Do you find yourself working harder and harder for smaller gains?  Are you having a difficult time distinguishing yourself from your competitors?  Are you paying more and more for tiny incremental gains in profits?  Are you even struggling to capture tiny little pieces of market share?

If you’ve answered yes to any of these questions your marketing strategy is probably on life support!  The good news is that you’re not alone.  In fact; most businesses today have no clue what they are doing when it comes to marketing.  An extremely high percentage of businesses that I have worked with look at marketing as an expense instead of an investment.  Imagine that?

Here’s part of the problem; we are in the midst of the “greatest consumer attention crisis”

In Canadian and US economic history.  Just look around you.  We are in an over- marketed over-communicated society that makes it humanly impossible to pay attention to the 3500 plus marketing messages you are exposed to everyday.  That’s almost 30,000 messages each week.  That’s over a million messages each year and this staggering number is growing.

People are no longer paying attention to your marketing messages.  They are numb to them…especially if your messages are similar to your competitors and in the same type of media.  Most companies typically only use 2 or 3 standard ways to generate the majority of their customers or clients  This is ludicrous and in time your business will eventually feel the effects of poor lead generation and dry up!  Here’s the problem; your competitors use the exact same 2 or 3 ways to generate responses from the same customers as you do. 

The answer is to turbo-charge your marketing efforts…develop a plan and put it into action immediately.  Ask your self these questions; what is your marketing doing right now?  What would you ultimately like your marketing to do?  What steps are you going to take to make this happen today?  What consequences will you and your business suffer if you don’t take action immediately?  What benefits will you gain if you immediately take action and turbo-charge your marketing efforts? 

 A friend said to me recently when seeking marketing advice…

“Chad, I just can’t afford to do any marketing or advertising!”  My answer was straight forward and simple.  “You Can’t Afford Not To!”

Live life with a sense of urgency!

Chad Rissanen

The Biggest dilemma that I hear repeated over and over again is;

What can I do to sell more of my products/services?

Take a look around and you should be able to see exactly what you shouldn’t do.

Look at the very next ad you see a little closer…you will see braggart, self-centered

Ineffective marketing communications.  In my opinion a waste of the marketers time,

Company money and of course a complete failure to gain the prospects interest.

The following 10 items are the most costly mistakes you can make as a business owner or marketing manager.  Read on and I will help you avoid these all-to-common mistakes before they cost you your job or you business!

1)      Laser Your Focus On Your Prospects, Not On Your Company.

You must focus all your marketing communications on your prospect, Period.

Forget how great your company is…save that for later, always begin with your focus on your prospect and their concerns.

Remember this; the prospect is interested in one thing and *ONE THING *only;

What is in it for them.

2)      Know Everything About Your Prospect And Their Problems.

Remember this…people buy because they have a problem.

People will not buy from you just for the sake of buying or even because you’ve been in business for twenty years.  Think for a second your own personal reasons for buying anything, and you’ll see what I mean.

The more you know about a prospect the easier it will be to solve their problem.  Your job is to uncover their problem and present your product or service as the solution.

You must present fact based benefits to communicate to them that they must buy what you are selling to immediately solve their problem and lead a happier more productive life.

3)      Know What Specific Benefits Your Product/Service Provides.

 Features and benefits are completely different so don’t get them confused.

Remember this; Features are about the product…Benefits are about the prospect.

Like I stated earlier your prospect is only interested in one thing.  The benefits he/she will receive by owning your product.

Look at it this way; how does the fact that your company has been in business for twenty years help me paint my living room?  Tell me what amazing new system that you have to paint my room with less effort and in less time.  Tell me how if I purchase this new system (super magic paint roller) today how I can benefit…maybe include a special offer. Tell me that and you’ve made a sale.  More on special offers later.

4)      Qualify Your PROSPECTS Before You Spend Any Money Marketing Your Products/Services To Them.

