Alot of you commented your marketing material didn't have the 'punch' you were hoping... you were looking for ways to improve the impact it had and effectively asking 'How do I Make the Phone Ring..?'
Firstly, your marketing material is designed to do just that -- make your phone ring! Anyone that tells you anything different is LYING in the interest of making their own life easier! Your marketing material, when done correctly, can generate a massive return on investment and one that you should not overlook as a fundamental aspects of your marketing campaign. This is about making you more money for less effort! Imagine having 20,000 staff members, who always told the right story, did not over promise, never called in sick, arrived on time everyday and always did what you asked of them. Oh ya... and MAKE THE PHONE RING! This ladies and gentlemen is your bullet-proof, never-miss, I-do-as-I-say, please-make-my life-easier, I will-never-have-to-cold-call-again-marketing material.
For those still doing ‘cold calls’ please ring me so I can SAVE you from yourself… GUARANTEED!
This edition was inspired by a client ‘Dave’ whom we met with -- he keeps my ‘Karl’s Kick…’ in a separate file and that they had ‘provided some inspiration for him’… as a tribute to ‘Dave’ I thought I better give us all something profitable to think about over the next few days while you relax with family and friends over the weekend.
It never ceases to amaze me that so many companies will invest large amounts of capital in their marketing material, without researching what actually works – the strategies that have been proven to work over hundreds of years. Think about it. If you’re investing even a single dollar into marketing material, why wouldn’t you take the time to get it right – make the phone ring. It is ABSOLUTELY possible.
Yet thousands don’t. If you’d like an example of this, just pick up any yellow pages book, and you’ll find thousands of ads that look exactly like the last one (Quality… Service… Dependability… etc… Tell them ‘What is in it for THEM!’). Why? Because everybody copies what’s not working. That’s why!
Let me explain ….
By far THE best way to lock people on to your ad like a kid on a mars bar, is to:
USE A HEAD LINE that stops them in the street.
And I'm talking about a headline that does more than tell people your business name. And one that does more than yell "JOHN’S CAR YARD!" basically stating your ‘company name’.
I'm talking about a headline which virtually slaps your potential customer in the face (in the nicest possible way of course), grabs them by the shirt and says, "Hey buddy, if you do just one thing today, make sure you spend just 60 seconds listening to what I've got to tell you!"
Here’s an example:
WARNING:
If you own a business and do not have a ‘Rock Solid, Lead-Generating, Money-Making,
Time-Sensitive, My-Kids-Think-I-am a-Genius LGC Marketing Plan…’ that makes the phone RING
DO NOT DO ANOTHER THING UNTIL YOU READ MY REPORT:
Now that’s a kick butt headline – right. It grabbed your attention, evoked curiosity and gave you the desire to learn more. And that’s all a headline is meant to do (Btw… if you want the report it actually exists… just email me and I will happily send it – at no charge! It retails for $99.00)
Here’s a few more “STOP NOW AND READ THIS OR ELSE” headlines that have actually worked gangbusters. Not in theory – but in results.
- The Secret of Making the Phone Ring
- A Little Mistake that Cost an Oil and Gas Client $3,000.00 per year
- How To Win Clients and Influence The Your Market
- Do You Make These Mistakes in Marketing
- Everyone’s Raving About This Amazing New Lead Generation Technique
- Do You Pay Too Much Tax – How your Marketing is 106% Tax Deductible
- Businesses That Double - Redoubled Their Income – And How They Did It
- Why Some People Almost Always Make Money off Advertising.
- How I Made My Company Phone Ring in One Evening.
- How Poker Went From Backrooms to ESPN… Overnight! (I can actually tell you this – email me for the answer)
You see, what the headline does is advertises your marketing material. Now if you don’t believe it will work, just pick up any newspaper in whatever part of the world you live in, and notice what all of the articles have – headlines. Why? Because they work. Your eye looks out for them.
Grab a copy of any Reader’s Digest. One of the most successful magazines ever. Look at the way it’s written. Notice the headlines. Can I say ‘The National Enquirer…?’ Leverage off what WORKS!
Now there’s one thing you MUST understand, (and you won’t learn this from an advertising agency either) – your prospect doesn’t care who you are until you show them how you can benefit them. People ONLY by benefits!
What does that mean … it means NO company ads at the top of your ad. No reference to how long you’ve been in business (leave that for later – after you’ve got their interest), no pretty pictures.Commit that to memory.
Now spend 80% of your time on getting the headline right, because it will make all thedifference.
(By the way, the unconventional methods I'm suggesting here may cause you to become a bit uncomfortable. That's okay. If you want the same results as everyone else, just copy theirs. From memory, statistics show 80% of businesses fail within the first 5 years. NO WAY …that’s not for you or me.
So do you want results . or do you want pretty pictures? Results are what my methods are based on – and why you’re reading this, aren't you? Something else: This "unconventional" approach is also WHY ad agencies and many marketing "gurus" don't particularly like Leader Global Consulting. It’s the sort of stuff they won’t teach you at any University Course on marketing. Our strategies don't fit their mould for beautiful, sexy, award-winning creations. I don't give a rats A**. To me, the only marketing material that's worth anything is one that sells your product/services -and MAKES YOU MONEY. Find me an ad agency who actually delivers results that can be measured, and then I'll give them some respect. Be especially suspect of the ones that win ‘awards’… clever/cute ads DO NOT WORK… ‘tell them what you want to them’)
Here’s what else you need to remember:
1. The key to success lies in perpetual testing of all the variables.
2. What you say is more important than how you say it.
3. The most effective headlines appeal to the readers self interest or provide news.
4. Long headlines with a MESSAGE are more effective than short headlines that say nothing.
5. Specifics are more believable than generalities.
6. Long copy sells more than short copy (if you had a sales person – would you have him stop after 30 seconds so he did not take up too much of your prospects time…?)
Here’s what Phil Benson, the owner of a carpet cleaning business, Alberta Cleaning Co, says about our marketing consulting and a yellow pages ad I wrote for him recently:
Hi Karl,
The Yellow Pages ad you help me design has worked masterfully! This time of the year, it’s usually hopeless. I am averaging 2 calls a day now, whereas from the old ad I would be lucky to get two a week - which makes it a 500% increase. My only regret is that I didn’t have you design my ‘Rock-Solid, Lead-Generating Money-Making Marketing-Plan earlier! I believe that conservatively, business has doubled in my domestic. We are attracting a better class of clientele, in the 45 and over age group – the ones that don’t quibble over the price and just want a good job done. It’s not attracting the price shoppers. My conversion rate has also increased and I am getting a lot less price resistance. Considering I spend $20,000.00 a year on yellow pages…. It is important I got it right!
Thanks,
Phil Benson
Owner
Alberta Cleaning Co
If you want to us to start making the phone ring and potentially send your business in the same direction as the Calgary economy… send me an email and lets see if we can help.
Enjoy your weekend and be sure to ponder how the above can work for you and your business.
