Business Sanity Blog

Internet Marketing | Just Do It!

Susan Martin — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 08:08:00 GMT

Do you spend hours studying internet marketing but fail to spend enough time implementing what you've learned?

In "Get Off Your Butt With the 25-25-50 Rule" Bob Bly makes the point that you have to spend at least 50% of your time implementing in order to really learn how to do internet marketing or to jumpstart your business. Bob writes:

"Are you spending too much time studying and reading about Internet marketing or freelancing - and not enough time actually doing it and getting your business off the ground? Then apply the 25-25-50 rule.

The 25-25-50 rule says that to master a skill or process, and put what you learn into practical action, you must divide your time as follows:

>> No more than 25% of your time is spent studying - i.e., reading books, going to boot camps, attending workshops, listening to tapes in your car.

>> No more than 25% of your time is spent observing - watching what successful people in your field are already doing; e.g., if you want to become a direct mail copywriter, this means reading and analyzing the direct mail you get in your mail box each day.

>> At least 50% of your time is spent actually DOING the thing you are studying and observing - e.g., if you want to sell information products on the Internet, you are creating your first product ... designing your Web site ... or building your list."

Susan Martin, Marketing Coaching

Testimonials | Creating trust online

Susan Martin — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 08:12:00 GMT

If you've been reading all the buzz about trust marketing, your head may be swimming with ideas on how to gain your prospective client's trust with marketing materials, but not know exactly how to implement it.

In tuesday's post Internet Trust: Creating Consumer Trust Online, I outlined several ways to earn your prospects trust.

Today, I'm going to give you some step by step instructions on how to utilize just one of the trust factors, testimonials.

There is nothing more compelling and convincing for a prospective client, than to hear about the results and benefits of working with your company from someone who's just like them, with the same type of needs, problems, challenges and desires; who has gotten stellar results from working with you. When done right, testimonials go a long way to help build trust and establish credibility.

There are several kinds of testimonials.

Unsolicited testimonials are those letters or emails you get from raving fans who are so happy with your service that they are motivated to thank you without prompting.

Solicited testimonials are ones that you ask for, but can be just as enthusiastic if you ask the customers or clients who are most appreciative of your work to share a heartfelt opinion of their experiences with you.

Obviously if you want to motivate your clients to give you testimonials, make sure that you're always delivering value, go the extra mile to ensure that they are seeing significant results.

Testimonials come in all different varieties. The traditional letter testimonial is the one that business owners often frame and hang in their offices. Video testimonials are all the rage on the web now, whether using it on your own website, youtube, or facebook.

The best time to ask for customer testimonials is when they're most happy with what you've provided, before that warm and fuzzy feeling fades away. For instance, if you were selling cars, you would want to ask for a testimonial before the car leaves the showroom, while it's all new and shiny, not after it's been parked on a NYC street, and gotten all dirty and dented.

Sometimes clients will give you a testimonial during casual conversation. An attorney client of mine recently remarked that he was very happy with the work I had done on his website, and what a huge difference it had made in his conversion rate. Happy clients will often compliment you or tell you how much they appreciate your work. Listen for those opportunities and simply ask them something like "may I quote you on that?", and turn that compliment into a testimonial.

However, even if you've missed those opportunities already, it's perfectly acceptable to ask your best customers if they would be willing to give you a testimonial at any time. I often suggest to my clients that they simply say that you're updating their marketing materials and wondered if they would be willing to give you a testimonial.

The format of business testimonials can be fairly simple. What it all boils down to, is a heart-felt sentiment in their own words, which tells a story about what their situation was before they worked with you, the problems they were experiencing, what has happened since you started to work together, and finally the most important benefits or results they have gotten from working with you.

All of this can be accomplished easily in as little as three or four sentences.

Testimonials are a great addition to any marketing materials, be it a website, brochure, email blast, etc. They can even be used during a presentation. When posting testimonials on your website, many people create a separate page or section for them which is fine, but I prefer to carefully place testimonials in some kind of text box alongside or within the copy or text of the appropriate page, so that while they're reading the description of your work (or that practice area), that particular testimonial can lend credibility to that specific webpage without having to click on another page.

