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We hope you find this arcthve useful. A subscription to The Small Business Advisor Newsletter is free. Subscribe now - it's easy! The Small Business Advisor Newsletter for December, 1997 CONTENTS
++++++++++++++++++++++++ NOTES/TIPS/etc
++++++++++++++++++++++++ Staying organized will save you a lot of time and we all have our own methods. We frequently get asked for a good method for remembering tasks that need to be accomplished at or by some future date. Turns out the "low -tech" solution is one of the best - a "tickler" file. A tickler file is simply a
file where you store reminders of items to be accomplished at some future
date. The easy low-tech way is to purchase a "fan folder" with pockets
for each day of the month (available at most office supply stores). Place
your reminder in the appropriate slot and each morning check that days'
contents. For a higher tech solution, write notes to yourself using your
software calendar program (if it has provisions for doing so, like ECCO).
The SBA is sponsoring Pro-Net, a procurement and marketing network, located at http://PRO-Net.sba/gov/ . It's a search engine used by contracting officers for locating small businesses that can provide a needed product or service. You need to be listed in this database. It currently lists over 170,000 small, disadvantaged, and women-owned businesses. Pro-Net is open to all small firms seeking federal, state and private contracts. The database can be searched by business type, location, keywords, SIC codes (you know your codes, right?), and more. The site also has links to other government procurement opportunities including the Commerce Business Daily. Registration is free and easy. Do it today. ++++++++++++++++++++++++
1. The most valuable sales tool in marketing at the lowest cost is a letter. In fact, the most valuable tool in marketing at any cost is a letter. You can catch and hold the attention of a busy magazine editor or the president of American Airlines. It's a powerful tool. Write one business-getting letter every day. 2. The best formula in marketing is 'New product offers benefit, benefit, benefit." Use this to create the headline of your press releases and advertisements, for envelope teaser copy, and for the beginning lead of your brochure. Example: "New lightweight tennis racket makes your swing faster, more powerful, and more accurate." Or 'New keyboard offers faster typing, greater accuracy, and is less tiring." 3. The most valuable single sheet of paper you can create in marketing is a press release. You should be sending press releases every month. 4. The most effective trick I've learned in 25 years of copywriting is this: When you are having a tough time writing, just start anywhere. Start writing anything, then go back and cross out your first sentence. On really bad days, go back and cross out your first paragraph. This immediately pulls you into the heart-and the electrifying part-of your copy. 5. Send more than one piece of mail to follow up serious inquiries and sales leads. Remember, a campaign is not a single letter or brochure, but a sustained effort over time. 6. The 12 most valuable words to get any press release published are, "Are you the person I should be sending this press release to?" Before sending any important press release, call the magazine or newspaper editor and say these 12 words. Even if you know darn well he or she IS the correct person, you should still call and ask this question. Asking this question positions your call as 'Can you help me?' which invites most editors to do just that. Then send your release-they'll be looking for it, and will try to help you further by publishing it. 7. Create a letter series-in advance-to get new business. Mail the series to new prospects on a continual basis. I call this 'multiple exposure marketing," and it's the basis of my first book, How To Market a Product for Under $500. By the fifth letter they receive, they'll be ready to receive your call as a friend-and buy your product. Make your letters look like traditional letters; make your prospect think he is the only one receiving them. 8. Always use a thank-you letter to acknowledge when something nice is done for you. No, a call is not the same. A thank-you call is forgotten in a day, but the impact of a written thank you can last a lifetime. A small gift works very hard if sent with this letter, but it's not necessary. 9. Write your objective first. When you start to write any business communication, always figure out and state in writing what you are trying to accomplish. For example, an ad objective may be to generate maximum direct orders, or to get as many leads as possible, or to generate retail store traffic. If this document works exactly as you wish, what would you like to have happen? Write this objective in the upper right-hand comer of your paper so you can refer to it often. Compose all of your material specifically to fulfill your objective. Writing the objective first clarifies your writing, defines your purpose, and gives it more focus. 10. if you'd really like a response from a personal letter, include a return envelope in it with a live stamp on it. It's amazing what this does! Your recipient will either send it back right away or keep your stamped envelope on his desk for days trying to figure out what to do with a letter addressed to you with a live stamp on it. It'll increase your response or it'll drive them nuts. 11. Test an the variables anytime you run a successful long-term direct mail campaign. Test everything, although not all at once. Whether your mailings-and profits-are up to your expectations or not, as your campaign runs longer and longer, test higher and lower prices, copy style and approach, smaller, less expensive formats, lists, and list sources. 