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Casual Articles - Effective Lead Generation
As a manager, you're expected to decide what needs to be done, gather the resources to do it, and then decide who does what.Okay, managing is a little more than that, but it certainly does include setting goals, gathering resources, and delegating tasks.Now, if you're like many managers, there sometimes isn't any clear line between the work you think you should do, and the work you think your staff should do.In fact, you may not be a "pure" manager (is there such a thing?) in the sense that you are expected to do some of the "doing" as well as the "managing".For instance, you might roll up your sleeves and get behind the counter of your store now and again... you might
Everyone loves a story. Listen to any conversation – especially in social situations – and at some point someone will tell a story. About something they’ve experienced, read about, heard or saw.That’s why newspapers sell; magazines sell; people watch TV programmes and newscasts; read books; listen to the radio. The ‘human interest’ captures our attention, our imagination and our curiosity to know ‘how things turned out’.YOU CAN USE THIS HUMAN TRAIT TO YOUR ADVANTAGE IN YOUR SALES LETTERS.When you tell a story – or explain a case study – your reader wants to know how it turns out; what was the result; how does it apply to them; how can they use any ‘lesson learnt’ in their situation?
If you’ve ever tried to get a child who is engrossed in their favorite video to do another task you know you must first get their attention. Often the best way to do this is to use their name so they realize you are speaking directly to them. The process of effective lead generation requires that we communicate with many prospective clients at one time. Before we can communicate with them we must first get their attention. And our prospective clients must each feel we are talking directly to them.
Getting a prospective client’s attention is not an easy task, especially given the hundreds of thousands of other products and services that are also competing for their attention. Like the mother who has learned to “tune-out” her kids bickering in the back-seat while she is trying to drive, our prospects have learned to tune out all the promotional clutter that bombards them daily. Here is a four step process to gain your prospects’ attention and help generate the leads you need to make your business a success.
1. Define Your Target Market: To gain prospective clients’ attention you must understand their biggest problems and greatest desires. This requires really knowing your target market. And in order to know your target market you must first define that market. What is the profile of your ideal client? Many people resist defining an ideal client. However unless you know specifically who you want to talk to, your promotional efforts will fall on deaf ears. Not having a defined target for your marketing communications is like yelling into a room full of kids watching TV, “Will someone please take out the trash?” They will all assume you are talking to someone else. The odds of actually having the trash taken out increase significantly when you say, “Bobby, will you please take the trash out now?”
2. Identify Problems and Desires: In conversations with current clients or prospective clients that fit the profile of your ideal client, what are the “themes” that continue to surface and which of these themes can you help with – a desire for a more fulfilling career; the ability to recapture romance in their relationships; a need to get spending under control and eliminate debt; a summer home on Nantucket; tools to better communicate with their teenage kids? The list is endless. The key is identifying the intersection of your target market’s most pressing problems or desires and your greatest strengths. If you don’t know and really understand the most pressing problems and deepest desires of your target market it’s time to do some research. Get out and talk with people who meet the profile of your ideal client. Be really curious about them, ask questions. Find out what occupies their mind, what keeps them awake at night, what they dream o
It is important to distinguish between corporate identity, brand identity, and brand image. Corporate identity is concerned with the visual aspects of a company's presence. When companies undertake corporate identity exercises, they are usually modernizing their visual image in terms of logo, design, and collaterals. Such efforts do not normally entail a change in brand values so that the heart of the brand remains the same - what it stands for, or its personality.Unfortunately, many companies do not realize this fallacy, as they are sometimes led to believe by agencies and consultancy companies that the visual changes will change the brand image. But changes to logos, signage, and even outlet design do
Getting a prospective client’s attention is not an easy task, especially given the hundreds of thousands of other products and services that are also competing for their attention. Like the mother who has learned to “tune-out” her kids bickering in the back-seat while she is trying to drive, our prospects have learned to tune out all the promotional clutter that bombards them daily. Here is a four step process to gain your prospects’ attention and help generate the leads you need to make your business a success.
1. Define Your Target Market: To gain prospective clients’ attention you must understand their biggest problems and greatest desires. This requires really knowing your target market. And in order to know your target market you must first define that market. What is the profile of your ideal client? Many people resist defining an ideal client. However unless you know specifically who you want to talk to, your promotional efforts will fall on deaf ears. Not having a defined target for your marketing communications is like yelling into a room full of kids watching TV, “Will someone please take out the trash?” They will all assume you are talking to someone else. The odds of actually having the trash taken out increase significantly when you say, “Bobby, will you please take the trash out now?”
