Short pieces, one topic at a time.
- Marketing & sales
The five basics of promotion, and why only two are marketing
Successful promotion rests on five basics, and only two of them are marketing. If one of the other three is missing, even a well written… - Marketing & sales
Why the ad is rarely the reason a campaign failed
When a campaign fails, the source blames what was never carried out, and rarely the idea. The missing step can date from years before… - Marketing & sales
Who goes on your customer list, and why old names stay
Your customer list holds people who bought, not people who only asked. A file's age says nothing about activity, so deleting old names… - Marketing & sales
Why a plain update sent regularly beats a perfect newsletter
A standing channel to customers works even when plain, and without it the business goes quiet. Cutting it looks like a saving, yet the cost… - Marketing & sales
What an ad must say before anyone will respond to it
An ad that sells is factual and explicit, and it registers in about a quarter of a second. Design stops people binning it, and information… - Marketing & sales
How to tell whether your promotion works, and what to measure
The first number to measure in promotion is how much went out from you, before how well it was written. That volume leads your income by a… - Marketing & sales
Seven promotion failures in a small business, and the costliest
The source names the failures of poor promotion. Promoting only now and then ranks among the worst, and the costliest error is a neglected… - Marketing & sales
Why your advertising doesn't work, and where the problem sits
When advertising brings no result, the cause usually lies with who received it. By the source's count, the wrong public is behind about 99%… - Marketing & sales
Why one message for all your customers reaches none of them
A message that speaks to all your publics at once reaches none of them. Each public needs its own, built on the same service and the same… - Marketing & sales
The step everyone skips, and why it decides if your message works
Between knowing your publics and writing to them sits a step of finding out what they want. Most owners skip it, and their message then… - Marketing & sales
Why guessing what customers want feels like knowing
You can guess what your customers want, but you cannot act on a guess with confidence. A survey finds out what they will pay for and what… - Marketing & sales
Why a direct survey question gets a polite answer
A direct question gets a polite answer. A question that touches what bothers the customer gets a real reaction, so a good survey translates… - Marketing & sales
Why a survey breaks when you count the answers
A survey can break after good answers come in. Count identical answers separately, or merge them into a word nobody said, and the winner… - Marketing & sales
What a survey button is, and why you must not improve its wording
A button is the answer that came back most often in a survey. You give it back to the public in their own words, and your message goes in… - Marketing & sales
Why a sales call is won or lost before you dial
Before a call with a customer, decide what you want from it and learn who you are ringing. That keeps the call short and shows you are a… - Marketing & sales
What a booking call says, and what it keeps for the meeting
A booking call is short and carefully built. It gives the customer a reason to meet without revealing the content, and it ends the moment… - Marketing & sales
Why to ask for a meeting as a choice between two times
A yes-or-no request for a meeting invites a refusal that is hard to undo. A choice between two times still allows a no, and makes agreeing… - Marketing & sales
What to keep off a phone call with a customer, and why
On a call with a customer, clear whatever blocks a date. Answer on price only when asked, and write down what was said, since a phone keeps… - Marketing & sales
What to say when a customer demands a price on the phone
A final price on the phone ends the conversation either way. Decline on a duty to be precise, and move the talk from lowest price to best… - Marketing & sales
How much small talk belongs on a call with a customer
One source allows a personal opening line and another bans small talk. In practice they agree: one sentence showing you know the customer… - Marketing & sales
Why a meeting booked by phone falls through while you wait
The customer's objection builds in the wait between call and meeting. So book close to the call, confirm in writing and invite them to… - Marketing & sales
Why you sell in the meeting and not on the phone
The phone is good for booking meetings and weak for sales conversations. Sell face to face, ideally at the client's place, where they relax… - Marketing & sales
The four conditions of exchange, and how much you will sell
A sale is an exchange of value. The condition your business is in, from rip-off to abundance, decides what happens after the meeting and… - Marketing & sales
Why a sales meeting has no script, and what it has instead
A sales meeting follows four steps in a fixed order, and the wording stays yours. The third step, locating what ruins the client, is the… - Marketing & sales
How to know you found the problem the client wants solved
A real problem does not guarantee a sale. The client must want it handled, and the sign you got it right is agreement that turns straight… - Marketing & sales
Why your explanation kills the sale, and what to do instead
People who know their product well talk too much in meetings. Lead with a question and go quiet, and the client talks, often clearing their… - Marketing & sales
The five mistakes that kill a deal, and why they feel right
Five mistakes kill deals in a sales meeting: arguing, criticising, running down a competitor, overselling, and the excuse that lets in the… - Marketing & sales
Why the close is decided before you ask for the sale
The close is settled by everything that came before it. What remains is to ask for the sale, worded so the client has no easy way to say no. - Marketing & sales
Why a customer from years ago still belongs in your files
A customer who last bought years ago still belongs in your files. Only three situations remove someone, and a list nobody touches loses… - Marketing & sales
Why you read a customer's file before you reach out
The same customer, offer and product close far more often when you read the file first. Skip that step and you end up offering what they… - Marketing & sales