12. Take your time writing. No one will ever know that the one-page letter they received took you three weeks to write. Just make sure that when you send it, it's perfect. And if the letter is going to more than one or two people, have several people look at it, and get their opinions. Remember, there's a big difference between a friend saying he would buy your product and a stranger reading the mailpiece and sending you a check. 13. Don't be afraid to ask for the order-several times-in a direct mail solicitation. While I usually don't repeat myself unless well juiced, I make an exception to this rule when it comes to asking prospects to call and to send in their order. If the recipient doesn't call or send an order, the piece fails. For best results, be very explicit and tell the reader exactly what you want him to do-twice in the body copy, and again in the PS. (Jeffrey Dobkin is the author of How To Market A Product for Under $500 ($29.95), and Uncommon Marketing Techniques ($17.95). Both books are available in finer bookstores nationwide, or directly from the publisher - 800-234-IDEA. Contact Mr. Dobkin directly at 610 642-1000. His website is www.dobkin.com) ++++++++++++++++++++++++ Implementing any successful mailing program begins by determining who will get your mail. You need to find or compile a mailing list of qualified prospects for your offer. The success of your mailing is directly dependent on the accuracy of your mailing list in targeting prospects most likely to be interested in your product or service. For example, an offer for information about a quick, easy way to lose weight will get a big response if it is sent to a "targeted" list of subscribers to a weight loss magazine or newsletter. But, you will get a very meager response if you send the same offer to the membership list of your local Chamber of Commerce. Your offer would not be relevant to most people on the Chamber of Commerce list and most of your mailing budget would be wasted. Remember, you must target prospects likely to be interested in your offer. The lack of serious attention to selecting a mailing list can doom your mailing campaign to failure. Poor list choice often occurs because the decision seemed so obvious, it was done quickly and with little serious thought. I developed a simple procedure I always follow to be sure I select the best list for my offer. I use this procedure even when the list selection seems obvious. It usually enables me to create and implement a mailing with profitable results on the first try. Here's what I do... A SIMPLE PROCEDURE I begin my search for the best list by defining the person I want to reach. Starting with a blank sheet of paper, I list all of the characteristics I can expect qualified, interested prospects for my offer to have. If I'm working in an established market, I write down the names of some of my best customers in that market. Then I write down the characteristics they have that make my product or service valuable to them. Once I develop this list of characteristics, I make a list of actions and activities these ideal target prospects pursue that might be recorded in some way. For example: 1. What associations or clubs would they join? (Many association or club membership rosters are available to the general public. If not, you can get it from one of the members.) 2. What licenses would they be required to have? (All licenses except driving licenses and auto registrations are public information you can get at your city, county or state licensing offices.) 3. What publications are they likely to subscribe to? (Most publications rent their subscriber list to other mailers.) 4. What products or services are they likely to buy? (Many companies are willing to share their customer list with other non-competing businesses who are willing to share a customer list in return.) WHAT ABOUT LIST BROKERS? Take time to think about ways you can find or compile the ideal list without getting it from a list broker. You'll not only save money, you'll also have a list your competitors will probably never find. By avoiding a list broker, you may also enjoy the advantage of a list that is not being used by other mailers. Heavily worked lists tend to be unresponsive, even when they are highly targeted. By finding or compiling your own list, you'll have a list that is not heavily used by other mailers and your potential for a high response is maximized. You'll also have a list you can re-use as often as you want without paying another rental fee. Most list brokers charge an additional fee each time you use their list. If you decide to get your list through a list broker, the simple procedure I described above will enable you to tell the broker exactly what you want. Unless you already work with a trusted list broker who has proven his or her list selection skill to you in the past, call several brokers with your requirements and have each of them give you their recommendations. Then, be careful not to make your final decision based solely on the cost of a list. Whenever I thought the cost of a list was expensive, it nearly always produced a profitable high rate of response. Lists I thought were bargains nearly always produced an unprofitable low rate of response. I've learned that the cost of a list is not important when it contains people who have the exact qualifications I need. Finding the right mailing list is not difficult when you follow this system. It enables you to quickly maximize profits from your mail while avoiding expensive, time consuming trial and error tests. (Bob Leduc is a Small