2. Identify Problems and Desires: In conversations with current clients or prospective clients that fit the profile of your ideal client, what are the “themes” that continue to surface and which of these themes can you help with – a desire for a more fulfilling career; the ability to recapture romance in their relationships; a need to get spending under control and eliminate debt; a summer home on Nantucket; tools to better communicate with their teenage kids? The list is endless. The key is identifying the intersection of your target market’s most pressing problems or desires and your greatest strengths. If you don’t know and really understand the most pressing problems and deepest desires of your target market it’s time to do some research. Get out and talk with people who meet the profile of your ideal client. Be really curious about them, ask questions. Find out what occupies their mind, what keeps them awake at night, what they dream
Originality in logo designing can really set new trends for others to follow. Perhaps, we don't need any expert opinion for this. Of late, we come across the term, ‘X-factor’, being applied in almost every field. This factor is even applicable to the professional field- to take your business to new heights. This so-called X-factor refers to something unique, unseen, innovative or original. Originality is the mantra of success but its path is not overtly embedded with roses, especially when one takes into account the innumerable logo designs surrounding us.Logos represent the identity of any organization; it’s the symbol that people look up to and relate it to the products that they stand for. But what h
2. Identify Problems and Desires: In conversations with current clients or prospective clients that fit the profile of your ideal client, what are the “themes” that continue to surface and which of these themes can you help with – a desire for a more fulfilling career; the ability to recapture romance in their relationships; a need to get spending under control and eliminate debt; a summer home on Nantucket; tools to better communicate with their teenage kids? The list is endless. The key is identifying the intersection of your target market’s most pressing problems or desires and your greatest strengths. If you don’t know and really understand the most pressing problems and deepest desires of your target market it’s time to do some research. Get out and talk with people who meet the profile of your ideal client. Be really curious about them, ask questions. Find out what occupies their mind, what keeps them awake at night, what they dream
The automotive business is alive and well in our country, not only due to the fact that there are more cars than people although that is a good start. We keep producing them at a rate of about 17 million per year. America is said to be in love with their cars, this is in fact hard to deny with just a little observation of the average person. Since people love their cars you might consider an auto appearance business. They call it auto detailing. You have heard the term, making people’s cars shine. But there is more to it than that. It can be an excellent business.Let’s say that money is not a problem and that you already own a freestanding building, or want to get a fixed site facility detailing shop an
2. Identify Problems and Desires: In conversations with current clients or prospective clients that fit the profile of your ideal client, what are the “themes” that continue to surface and which of these themes can you help with – a desire for a more fulfilling career; the ability to recapture romance in their relationships; a need to get spending under control and eliminate debt; a summer home on Nantucket; tools to better communicate with their teenage kids? The list is endless. The key is identifying the intersection of your target market’s most pressing problems or desires and your greatest strengths. If you don’t know and really understand the most pressing problems and deepest desires of your target market it’s time to do some research. Get out and talk with people who meet the profile of your ideal client. Be really curious about them, ask questions. Find out what occupies their mind, what keeps them awake at night, what they dream
If you’re a micro business (less than 5 employees), then you’re competing against large, well resourced retail / service organisations for customers. This can be pretty scary. But don’t be discouraged, you’ve got more clout than you think. For example, in Australia, micro business represents 47% of the private sector. That’s Australia’s biggest employer! So, not so shabby after all, are you?World trends are showing a remarkable growth in micro business start ups, all due to the Global Economy and e–business. But you can’t compete head on with big business. They’ll squash you like a bug if you try. So how do you compete? Well, you can’t out-gun them, so you have to out-think them.What’s the bigge
3. Start Where Your Prospects Currently Are: It is often tempting to paint a picture of a fabulous outcome without first clearly identifying the problem or desire. I used to do marketing for a psychiatric hospital that ran television advertising. The most effective ads were not those that showed happy, well adjusted kids playing on the playground – the outcome of treatment. The parents of kids with emotional issues did not relate to the images of these kids. We first had to show the child sitting all alone in the swing crying because no one wanted to play with him or her. This is what caught the attention of the parents of kids who needed treatment. Only after we captured their attention with an image they could relate to right then were we able to talk with them about the solution to the problem. Another very effective ad showed a woman sitting alone in the woods contemplating taking a handful of pills. Women thinking about taking their own lives related to that ad, they picked up the phone and called for help. Your first goal is to get a prospect to say, “Hey, that’s me, that’s my exact situation, that’s the problem I’m facing right now. If they have helped others in that same situation maybe they can help me.”
4. Talk Directly to Your Ideal Prospects: In a personalized letter or a one-on-one conversation you can address your prospect by name. However with promotional pieces such as brochures, flyers, direct mail or advertising this is not possible. In these instances direct response copywriter Alexi Neocleous suggests starting your ad, post card or letter with, “Attention (target market description)”. For example, “Attention Renters”; “Attention Business Owners”; or “Attention Parents of Teenage Drivers”. Another way of talking directly to your prospect is to ask a question regarding a problem or desire of your target market. For example, “Are you approaching retirement and concerned about what you’ll do with all the free time on your hands?”; “Are you considering a career change?”; or “Are you so busy taking care of everyone else that you don’t have time to take care of yourself?”
The key to effectively capturing a prospective client’s atten
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