Why a customer's next step is rarely your priciest product
A customer who bought something small won't jump to your biggest package. They buy the step next to what they already have, and repeat… - Marketing & sales
The best moment to offer a customer your next service
The best moment to offer the next service is the end of the current one, while the customer is still in front of you. Their excitement… - Marketing & sales
Asking a customer for a lead versus asking for help
A customer who made a big purchase has already told people. Ask for a name and you get a cold lead. Ask for help and you get a door they… - Marketing & sales
Three situations where owners miss the second sale
The second sale slips away in three situations: a big sale, a fear sale and a customer who takes over. In each, your mind is on the sale in… - Marketing & sales
Who counts as a referrer for your business, and who doesn't
A referrer brings you a lead that was new to you. People who only speak well of you don't count yet, and your next referrers are already… - Marketing & sales
What a price must cover besides the cost of the work
A price must cover every expense, leave room for delivery mistakes and build a reserve. Most self-employed people price only the first and… - Marketing & sales
Why more work can leave you with less money
A product that cannot sell above its delivery cost is a hobby you fund. Jobs below that floor deepen the hole, and overcharging loses… - Marketing & sales
Why your cost does not decide what you can ask
Cost sets only the floor of a price. The ceiling comes from the buyer's desire, real value to them and your ability to deliver. Miss one… - Marketing & sales
The two failures in pricing, and why the second goes unseen
Exchange fails when you collect without delivering and when you deliver without collecting. Everyone covers the first. The other looks like… - Marketing & sales
Why a campaign that works too well can hurt your business
Marketing should create want, but want you cannot supply turns extra enquiries into letdowns. Promise and promote only what exists and can… - Marketing & sales
Why you cannot guess what your customers value
Find out what people want and value before you promote, instead of guessing. The test of promotion is whether exchange came back, and… - Marketing & sales
Why the sensible price is often the worst one
Money vanishes when you deliver without collecting or collect without delivering. The reasonable-looking price can be the worst: it suits… - Marketing & sales
Marketing, promotion and advertising: what sets them apart
Promotion is two questions: what you offer and how you offer it so people respond. It happens at every point of contact, not only in the ad. - Marketing & sales
How much to promote when your diary is already full
Promote above what you can get through this week, never above what you are able to deliver. Today's capacity should not decide how many… - Marketing & sales
Why one offer per message sells more than three
One offer per message outsells three, because it keeps the customer's attention in one place and spares them a choice they are not ready to… - Marketing & sales
What a public is, and why your customers are several
A public is not everyone who might buy from you. It is a group held together by a shared interest, trade or status, so most businesses have… - Marketing & sales
What an opinion leader is, and why it is not a big name
An opinion leader is the person your public turns to for a view on things, not necessarily a famous one, so you measure them by influence… - Marketing & sales
How to build a business image with no marketing budget
A small business image is built first from integrity, word of mouth and useful work, not money. And good work that nobody hears about is… - Marketing & sales
What a sales phone call is for, and why not to sell on it
A sales phone call has one product: a date in the diary. The phone is good at booking meetings and poor at selling, so what you give away… - Marketing & sales
Why you cannot qualify a client over the phone
You cannot tell on the phone if a client is able and willing to buy. Qualifying happens in the meeting; the call only checks for a reason… - Marketing & sales
Why a customer who cannot reach you goes elsewhere
A call the customer starts is worth more than one you start, and when they cannot reach you they do not think you are busy. They think you… - Marketing & sales
Why you do not know what the client needs, and what they want
Clients do not want your service. They want something to stop happening to them, so assuming you know their needs is the biggest risk in a… - Marketing & sales
Why you never ask a client to decide in a sales meeting
In a sales meeting you never ask the client to decide or choose. Deciding takes understanding, and asking too early only weighs the client… - Marketing & sales
What a sales objection really is, and how to spot an alibi
A sales objection is usually the buyer's fear of getting it wrong, not a point about price. A real objection keeps coming back; an alibi… - Marketing & sales
Why customers who already bought are your biggest asset
The people who already paid you are your business's potential income. Most owners never count them, and never reach out after the first… - Marketing & sales
Why customers refer you, and why it isn't a favor
A customer who just bought from you gives you a friend's name because they need to: seeing someone else buy too reassures them they chose… - Marketing & sales
Why the work you deliver is your strongest marketing
Most new clients come from people you already served well and who send others your way, so the quality of your delivery outsells your… - Marketing & sales
What your price is measured against, and why it is not cost
A price is measured against its value in the buyer's eyes, not the market or your costs, yet you still need your full cost, so it sits… - Marketing & sales
Who really pays for what your business gives away
What you give away still has a cost. It goes into the price of something else or comes out of your profit, and what matters is whether you… - Marketing & sales
Why selling more won't rescue falling income
Money represents work that was delivered, not work that was sold. When income falls because delivery is stuck, more sales only dig the hole…
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