Sales Come First

Hi there
OK, first up…an announcement for everyone in or around Melbourne.
Many of you would know Brett McFall, or at least who he is.
For those of you who don’t, Brett is an expert on making money online, and he travels the world teaching other people how to do it.
Anyway, I’m not going to give you a complete bio of Brett, suffice to say he’s the real deal, and many of you reading this will vouch for him
The point is that he’s running an event on the 6th and 7th of December in Melbourne. Check it out here:
http://www.brettmcfall.com/seminar/special.html

I’ll keep you in touch with any events I hear about in Australia I think you might find useful.

OK, now it’s on to … TESTIMONIALS.

Now, why do you think testimonials are so important?

Well, whenever you make any claim about your product or service, you need to back that claim up with PROOF.

And while there are lots of different ways you can prove your claims, the best way is with testimonials.
This is because what somebody else says about you holds a lot more weight than what you might say.

Now, there are a few different types of testimonials.

You can have written testimonials, video testimonials (where you tape somebody giving the testimonial) and audio testimonials. Obviously the only ones you can use on paper are written ones, but a combination of all 3 online is extremely powerful

And dont worry about having too many testimonials. You really can’t have too many testimonials. Some of the best sales pages have dozens and dozens. Other websites have separate pages of them.

In fact, I once heard about a direct mail campaign which involved sending out a box full of testimonials to the prospect with a short letter. But the sheer number of testimonials was what sold the product. So don’t ignore what you’re hearing here. Testimonials are an incredibly powerful way of proving your claims and selling your product or service.

OK. Let me give you some really specific testimonial tips.

First of all, the best format for testimonials is “Once I was lost…and now I am found”. So, once I had a problem, I used such and such’s product, and now the problem has gone away.

So, if its lawnmowing, a good format would be “Once my garden was a mess, but Hugh’s Gardening Service came and fixed it up, and now all my neighbours are jealous”

Or if you’re a mortgage broker, it could be “I was paying too much on my home loan, but I went to Hugh’s Mortgages and now my repayments are less”

Of if you’re selling a product on making money, it could be “I tried all sorts of programs to make money online, but they all let me down. But now that I’ve tried Hugh’s program, I made lots of money”

OK. Now you either just get them from your customers, and they’re often fantastic. But if you dont think your customer’s going to give you one you can use, you can always ask them what they got out of your product or service, and put that into words for them. Then, just send it to them to check it over.

Once you’ve got your testimonials, the best way to put them in your sales letter is to make them stand out.
Put a big colourful border around them. Shade the box in a different colour. Use a different font. Highlight a few keywords. Even pull out a short phrase and put it at the top of the testimonial in a different colour.

Another great way if you’re online and you’ve got lots and lots of testimonials is to put the ones you dont use in a panel down the side of your webpage. After all, they tell a story themselves.

And put in as much information as possible as you can about the person who gave you the testimonial. Just initials or a first name is not very effective.

You want to include as much information as possible, including their full name, city/town, country, their contact number, an email address, their website, and a photo. Obviously you wont have all this information, but the more information you include, the more it looks like your testimonial is from a real person.

But here’s a word of warning….
…Do not, under ANY circumstances, make them up. Its not only illegal, but immoral as well. And if you get caught…watch out.
So if you dont have any testimonials, you can offer your product or service to a few people for free on the condition that if they like it, or found it useful, they give you a testimonial.

And then keep talking to your customers, and ask them for feedback about your product, which you can use if they give you permission. BTW they wont just offer it, you have to ASK THEM.

And make sure you keep a record of their approval. Otherwise they might just come after you in a few years, claiming that you didnt have their permission.

So, there it is. Go forth and collect! I’m forever asking my clients how many testimonials they’ve got. And usually new clients who haven’t used direct response marketing before dont have any. And the first thing I tell them to do is got and get as many as they can possible get.
Next week I’m going to tell you all how to write about the benefits that your product or service has. There’s a couple of cool tricks on how to find really strong benefits, and how to write about them in your sales message.

In the meantime, if you have any questions, or would like me to write on something specific, please feel free to add your comments or get in touch with me on my website.