The best testimonials are written by your customers, in their own words. But let's face it, people are busy with their own lives. If you have a great customer who is willing to give you a testimonial, but too busy to do it themselves, you can always draft it for them, based upon the comments and compliments they've given you, and of course send it to them for their approval before using it.

Please note: Anonymous testimonials are OK, but not half as credible as ones that your customers are willing to sign their names, company name and or location to. However, if you do something of a confidential nature, it may be the best way to present them.

Have testimonial questions? Contact me.

Susan Martin, Marketing Coaching.

Internet Trust: Building Consumer Trust Online

Susan Martin — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 10:44:00 GMT

How important is trust to online marketing?

You do an internet search, and click on a website for a company you've never heard of. They may have some valuable products or services, but how do you know you can trust them to deliver what they claim they will?

Trust has always been is a key component of marketing, and building internet trust is just as, if not more important.

Trust is something that's earned, not automatically given. Offline, the way you handle yourself, your behavior or professionalism either helps to build trust or undermine it. Although you may not be really "meeting" a prospect online, you still must take multiple actions that will establish yourself or your company as credible and trustworthy.

One way that companies establish internet trust is by helping their visitors to "meet" them. An "about us" or "company profile" section is a traditional way to display real information about your company, its founders or owners, its history, credentials, with photos of the key people so that they can see there are real people.

Did you ever click onto a website where you couldn't find a phone number, address or some real way outside of a contact form to get in touch? Hiding behind a contact form is a sure way to undermine trust.

Endorsements are an age old method of establishing credibility and brand trust. On a website, it's very easy to display testimonials. They work especially well if they're from real people, (people just like them, who have the same problems as they do), who are willing to disclose their names, companies or locations, talk about the problems that led them to do business with them, and the benefits and results they've gotten from using your product or service. Some companies even display photos of their customers next to the testimonial or utilize videos endorsements on their websites to convey an even stronger endorsement.

Information marketing also helps to build trust by positioning you as an expert. If someone is interested in a certain subject or issue, and your name keeps coming up, it helps build your credibility and therefore increases your trustworthiness. A blog post here, an article there, a mention in the paper, someone referring to you on facebook or twitter, linking to your website or blog, or re-tweeting an article you've written, all help to establish credibility in the same way a testimonial does.

Social media is another way that companies establish internet trust. On twitter for instance, supplying useful information, even if it's re-tweets of info other "experts" supply, helps to build brand trust by positioning you or your company as someone who's a good resource.

Critics of twitter ask who wants to know that you just got out of a cab, or your kid just skinned his knee? But in fact a certain amount of personal information helps to make you more real (a real person, with a real life, makes you more credible and therefore more trustworthy).

When someone who fits your ideal client description comes to your website, they should be able to recognize themselves and their problems immediately. In that way, an emotional connection is made. Emotional connections also help to build trust.

As well, the copy or content that you use on your website also impacts trust. If you use over-salesy, keyword stuffed jibberish, as too many sites do, with little or nothing of substance to offer, you won't make that emotional connection and undermine trust.

The look and feel of a site also impacts your ability to establish brand trust. The more generic your site looks, the less likely that people will trust you.

One of my pet peeves, are sites that use Google ad-words to pull in income. When I click on a website that has all kinds of advertisements on it, I am immediately suspect and wonder if this is really a legitimate information site, or just a website put up to pull in residual income. Obviously this also undermines trust.

Poor sales follow-thru and customer service is another sure way to undermine brand trust. If someone contacts your company, and that message is not returned within a reasonable amount of time, any trust that could have been established will quickly be diminished.

Similarly, if someone places an on-line order and doesn't receive it on-time, or the item is of a poorer quality than they expected, you're leaving yourself open to disaster, since trust can be destroyed with a couple of well placed comments.

What are your thoughts and experiences with internet trust?

Susan Martin, Marketing Coaching

Last chance to win a FREE Business Sanity Strategy Session!

Susan Martin — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 10:04:00 GMT

Wow! The entries keep coming in - if you haven't submitted yours yet, please do it before 4pm eastern time today Nov. 2nd 2009:

Here's What You'll Win:

A 1 hour, one to one Business Sanity Strategy Session with me, (business coach and consultant Susan Martin).

We'll talk about your 3 most pressing business challenges and outline a personalized game plan to alleviate those challenges and make running your business less crazy and stressful and more profitable and fun.

