06.07.04
 By
Charlie Cook
"Here's a little tip I would like to relate Big fish bites if ya got
good bait."
To attract more prospects and clients, you need what Taj Mahal calls
"good bait" in his song the Fishin Blues. One of the biggest mistakes
you can make, as a small business owner, is forgetting to use good
bait in the form of your offers. Whether you use direct mail, a web
site or media advertising to market your business, the success of
your marketing depends on whether you provide prospects with compelling
offers.
Your offers motivate prospects and clients to visit your web site,
read your marketing materials, contact you and buy your services and
products. Without the right offer you won't attract big fish or as
many fish as you'd like. |
What
bait are you using to motivate your target market to:
- Sign up for your free newsletter?
- Buy your products and services?
- How many new prospects per week are your offers attracting?
Which Offers Work Best? Your offer needs to be something that your
target market wants. You wouldn't use a worm to catch a whale or a
safety pin to catch a tuna. Offer your target market something they
can't refuse. Everybody likes to get something for free, whether it's
an article, guide, ebook, report, consultation, a demonstration, offer
of membership or added services. If your offer helps your target market
solve a common problem, it will attract more prospects and clients.
Whether or not it is free your offer needs to provide value. Prospects
will judge the quality of your products and services based on your
offer. If you give away a subscription to a newsletter, follow up
with useful content and substantive ideas your prospects can use.
Give them something that is so good they will want more.
Attracting Prospects My target market is service professionals and
business owners. I offer a 15 page free marketing guide to prompt
people to give me their contact information so I can market to them
in the future. My target market, want to attract more clients, want
ideas to help them. A 15 page marketing guide is something that tens
of thousands of people have found to be irresistible. Each week this
simple offer pulls in hundreds of new prospects.
You too can come up with an offer to prompt more prospects to contact
you. If you're a lawyer you could offer a report on the "The 10 Biggest
Legal Mistakes Homeowners Make". If you're a massage therapist you
could offer a guide to "5 Ways to Avoid Damaging Back Pain." If you
provide an online service, you could offer a free or almost free one-month
trial.
Clarify Value People buy your products and services based on their
perception of value. Whether you are charging five dollars or five
thousand, your prospects need to be convinced that the benefits you
provide will outweigh the cost. Too often service professionals and
business owners rush to quote a price, trying to make the sale before
clarifying the value to buyers.
To stimulate sales place your offer in the context of your target
market's concerns. Once you've clarified how your product or service
meets their concerns the value of your offer will be apparent.
Use Problem Solving Offers People don't buy your products or services
because you've been in the business for decades, or because your ebooks
are well written or designed to please the eye. People buy your products
and services because they solve a problem.
Use Additional Incentives Carefully In their rush to sell their products
and services some small business owners offer huge discounts or bundle
free services. Discounting and bundling can work but make sure you're
not undermining prospects' perception of the value of your products
and services or your profits.
Key Elements of Your Offer Creating a compelling offer is an art and
involves blending the following items together to create a sentence
or two which will move people to take action, whether it is contacting
you or making an immediate purchase.
Include the following items to create an offer that helps sell: Name
- What you are selling Benefit - The problem it solves Credibility
- Why they should buy from you Value - How useful it will be to them
Guarantee - Your promise to them Motivation to act - A reason to take
advantage of your offer today.
If you want to catch big fish, you need good bait. To increase your
catch, improve your offers and you'll be reeling in many more new
prospects and clients.
- 2004 © In Mind Communications, LLC. All rights reserved.
About the Author:
Charlie Cook, is Chief Executive of Ideas and Inspiration at In Mind
Communications in Old Greenwich, CT and can be contacted via http://www.charliecook.net,
or by calling 203-637-1118. To get the F*ree Marketing Guide and the
'More Business' newsletter, full of practical marketing tips go to
http://www.charliecook.net
Read this newsletter at:
http://www.MarketingNewz.com/2004/0607.html |
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| From
the Forum: |
| marketing
to small business-need advice! |
I find it a very friendly forum so decided to
ask my question, maybe somebody can help me.
I am trying to find customers for design product called Business
Identity Package, which is design of logo, business card, envelope,
letterhead.
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