All the best

 
Hugh Thyer
www.salescomefirst.com

 Now, after last week’s comments (or should I say rant) on the economy, I’m back to where I was.
 Actually, before I begin, I sometimes wonder if these posts are too long. I’ve seen heaps of blogs which are half the size, but I really don’t get any value out of them.
 So if you find them longer than most of the emails and blogs you read, then I apologize. Its just that I’ve decided that this blog will always deliver a marketing lesson that you can take away and actually start using. Too many blogs or email updates don’t deliver enough information to use, and I want to make sure you go away with something you can implement straight away.
 So let’s talk about another critical piece of the puzzle – your OFFER.
 What you’re going to offer your prospect has got to be so good, they’d be stupid to say NO!
 You see, once people get to the end of your advertisement, whether its your sales letter, website or space ad, your prospect may still not have made up their mind.
 Its not until you tell them what’s on offer that they change from a MAYBE to a YES!
 That’s why your offer has to be so incredible that they’d be crazy to say ‘No’.
 Your offer has to pack such a powerful punch that they’ll think “WOW”. You have to create that kind of impression. And you do it by working on things like bonus items, price discounts and guarantees.
 Now – generally speaking, don’t worry about offering too many things. As long as they’re good value then include them.
 Just make sure you’re not offering any rubbish. You’ll disappoint your prospects and will most likely lose them. Even though they’re getting the item for free, they’ll feel as though you let them down. And that could end your relationship there and then.
 But here’s something you need to do that lots of people always get wrong. When you include ANYTHING in your promotion as part of your offer, you need to SELL it. Sell it as hard as you would if the person was actually paying for it.
 

You see, a lot of people buy a product or service for the bonuses alone! I’m not kidding, its absolutely true. And don’t forget, its usually not until you make your offer that your customer finally decides to purchase.
 Its actually a really common mistake and I see a lot of it from new clients who send me their current promotions to me to rewrite. All they do is give their bonuses a name and a price.
 

But if you don’t explain to your prospects what benefit they’ll get from each bonus, then they’ll just glaze over it, and you’ll miss a key opportunity to close a sale. Quite frankly, if you don’t SELL your bonuses hard, then you’re wasting your time even having them.
 At the end of this entry I’ve included a description of a bonus item I wrote up some time ago so you get the idea.

 Here’s a few things you can include to BEEF UP your offer. A lot of these are what’s known as ‘Cents In The Dollar’ items, because their value to your prospect is far higher than your cost to produce them. For example, it costs $1 to burn a CD, but the information on it might be worth $50 to your prospect.
• Written information – eBooks, printed publications, manuals or whitepapers.
•  A free report on an aspect of your service.
• Audio CDs – ask somebody to interview you and record it. You can even include the transcripts. (If you want more information on this, please drop me a line)
• Membership sites – if you have a membership site or program, give them 3 months free access
•  Guarantee – Make sure you offer a full, no hassle money back guarantee
•  Discount – Discount the price down from what its worth to what you’re prepared to sell it for. BTW – its really good if you can throw in another price discount right at the end. Just a tip on this one, if you discount heavily, make sure you explain WHY you’re doing it, otherwise people wont believe you’re making as big a sacrifice as you claim.
• A free critique of their product, or a free evaluation of their situation. This could be handy in health and wellbeing, because you can evaluate somebody’s current level of fitness or injury, which would result in a management plan (involving you…of course!)
• A free audit – Basically a free quote, except you include a more detailed recommendation with the price. Everyone does free quotes. How many people do a free audit valued at $100? Imagine the potential for painters, gardeners, accountants, mortgage brokers etc.
•  Time – What about offering your prospect some time with you for nothing? It wont cost you money if you’re not 100% busy, and could result in loads of long term committed clients. Its a great excuse for getting the prospect in front of you so they can see your skills in action.
 

Now, when you put together your offer, think about the lifetime value of your customer. A lot of people in business are happy to make a LOSS to get their new clients. That’s because they know they’ll come back again and again. So make sure you think about the lifetime value of your customer when you put together your offer.

Just don’t forget that a lot of the things you offer may have a higher perceived value to them, than what they cost you. So its easy to put together a killer offer, and not have to fork out very much money at all!
 

Now, if you don’t have any bonus items to include, then you can either write them yourself or you can get them CHEAP. Just google ‘reprint rights’ and you’ll find heaps of info on inexpensive books and other publications you can offer to your prospects. Basically, you pay a one-off fee for the right to sell or give away their publication.
 

Right at the end of your promotion, summarise everything you’ve offered so your prospect knows EXACTLY what they’re getting. If your prospect is confused, then it can kill your sale off.

 I find a table works best. Put the items in the left hand column (with a brief description of each item to remind your prospect WHY its worth what you claim), the value of each item in the middle column and the actual price in the right hand column. In most spots the word “FREE” will appear.

Right at the end, total up the value, and show them the saving.