Here's how to enter:
Write a paragraph about your most pressing business challenge and post it on your blog or facebook page with a link back to my contest page: http://tinyurl.com/yfclsxb .

Then email your link to the entry at contest@business-sanity.com or, just email the paragraph to contest@business-sanity.com.

Contest Rules:
4 winners will be chosen on November 2nd, 2009. I'll contact winners right away to schedule your Business Sanity Strategy Session.

Susan Martin, Business Coaching

Health Insurance For Small Business | Rates Skyrocket This Year

Susan Martin — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 10:44:00 GMT

As the economy desperately tries to pull itself back-up, there's more bad news for small businesses: Renewal rates for health insurance for small business have increased sharply over last year, an average of 15% or more than double last year's increases; according to an article in the NY Times.

The Times reports that some experts feel that "the insurance industry is under a lot of pressure from Wall Street, and may be raising premiums in advance of any new legislation that reduce profits". Although costs are higher for large companies as well, they have a lot more "negotiating clout" so that premiums are not increasing as much. Since health insurance is such a political hot button these days, I'm not surprised to see the whole issue being used by both the Democrats and Republicans to push through their agendas regarding a health care reform and specifically the public option.

Health insurance for the self employed was not specifically mentioned in the article, but given the current environment I'm sure that rates are going up there dramatically too. Readers, if any of you are self employed and facing renewal of your health insurance, please let me know what kind of increases you're being quoted.

Susan Martin, Small Business Financial Management

Only one week left to enter! Win a FREE Business Sanity Strategy Session

Susan Martin — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 15:42:00 GMT

Thanks to the 67 and counting entries I've received so far!

There's only one week left to send me your entry to win a FREE Business Sanity Strategy Session. Here are the details:

Here's What You'll Win:

A one hour, one on one Business Sanity Strategy Session with me, (business coach and consultant Susan Martin).

In this session we'll discuss your 3 most pressing business challenge and outline a personalized game plan to alleviate those challenges and make running your business less crazy and stressful and more profitable and fun.

Here's how to enter:
Write a paragraph about your most pressing business challenge and post it on your blog or facebook page with a link back to my contest page: http://tinyurl.com/yfclsxb .

Then email your link to the entry at contest@business-sanity.com or, just email the paragraph to contest@business-sanity.com.

Contest Rules:
4 winners will be chosen on November 2nd, 2009. I'll contact winners right away to schedule your Business Sanity Strategy Session.

Susan Martin, Business Coaching

Small Business Lending | Will Obama's new plan work?

Susan Martin — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 16:44:00 GMT

Yesterday I mentioned that the President was going to announce a new small business lending plan. The NY Times reports that the new plan includes provisions to lower the lending rate to 2% for community banks with less than $1 billion in assets, so they can pass those lower rates along to small business, and proposes to raise the caps on some of the SBA's most popular small business loan programs from $2 million to $5 million.

The administration will require community lenders to provide evidence as to how they will increase small business lending with quarterly reporting.

One possible glitch has already been identified, as the lower rates come with limitations on executive compensation as other relief money does these days. The administration seems to think that this won't be a problem, but a Cam Fine, president of Independent Community Bankers of America, a trade association, thinks that the family owned community banks will balk at the idea and choose not to participate because their capital is family money.

Only time will tell how much this new lending plan will help small business, but I am encouraged by the grass roots approach that the administration is taking. Hopefully the small community lenders will rise to the occasion.

Susan Martin, Small Business Financial Management

Small Business Funding | Are there really new rules?

Susan Martin — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 11:19:00 GMT

How to get a small business loan is a question that millions of business owners and would be business owners grapple with everyday.

It's no secret that many small businesses are underfunded. Many small companies start by utilizing bootstrapping techniques instead of owner capital, and when the money starts to flow in, either out of need or greed, most business owners and professionals take out whatever they can, and never get around to making the capital investment that banks like to see.

Unfortunately, many small business owners and would be business owners operate under the assumption that they can get small business funding by just writing up a good business plan. (which is in itself quite an undertaking).

In my years of experience as both a small business owner and business coach, it's always been my rule of thumb that banks want to lend money to companies who can prove they will be able to pay it back. That's why so many business owners end up borrowing against their homes, or take out personal loans, until such point as they can establish credit for the business itself. Even then, unsecured small business loans of any magnatude are difficult to find.

