Posts Tagged ‘Business’
Tips for Women in Business: Change Your Perspective to Change Your Results
Chances are you have spent hours searching for something only to find it was, quite literally, right under your nose the whole time.
With a 4-year-old in residence, this scenario happens quite a bit in my house. My little fashion diva recently misplaced her favorite shoes, a fact which she informed me of (through devastated tears) mere moments before we were to leave for preschool. And as I was practically tearing the house apart to find the missing pair of flip flops, it turns out I actually had missed the shoe the first time around. The shoe had fallen behind the rocking chair in her bedroom, and when I looked under the chair from the front, I couldn’t see it. I almost didn’t bother to look in from the back, thinking there was no way it could’ve made it by there. Turns out, you should never underestimate a 4-year-old’s ability to lose their beloved belongings in strange places; the flip flop had, in fact, fallen in between the back rockers, lying in just the right spot to be missed from the front perspective. But when I switched to a different viewpoint (or perspective), I found the shoe and managed to save the day, just in time for preschool. The same thing goes for your marketing. Sometimes, when things just aren’t working, it’s time to switch perspectives. Maybe you’ve gotten so bored or discouraged with your marketing that you just plain aren’t doing it anymore. Or perhaps you’re still following the motions but readers just aren’t responding (chances are, they’re feeding on your lackluster feelings…’been there, done that!’). There are a few ways you may need to do this. 1) Change the way you approach your marketing and writing As a copywriter who earns her bread and butter through writing, it’s hard for me to admit this, but there was a time in the not-so-distant past when writing my newsletter articles was almost painful for me. Whenever it came time to put out another article, I’d secretly groan to myself and would often put it off as long as possible. You see, I’d pinned myself into this box of thinking that I always had to write about one thing: tips and techniques for writing better website copy. But it was very literal, as in, “Top 10 Ways to Write Great Web Copy” and other fact-based, tips-type articles. Quite frankly, after writing on this topic for over 3 years, I was really bored. There are only so many ways you can approach the same topic! Or so I thought. And then one day it’s like I woke up and realized that I could broaden my topic, and talk about how things going on in our everyday lives can affect our business writing (because, after all, it’s not like we leave our personal lives on the side of the road when we step into our offices). And so when I changed my perspective to include talking about things that interested me, my marketing became fun again. Think about ways that you can make marketing fun, like maybe by making a game of it. As a competitive person, maybe declare a challenge between some friends to write 10 articles in one month and whoever does it gets treated to something special, like a gift card that the “losers” chip in on or even just bragging rights. Or make an actual game of it, like I did in my “Get Prospects on Demand” online marketing mastery program, which comes with a ‘Prospect Surge’ card game that prompts you to pick a card and engage in the spur-of-the-moment marketing activity listed there. Whatever it takes to get and keep things exciting! 2) Try looking at things from your readers’ point of view Sometimes, when we aren’t getting the responses we’d like to our marketing promotions or writing, it’s because we don’t have enough WIIFM (that’s What’s In It For Me) lingo in our copy. When we sit down to write a promotional piece, whether it’s website copy, a promo email, or even a request for a raise, our natural instinct is to write it from our own perspective. We’re thinking about what WE want the reader(s) to take away from the document. Speaking from experience, it takes a LOT of practice to shift that perspective to be more client or reader focused. Meaning, whenever you write anything, you have to step outside of yourself and your goals and step into your clients’ shoes. With every word you right, you need to ask yourself, what will my reader(s) think of this? What will they take away from it? Will this excite them? Annoy them? Leave them so indifferent as to not even take notice? Be brutally honest with yourself. Get a second opinion if you need to from a trusted friend, colleague, or mentor. And then get it out there. 3) Change your actual visual perspective Sometimes a different setting is just what you need to freshen up a stale, ineffective marketing plan. For example, a relationship coach could take a field trip to the zoo and recording a tongue-in-cheek video about how such-and-such a species mates for life and here are a few ways that they might be using to keep their love alive for so many years… Of course, the tips are really for your human viewers, and if you wanted you could add a line at the end about how watchers too can follow these tips to make their love last. Just an idea to liven things up a bit and keep things fun for you AND your audience. When you change your perspective, you keep yourself and your readers engaged in your business. Engaged readers are more likely to buy than those who see your stuff in passing…and then don’t give it a passing thought. © 2012 by Tammi MetzlerThe 5 ‘Secret Sales’ That Power Up Your Presentations
Have you ever wondered what’s going on inside the head of your prospective clients? Ever wondered why some people sit on the fence, seemingly unmoved by your presentation or pitch while others pop their hands up on their own and say “Thank God you’re here! I NEED you!” What helps to tip the scale in your favor? And what could be sabotaging your results?There are 5 ‘secret sales’ that hide within every single presentation you give.
Knowing them can give you greater control over how people connect, respond, and react to your talk. These secret sales will help in those situations and more! You’ll want to know these secret sales and even more importantly you’ll want to IMPLEMENT THEM into four critical areas of your business which I’ll share with you in a moment. 1. You’re the Expert! Its your job as an expert to assure people that you know your business, and you’re credible. Do this early on in your introduction and your story to build trust. 2. You’re still one of them: Next, balance your expertise with a nice dose of humility! Be sure your audience still identifies with you and relates to you, or you’ll lose the crowd. 3.They can do it: No one is going to grab your hand and embark on a long, hard, scary, mission doomed for failure. Your prospects need to feel that success is possible for them in order to say “yes!”. Consider how you can make your product or services feel simple or “done-for-you”. 4. Show them that others have done it: No one will embark on a journey doomed for failure ALONE IN THE DARK, BY THEMSELVES. So not only do your prospects need hope, they also want social proof that others have survived this journey with you, and been successful! 5. Stand behind it: If you don’t believe in what you’re offering no one else will either. So when you make an offer, do it with 100% confidence and belief. Sometimes you stand behind what you do with your attitude and other times you might do it also with an actual guarantee. KNOWING this is great, USING IT IS BETTER! Don’t forget, review the 5 ‘secret sales’ as you review your:- Live presentations to individuals and groups
- Website copy
- Print materials
- Phone conversations, teleseminars, webinars