Engage, Serve, and Close through Your Subscriber Base
Too many people think content marketing is giving away the store; nothing is further from the truth. Content helps you build a subscriber base that becomes a business asset and fuels sales.
Sales
The Best Quality Goes Unnoticed
In marketing communications, the best quality goes unnoticed–as it should. Here’s why.
Talk Little; Say Much.
A few years back, I recall having dinner with my kids, and at that time my younger son (who was pre-teen then) kept babbling on at the table about nothing. He seemed to have an answer for everything, and acted as though he had the bank of eternal knowledge and wisdom tucked neatly between his ears. And his excessive talking was making me lose my appetite.
Humility: The Most Important Sales Trait
Humility is a tricky thing. The harder you strive to be humble, the farther away you are from achieving your goal. Indeed, it is safe to say that if you are granted the “humility award,” you lose it the moment you accept it.
Are You Running or Growing?
For many business leaders, a big obstacle they often face to growing their business is actually running it. Are you making the best use of your time?
Show…Don’t Tell.
Not long ago I was in a meeting with some business colleagues. As we were wrapping up our discussion, one member of the group, an established graphic designer, shared a portfolio of previous work she had done over the years. It was actually a simple, yet elegant photo album of business logos and corporate identities she had compiled. Another member of the group was flipping through it, wishing that he had something tangible to share with prospects of his own. However, his profession wasn’t graphic communication! It was tax, accounting and payroll services! “How do I demonstrate my work in a portfolio?” he asked. Indeed, how do you “show” rather than just tell?
Some People Just Need Someone Who Will LISTEN.
Not long ago, one mid-afternoon I stopped into a Target store to pick up a prescription at the pharmacy. While neither the store nor the pharmacy counter were very busy that time of the day, I found myself waiting a bit longer than expected to get served for my pickup. When I reached the counter, there was only one other customer there–an older lady who had picked up her medication only moments before. She was clearly engaged in talking to the store clerk about some issues she was having–stresses brought on by family or health I guess. The clerk did not appear to be saying much; she was really allowing the customer to do some private venting of some sort. I did not see it very long (wanting to respect the lady’s privacy), but I do know that it lasted at least ten minutes.
Social Proof: How to Get a Testimonial and an Introduction in One Conversation
I’ve spoken and written about the value of testimonials before. Indeed they are so important that they merit further discussion. After all, we know that client testimonials can be one of the best ways to grab the attention of prospects in your marketing. They are truly social proof…giving you credibility and demonstrating your successful track record. Most importantly they reflect the feelings that your clients have when you have served them with success.
Search Engine Optimized Video: It Starts with the Script
The key to creating a video that speaks to your audience’ search is the script. In other words, search engine optimization of a video does not take place after it is produced and uploaded; rather, SEO work begins before the video is produced.
Less is More
In content marketing, , we cannot touch our audience just once and hope for a response. We need to do it on a regular basis, and each time, we should strive to deliver value, not sales pitches. But this now begs the question: how often should we do this? If we “market” too much, it can desensitize our audience to our voice.