There's been a lot of talk about stimulus funds and bailout money, but how much of this will actually impact loans for small business?

That depends on who you are, what stage your business is in, what bank you're dealing with and most importantly, how strong your financials are.

In a NY Times post entitled "The Secret Language of Bankers", entrepreneur Jay Goltz says that "We are doing business in a new world. There are new rules."

One of the rules Jay cites is the company's debt to equity ratio, something that many small business owners aren't aware of. Basically, it is the amount of money you have over and above the amount needed to cover your expenses. In speaking with some local bankers, Jay's research showed that a 2 to 1 income to debt ratio is what they're looking for, but, it also depends upon what form of equity you have (cash, real estate, inventory, etc.)

One banker Jay spoke to said "that a more important number was debt-to-Ebitda, which is earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization expenses".

What they're looking for, no matter what you call it is proof that you can pay the loan back, even if times get tough.

On a related note, the NY Times reports that President Obama is supposed to reveal a new plan this afternoon to "encourage lending to small business. According to an administration official, the proposal will increase caps for existing Small Business Administration loans and give smaller banks better access to funds from the Troubled Assets Relief Program."

What that will really boil down to, only time will tell, but I'll bet that if there's really more money made available, it will go to those businesses who can PROVE they can pay it back, no matter what ratios they require.

Have you been successful borrowing money for your small business this year? I'd love to hear your stories good or bad.

Susan Martin, Small Business Financial Management

Is Your Business Driving You Nuts? Here's some ways to gain sanity

Susan Martin — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 15:54:00 GMT

You've been running your business for some time now, and the stresses and strains of business ownership have been slowly creeping up on you.

You've gotten so caught up in your current projects, that you haven't done any marketing for ages (and have no idea where your next client or project will come from.) You've fielded so many interruptions that the day is over and you've accomplished nothing. You've been so focused on solving today's crisis, that you forget to think about where your business is going, or how to get it there.

It's not as if you did this on purpose...it just kind of happens when you're trying to do everything yourself.

Now don't start beating yourself up or feeling bad, I'm sure you're working as hard as you can to try to get your business under control. But please don't rush to change everything at once, cause that usually ends in disaster.

Instead, analyze what's working and what's not, learn from the masters.

A well thought out strategy starts with understanding what's working and what's not. But even then, just understanding what's not working isn't enough. Learn about strategies that have been successful for other business owners just like you. Get out of your head and into some of the best business minds around and look at things from a fresh perspective.

It's hard to do it all on your own.

One of the most widely reported challenges of business ownership is isolation. It's hard to do it all by yourself. And, it's even harder to know exactly what to do to make things better. It's much easier when you have someone by your side, who's gone through many of the same challenges you're experiencing and has figured out how to overcome them. An expert who can look at the big picture with a totally different point of view. Unfortunately not everyone can hire a business coach. So what can you do?

Write a paragraph about your business challenges and win a FREE Business Sanity Strategy Session.

All you have to do to enter is write up a quick paragraph about your most pressing business challenges. Here are the details:

Here's What You'll Win:
A one hour, one on one Business Sanity Strategy Session with me, (business coach and consultant Susan Martin).

In this session we'll discuss your 3 most pressing business challenge and outline a personalized game plan to alleviate those challenges and make running your business less crazy and stressful and more profitable and fun.

Here's how to enter:
Write a paragraph about your most pressing business challenge and post it on your blog or facebook page with a link back to my contest page: http://tinyurl.com/yfclsxb .

Then email your link to the entry at contest@business-sanity.com or, just email the paragraph to contest@business-sanity.com.

Contest Rules:
4 winners will be chosen on November 2nd, 2009. I'll contact winners right away to schedule your Business Sanity Strategy Session.

Look forward to hearing about your business challenges and helping you work out a plan!

Susan Martin, Business Coach

Employee Motivation: Can rewards hinder results?

Susan Martin — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 12:48:00 GMT

Many companies offer employee incentives, thinking that these rewards can motivate employees to achieve greater results. But in his upcoming book "Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us", author Dan Pink presents a contrasting view.