 It continually blows my mind how many expensive promotional items I get sent to me without EVER been qualified as being 1) Interested in the product/service 2) Being able to afford the product/service.  3) Having any need currently or in the future for the product/service.  I will never buy anything from that company no matter how dazzling the promotion they present to me.  But…why don’t they know that?  SIMPLE….they never took the time to qualify me as a prospect. There are many ways to qualify prospects I will cover more on this later.   Don’t make this mistake!

5)      Never Focus Your Marketing Communications At The Entire World.

This is another very common mistake that I see companies make over and over again.  I call this type of marketing the shot-gun method.  Just blast a bunch of marketing material out there and hope and pray that something happens….hope that just maybe you might make a sale.  This is a big waste of marketing dollars and time.

You can’t be everything to everyone.  You need to focus your attention on a specific tightly targeted market.  You will sell more of what you have to offer to a smaller more focused market and save money in the process by cutting your cost-per-sale dramatically.

Remember this…Focus…Focus…Focus!

6)      State The Specific Problem That The Prospect Has And What It Is Costing Him/Her Every Minute It Is Left Unsolved.

People do things for two reasons and two reasons only.  To avoid pain or gain Pleasure.  In order to get your prospect to take notice of what you are selling you must effectively communicate to your prospect what it is costing them for ignoring your message.

Remember to explain the main BENEFIT of your product as the SOLUTION to the problem you just stated.

This can be done in the form of a headline for example…

Stop Wasting Your Valuable Time and Money Waiting For….so on and so on.

7)      Use The First Line Of Your Document To Attract Attention.

All too often we get caught up in another very common marketing trap.  This one is extremely hazardous to your wealth.  Scan over your marketing materials and you will

Probably see the following; a fancy company logo, your address, something about how good you think you are.   The problem here is that the prospect doesn’t give a damn how great you think your company is or how fancy your logo looks.

The only radio station they are tuned into is WI.FM  (what’s in it for me).  If you begin any marketing piece with a strong bold statement about what’s in it for your prospect you will capture the attention of your audience immediately.  The first thing the prospect must see is the statement of their problem backed up by a solution you have, backed up by the cost of not solving it immediately.

8)      Motivate Your Prospect To Act Immediately While You Have Their Attention!

Now that you have their undivided attention and have created a need for what you are selling, you have to motivate your prospect to take immediate action.  Why?  Because they are excited about it now…wait to long and you know what will happen?  The average consumer will completely forget about what you can or cannot do for them and quickly move to the next exciting offer.

Once you have convinced the prospect that you have the solution to their problem you have completed the fist step to a successful sale.  However it will do you absolutely no good toy have the prospect ready to act but have no reason for them toy act immediately.

This is accomplished by using time deadlines, special “limited time” offers, two for one sales, cash discounts etc….you have toy tell your prospects you have a solution if they order today, and you will add some FREE bonuses, add a discount of XXX, double their order, pay for the shipping etc.  It’s of no value to you in getting your prospect motivated to but and not giving them a great reason to act Today!!!

9)      Use Testimonials In All Your Marketing Communications.

To a prospect who is receiving your materials for the first time, your company has little or no credibility.  They don’t know, like or trust you yet.  You are virtually unknown toy the prospect.  To getting around this hurdle and convincing your prospect that others with similar problems HAVE truly benefited in a positive way from your product or service is the fastest most effective way to gain your prospects confidence.

Each time you get positive feedback from your customers or clients ask them if you can quote them, even if it’s just on the telephone.  Keep a file on these quotes and the next time you sit down to work on your next marketing piece…use them.  Failure to use testimonials will result in great difficulty gaining a new prospects confidence and will directly impede your sales.  The rule of thumb is two testimonials per page; more might be acceptable but never less than two per page.

10)  Offer A Strong Risk Reversal or Guarantee Of Satisfaction.

 The common belief that offering a strong guarantee will result in more returns is FASLE.

In fact, by offering a better guarantee you will invariably sell more of your products or services without necessarily increasing your net percentage of returns.  Your prospects will be converted into customers or clients more quickly because your guarantee implies faith in the product or service by your company.  This may be the final step in getting many stubborn prospects to commit to purchase what you have to offer.