One more thing…
You should consider your entire promotion as your offer. Everything you say has to show your prospect how good the product or service you’re offering is. Keep this in mind if you include a list of benefits…
 

Next week is a really cool topic. Guarantees. I love them because they’re so powerful, but on the same hand, so easy to write. I’ll tell you exactly how its done, plus throw in a few ideas you might not have thought of to make them extra-strong!
 All the best

Hugh Thyer
www.salescomefirst.com
PS – Here’s a sample of a bonus I included in a sales letter. See how much more powerful it is than just putting in the bonus name and the price.
 BONUS ADD-ON #1:
 Yellow Pages Success Secrets!
                                    (Normal value: $49)
This manual teaches you how to attract more new customers with a riveting ad that captures attention immediately, arouses intense interest and gets the call every time. This is normally $29 but its yours with <product name removed>. Its written by Robert Boduch, one of the world’s leading marketing experts who has written yellow pages winner after winner for years.
The techniques you’ll learn here will improve your yellow pages response by 200%-300% or even more! And because your marketing strategy relies on getting good quality people to your seminars, a Yellow Pages ad can be a really powerful tool to use.

Last week I promised I was going to talk about making irresistible offers to your clients and prospects.

But over the past few weeks, I’ve had something on my chest and I’ve finally succumbed and decided to talk about it.

You see I’m going to talk about on something that’s filling up the newspapers at the moment. And that’s the economy.

Now. I don’t claim to know what’s going to happen like some commentators.

Sure, I have my own opinion on what’s going on, but I’m not here to give you my opinion on things like this. There’s enough so-called experts cluttering up peoples minds with that already, so I sure as hell ain’t going to add any more to it.

But what I AM going to talk about is what it means for anyone in business.

So lets assume that things are going to slow down, and businesses will find it tougher.

Now, most people in business see DISASTER. But what I see is…OPPORTUNITY!

OK. Just follow me on this one.

Its fair to say that over the last few years it was pretty easy being in business. The economy was on the crest of a wave. The streets were awash with money.

In fact, anyone who opened up any business stood a pretty good chance of succeeding, regardless of whether they were any good or not. They just hung out their sign and people would come.

But now that’s different. Businesses will struggle and businesses WILL go to the wall.

But when you think about it, the ones that go under first will be the ones that least deserved to be there in the first place. Harsh. But true. They’ll be the ones that selected crappy locations for their stores, or could never justify higher prices to their clients. Perhaps they blindly followed bad advice without working things out for themselves.

There’s plenty of reasons businesses fail. I’m not having a go at them. Not at all. Good on the for trying.

So lets be Darwinian and call it ‘Survival of the Fittest’. Because those least equipped to be in business will be the first ones to close up.

So, in order to not only stay afloat, but THRIVE, you have to really hone your marketing skills to a fine point. Have your marketing strategies so well developed that you’ll be able to keep raising your prices and getting new customers, REGARDLESS of the state of the economy.

And that’s hard, because when there’s less money around and people start examining their spending more thoroughly, you still have to be able to justify why they should keep you in their weekly budget.

And you arent just competing against other businesses in your field, you’re now competing against every other business you customers do business with. And that means groceries, school fees, petrol, entertainment, everything.

So avoiding ‘the chop’ is going to get tougher.

Now, to do this you need marketing strategies that’ll keep your product or service in the MUST HAVE basket. 

You also need marketing strategies so lethal that you’ll be able to pounce on any prospect the second you sniff them out, and add them to your herd.

Because what will eventually happen is your competitors will start to go out of business.

And when this happens, all of a sudden there’s going to a release of new prospects into the wild. And if your strategies are sharp and effective enough, you’ll start bagging their old customers as fast as you can, while your competitors are left wondering “What the hell just happened”.

But wait, this is where it gets REALLY COOL.

You see, if your marketing strategies are that damned good that you not only stay afloat, but actually grow your business in tough times, then what’s going to happen in 2-3 years time when the economy is back on top again.

I’ll  tell you exactly what’s going to happen. The strategies you developed in these lean times will have you miles out in front of them when they going get good.

And its all because you invested your time and money in developing better and better marketing when they were cutting back on it. You saw it as an investment; they saw it as an expense.

Its these skills you develop in the BAD times that will see you grabbing all the new customers when they start flooding in as the economy turns upwards once again.

You can even start this process NOW. Even if these people wont become clients for 2-3 years. All you have to do is stay at the forefront of your customers mind as THE GO-TO BUSINESS in your market. That way, when they’re ready to spend money, you’ll be the first person they’ll consider.

I wont go into depth about this now, but I’ve mentioned it before. Just start with the basics – newsletters, blogs, free reports, free audio interviews, free consultations, referral programs and so on.  

And that, my friends, is where the BIG money is, and why NOW may just be the biggest OPPORTUNITY for business, not the biggest DISASTER the media are trying to scare us with.

Next week I’ll be back on track, talking about how to put together an irresistable offer that your prospects wont be able to refuse.

I look forward to talking with you all then

Hugh Thyer

www.salescomefirst.com