Business Consultant. Contact him for a variety of useful publications at BobLeduc@aol.com Subject: "Postcards" or Phone: (702) 658-1707 (After 10 AM Pacific time). Write to PO Box 33628, Las Vegas, NV 89133) ++++++++++++++++++++++++ My business terms are pretty simple, and pretty standard. Net 30 Days. Which means that your check is due in my hands within 30 days from the date on the invoice I sent you. (Which I religiously mail or hand-deliver within 24 hours of completion of a job.) We figure you're late on day 31. And we call you and tell you about it right away. We don't yell, threaten or complain. We simply let you know that your money is due --per our agreement --and we ask for a firm commitment on when we can expect that money. Whatever you tell us, we write it down on the invoice. If it's late again, we call you immediately. Now if this is a job between friends, I generally make a "friendly" call. Let my buddy know that a) this is interfering with our cash flow and b) our terms might not be so favorable the next time we work together. And c) our terms call for an additional 1.5% interest each 30 days, so the cost of playing poker escalates regularly if we have to act like the First National Bank of Steve. If the client has a cash crunch and tells us so, we generally back off a little bit; we've been there and we know how frustrating it can be. But we keep in regular contact until we get our money. If we're not paid in 90 days, or we get jerked around --you know, promised money on specific dates that never arrives, told continually that our client or the accountant is out to lunch, that sort of thing --we head directly to Small Claims Court. What a godsend to the small business! Laws vary from state-to-state, but in Small Claims Court, we can take legal action for unpaid debts up to around $1600, without a lawyer. It costs around $20 to file, depending on whether you want the paperwork mailed to your wayward client or delivered by an officer of the court. An appointment for court is made and you show up with your paperwork and tapes and your argument. If your client is found liable, they have to pay you. And that's pretty much it. So what are your chances? We've sued four people in Small Claims Court in the last three years --for amounts ranging from $800 to $1600. In each case, we did the work as promised, delivered the product as promised, and they were neglect in paying us; and we had no problem winning our case each time. If you did what you were supposed to do, and the client didn't pay you, there's really no reason why the judge won't rule in your favor. For information, just visit your Small Claims Court office. They're located in your District Court House and they'll be happy to provide you with all the pertinent details and paperwork. The half-way method: payment schedules. I don't really favor payment schedules. We've tried these with slothful clients and they rarely work. Good idea but! --it takes discipline to pay bills on time and if your clients are late with big amounts of your money, it stands to reason that they're just plain sloppy with money overall. Nothing galls me more than arranging a payment schedule with a cash-poor client, listening to apologies and effusive thanks and hearing that the schedule will not only be met but the balance due will be in my hands well ahead of the schedule --and then having to call and bug the client every time the money is due to remind them to keep their word. If you're going to be nice to the lenient, I would suggest that you add a clause to your agreement for a payment schedule that if the client misses one of the payments, that the entire unpaid balance is immediately due and payable. And get them to sign it so you have some proof when you walk it into your Small Claims Court office. Oops! That check bounced higher than a Superball! We receive checks in the mail every day. We NEVER let them sit on the desk. We make a daily deposit in our bank. Like to keep that money flowing in the system, you understand. Once in a great while, a check
will bounce. If that happens --and it really is sort of a rare event,
maybe occurring once a year --we call the person or company immediately
and let them know what happened. "Mr. Jones, this is Steve Yankee
and we've got a little problem, here; you paid for your order with a check,
and it was returned to you this morning marked insufficient funds."
At that point, we pause to let them make whatever excuse or apology they'd
like to make. In this fashion, the ball is in THEIR court, not yours. They are the ones who decide to figure out the problem, which is only fair; YOU didn't make the mess, did you? Then you shouldn't have to go through all the aggravation of cleaning it up. Oh --and hit them for the $10 or $15 charge that the bank will put against your account for that Non-Sufficient Funds check, too. Again, it's not your fault and it shouldn't be your expense. Collections aren't fun, even under the best of circumstances. But neither is calling your landlord to tell him you're late with the rent because someone hasn't paid you. So stick to your guns and get what's due you. Be friendly but be forceful. And if someone breaks their promises to you consistently, face up to the fact that they're deadbeats and will avoid you as long as they can. I don't care if they're your best friend --sue em! Don't give the store away to anybody! (Steve Yankee is an independent copywriter and sales consultant. He can be reached by emailing syankee@springlakemi.com or calling 616-844-6783. You'll find lots of money-making FREE information on his website: http://www.syonline.com ++++++++++++++++++++++++
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