“Simplifying The Purchasing Process As A Final Step”

 Do not make purchasing your product difficult…all the marketing in the world is useless if purchasing your product is not made easy.  We are a people accustomed to immediate gratification and it is not only necessary, it is expected. Conclusion; As you can see marketing is a multi-faceted process that requires a great amount of preparation and is often over-looked as being anything more than a nuisance to the person creating the marketing communications.  I can promise you this; if you follow the 10 guidelines I just presented to you, you will immediately increase your response rates and ultimately your sales.

Set no limits,

Chad Rissanen

All thinking people know that every form of outer communication, including
writing, speaking and body language, is crucially important.

However, this issue deals with a topic far more important. It is about a
little known ”secret.” You cannot be a successful communicator without
this skill.  Once understood, it can propel you to an unprecedented level
of happiness and success.

As we think in words, the real key to success and happiness lies within
the words you choose for your “self talk.”

The implications of this personal dialogue are enormous.

Why?

You are the master–the author–of every single thought, giving you absolute
control over your emotional state.

Imagine for a moment how the power and control you would have in life if you
could actually ”fool” your subconscious at any time into the feeling you
most desire! This discovery changed my life.  And, if you take it to heart,
it will also change yours.

Once you master the art of positive ”self talk” it will no longer be
important what happens to you in life. What counts far more are the words
you choose to ”frame” the event in your mind.

Most ”self talk” is extremely negative.  Indeed, it’s rare to find a
person who is positive most of the time, as I’m sure you’ll agree.

The impact of this negative ”self talk” will, of course, severely hamper
or sabotage what you achieve in the business world.

A typical sales message that I create, such as an ad or sales letter, usually
contains at least 1,000 words. Contrast this with the number of words which
go through our minds during our inner dialogue.

The experts tell us each and every moment the typical human being uses
approximately 1,000 words in their ”self talk.”  Imagine what this can do
to your emotional state if the majority of the words and thoughts are negative.

Certain words can quickly catapult you from poverty to great wealth. Well-
chosen words can persuade, lead, impress or attract people.  However, other
words can turn people off, sometimes forever. 

I’ve been thinking recently of examples of what words can actually do in and
to your life.

Here is a short list of them.

Depending on the words you choose, you can:

 · Criticize or support your mate
 · Discourage or inspire a child
 · Be invisible to others or have others eager to talk with you
 · Pass judgment or accept a friend
 · Take for granted or recognize a valued employee
 · Feel the depths of despair or unlimited joy
 · Facilitate loneliness or passionate romantic love
 · Appeal to one’s intellect or touch someone’s heart
 · Make an enemy or a friend
 · Feel blue or joyous on a rainy day
 · Quit trying or never give up on motivating yourself to greatness
 · Accept someone’s erroneous judgment or ask for their love and support
 · See yourself as a hopeless failure or an outstanding success
 · Dream small or dream big and achieve either one you choose
 · Live in poverty or acquire anything you want in life
 · Feel constantly tired or full of energy
 · View yourself as a weak, unattractive person or as a handsome
   or beautiful, healthy human being, and be absolutely right either way
 · Picture yourself helpless and defeated or as a successful entrepreneur
   that cannot be denied
 · Persuade others to go to war or march for peace

In this blog and in my audio’s and live seminars, I will do all
I can to provide you the actual Magic Words and phrases you need to
experience positive results.  

Think of these Magic Words as a new language of success. They are not theory.
They have been tested and proven all around the world. Use them consistently
and you are virtually assured you’ll get what you want nearly all the time.

You have an unlimited future.  Choose the words you use, especially with
yourself, carefully and wisely. 

Remember, it’s not as important what happens to you as the words you use to
describe events to yourself. You can be in a mansion or even confined in
a prison and still be happy. You may remember this poem:  ”Two men looked
through prison bars. One saw the night and one saw the stars.”

Again, it depends on what you choose to focus as you ”speak” to yourself.

Words have the absolute power to control your entire life as well as to make
it meaningful and happy under any circumstances.