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Cold calling doesn’t work, it’s no fun and often you end up with leads, or worse yet, clients, that don’t really value what you do.

Having said that, leads are the lifeblood of growth, without a lead, there is no client.

Set-up a 2 step lead machine and you can say goodbye to cold calling while generating all of the qualified, permission based leads you can handle.

The basic idea behind the 2 step approach is to create one or more valuable reports, workshops, evaluations, trial products, checklists, newsletters, courses or tip sheets. You know, something like, “How To Tell If Your Roofing Contractor Is Lying To You” or “What Every Senior Must Know About Bush’s Social Security Changes” or “101 More Things You Can Do With Your iPod.”

Now that you have your value packed written report or audio CD, every bit of your advertising - that’s Yellow Pages, direct mail, back of your business card, letterhead, email signature, web site - should focus on getting people to pick up, request or download that report. Don’t try to do anything else with your advertising, let the report sell you. See, that’s step 1.

There are several reasons that this approach is so much more effective for the small business owner than the traditional “image” type advertising.

First off, if you only buy a 2 x 3 ad or send a 4 x 6 postcard, can you really tell your story very well?

Secondly, this approach allows you to demonstrate your expertise in a non-threatening, on the prospect’s own terms, way. Nobody likes to be sold to, but if they take the time to read your report, understand what you do that has value, have an 8-10 page conversation with you, the relationship and trust has begun.

A person who has requested your free information in officially a hot lead. When a prospect visits your web site they are effectively raising their hand and identifying themselves as someone who is very interested in what you do. Half of your sales job is done!

If your advertising is focused on gathering the lead into the free report funnel, then your sales efforts are focused on taking that group and only that group that raised their hands and taking them to the next step in the process. That may be an appointment or just a series of more advanced mailings. By the way that’s step 2.

So let’s recap.

Create a free information product that your target market would see as a valuable read or listen.

Advertise the free report in everything you do

Capture the names and emails of those who request the report

Follow-up on those leads

If you take this advice to heart, everything about how you market your business will change. Finding new business will become a much more rewarding and valuable experience.

A couple bonus ideas:

Once you create your free report you will find other uses for it.

Referrals - Give the report or the web page where the report is found to your referral sources and tell them to introduce you by way of your free report or newsletter. This makes it easy for them to refer you and assures that your story is told.

Cold-calling - I know, I know, you shouldn’t ever need to cold call but, if you do, do it this way. Call up those prospects on your list and instead of trying to convince them to give you 5 minutes of their time a week from Tuesday, offer them the address of your power packed free info and then shut-up. Your prospecting time will be much more productive if you can use it to turn cold calling into 2-step prospecting.

Copyright 2005 John Jantsch

John Jantsch is a marketing consultant based in Kansas City, Mo. He writes frequently on real world small business marketing tactics and is the creator of “Duct Tape Marketing” a turn-key small business marketing system. Check out his blogs at http://www.DuctTapeMarketing.com/weblog.php and http://www.bloggingbusiness.com

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Not all benefits are created equal. Knowing which ones to use when can make a big difference in the credibility — and success — of your marketing campaigns.

There are three basic levels of benefit to any product or service. The first is just one step away from a feature, and is generally called a “Product Benefit” (because it is still centered on the product). Peanut Butter is made with natural ingredients and contains healthy proteins and monounsaturated fats.

The second level is stronger. It’s called the “Consumer Benefit,” because it focuses on (you guessed it!) the consumer, and the positive result she gets from the product benefit. My children get extra nutrition that tastes good — so they’ll eat it.

The strongest level is called “Values.” It’s the internal reward that comes from the Consumer Benefit. I’m a good mother because I serve healthy Peanut Butter to my children.

So if Values are the strongest level of benefit, you should always use them, right? Not necessarily.

The problem with selling to Values is that it’s easy to sound like you’re full of hype. Not only that, but coming right out and saying, “You’ll be a good mother if you serve Peanut Butter,” is downright insulting.

That’s why it’s best to hint at Value Benefits. “Choosy Moms Choose Jif.” See how the benefit is implied, rather than overtly stated? And isn’t it much more effective than, “Be A Good Mother! Choose Jif,” would be?

Marketing is all about getting the benefits across to your prospect. Unfortunately, there’s no single answer to which level to use when. It all depends on the product or service, and who it’s being sold to. But knowing more about them can help you choose the right one — or mixture of several — that’s just right for your situation.

Does your marketing forge an emotional connection with your prospects? It can. Lisa Packer delivers persuasive, targeted copywriting that dramatically increases your business. Unleash the power of words on behalf of your business by visiting http://www.dramatic-copy.com today.

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Many people are confused and miss their mark when it comes to mass communication. They believe that they are sending their message out to everyone. This is a recipe for disaster and a loss of valuable marketing dollars.

Even with mass communication, you must select your target audience. Mass means many people, but it doesn’t mean everyone.
If you think of the saying “if you try to please everyone, you’ll end up pleasing no one”, this applies quite well here.

Every one has their own tastes, desires, goals and needs.
For example you wouldn’t try to sell a 2-seater sports car to a family of four or five looking for a 6-seater with plenty of storage or baggage room. Or try to sell and jungle hiking adventure to seniors with a walker.

No matter what your product or service is and whether you are trying to sell to many or just a few, it is important to know what your target market is.

I know that some people cringe at this, yet the most successful people always due their homework first and understand who would buy what they are selling.

Now you may state that the above examples are obvious and yes, but I was trying to make a clear point of why you should know whom to sell. However not all products and services are that clear.

Their have been many examples of people who have thought they knew who they where selling to and didn’t make a dime. Then when they received help and redirected to another market, they became very successful.

Yes, it takes time and effort. The more important question is, “just how successful do you want to be?” Most people would agree that they didn’t start up a business just to fail, yet without getting your foundation set, that is what many people each month are doing, failing.

So, figure out your target market and then, find out how they gain or get the information that they need.
Is it through direct marketing, television, newspapers, trade journals, magazines? Once again, it doesn’t do you any good even if you know your target market, if they never receive the information. Some professionals never read flyers and direct mail, but always read their trade journal.

The 3rd piece of the puzzle is that most people need to see your ad at least 3 times before it registers or that they are willing to buy. You can’t just advertise once and go well that didn’t work. You need to commit to seeing it through. So planning your budget for the duration is also important.

Mass communication can be very rewarding and give you brand and name recognition and increase your credibility. It just takes commitment, research and time to do it right.

P.S. If you like what you’re reading in this ezine, you’ll love the book,
“Overcoming Barriers to Communication.”
This manual helps you overcome the challenges that start with
Intrapersonal to Interpersonal and on to Mass Communication.
Overcoming Barriers to Communication

Maria Boomhower -The Master Communicator,
has won awards for excellence in her field.
To learn more go to: http://www.falconfreedom.com
Grab a free report on “The 7 Secrets to Communication Mastery”
Are you an author, check out:
Communication Mastery Articles

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