minute introduction, etc) is VAGUE LANGUAGE.
Vague terms might include things like "what you really want," "the life of your dreams," "achieving your goals." Without your personal definition of what they mean, these phrases don't resonate. One-size-fits-all language includes words like "success," "results," or "power." They mean different things to different people, and
therefore they don't create a vivid picture for your audience to respond to.
The solution? Work with SOMEONE - a copywriter, a marketing guy, or an advertising veteran - or even a guy like me who's a bit of all 3 - to reshape, refocus, and blast through your language barrier to communicate your unique genius. It's in there. You just have to work to get it OUT!!!
It's not your fault.
You're wonderful, creative people with valuable unique things to offer your clients. You just SOUND like everyone else when you say things like "Empowering Individuals to Profit from Their Life's Passion."
What does that REALLY mean?!?
The biggest obstacle to getting good response to your written (website, letter, brochure, one-sheet) and oral (10-second audio logo, 30-second pitch, 2 minute introduction, etc) is VAGUE LANGUAGE.
Vague terms might include things like "what you really want," "the life of your dreams," "achieving your goals." Without your personal definition of what they mean, these phrases don't resonate. One-size-fits-all language includes words like "success," "results," or "power." They mean different things to different people, and
therefore they don't create a vivid picture for your audience to respond to.
The solution? Work with SOMEONE - a copywriter, a marketing guy, or an advertising veteran - or even a guy like me who's a bit of all 3 - to reshape, refocus, and blast through your language barrier to communicate your unique genius. It's in there. You just have to work to get it OUT!!!