Based upon research conducted by the US Federal Reserve Board and similar "pay for performance" workplace motivation studies by the London School of Economics; they have found that "financial incentives can result in a negative impact on overall performance". He claims that there is a "mis-match between what science knows and what business does", and this is one of the problems that have contributed to our current economic challenges.

Specifically he cites studies that show that incentives only work for tasks that have a "simple set of rules and a clear destination...narrowly focused on a simple solution". But when you're talking about what Dan calls "21st century tasks", where the solutions aren't clear, not obvious, out of the box; and are sometimes found on the very edge of where one would normally look, where it takes right brain, creative, conceptual abilities - "rewards actually narrow our focus and restrict possibilities".

Instead, Dan claims that there are three keys to employee motivation for "21st century tasks": Autonomy, Mastery and Purpose. Autonomy being the "desire to direct our own lives." Mastery being the "desire to get better and better at something that matters". And Purpose being the "yearning to do what we do in the service of something larger than ourselves".

For instance, Google has what they call 20% time. Their engineers spend 20% of their time working on anything they want to do with autonomy over time, tasks and team. This employee motivation strategy has resulted in products like gmail, orkut and google news, about 1/2 of their new products are born during this 20% time.

Dan continues by saying that if we eliminate those "if-then" rewards, and encourage staff motivation by allowing them to do things because they really matter, we can strengthen our businesses, solve the more difficult problems and maybe even change the world.

Listen to Dan's inspiring video yourself here and let me know what you think. Thanks to John Jantsch for the heads up.

Susan Martin, Business Leadership coaching

How to Use Social Networking & Small Business Networking to Get More Referrals

Susan Martin — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 09:27:00 GMT

If you run a small service business or professional practice you've probably heard about the benefits of networking and building a strong referral base. But with all the hype about social networking, is real life small business networking a thing of the past?

Not likely. In fact, as more and more small business owners understand the value of relationship marketing, they are seeking new ways to expand their networks, generate more referrals and build your referral base. But how can you effectively use the two to grow your referral base?

By combining traditional small business networking with social networking, you can cultivate relationships that will drive even more business to your firm. Here's how:

1. Make sure you have a solid marketing foundation by sharpening your message and developing compelling traditional marketing collateral you need such as a marketing sheet or brochure, testimonials, business cards, case studies, testimonials, etc.

2. Add to this aresenal by launching a website and blog if you don't already have one.

3. Expand your reach by utilizing social networking tools such as facebook, twitter, linkedin community list serves and forums to bring your message to life in online communities.

4. Pinpoint several types of professionals who sell non competing services to your target clients.

5. Request referrals from your online communities to professionals you'd like to network with.

6. Follow up with phone calls and in person meetings for the purpose of building mutual referral relationships.

Susan Martin, Business Coaching

Marketing Plan: An easy to understand marketing process

Susan Martin — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 10:54:00 GMT

If you're involved in marketing or selling professional services, I think you can agree that it's often hard to create and implement an effective marketing plan that brings in business. But creating a marketing plan isn't always enough, because marketing plans tend to skip some crucial steps in the process that help the prospect go from an interested party to a paying client. Duct Tape Marketing guru John Jantsch boils it all down into an easy to understand and implement marketing process he calls the "marketing hourglass" - John writes:

"..getting someone who has a need to know, like, and trust you" with the intentional act of turning know, like and trust into try, buy, repeat, and refer you get the entire logical path for moving someone from initial awareness to advocate.

The key is to systematically develop touchpoints, processes and product/service offerings for each of the 7 phases of the hourglass.

1. Know - Your ads, article, and referred leads
2. Like - Your web site, reception, and email newsletter
3. Trust - Your marketing kit, white papers, and sales presentations
4. Try - Webinars, evaluations, and nurturing activities
5. Buy - Fulfillment, new customer kit, delivery, and financial arrangements
6. Repeat - Post customer survey, cross sell presentations, and quarterly events
7. Refer - Results reviews, partner introductions, peer 2 peer webinars, and community building

Far too many businesses attempt to go from Know to Buy and wonder why it's so hard. By creating ways to gently move someone to trust, and perhaps even creating low cost offerings as trials, the ultimate conversion to buy gets so much easier.

In order to start your thinking about the hourglass concept and gaps you may have ponder these questions:

What is your free or trial offering?
What is your starter offering?
What is your "make it easy to switch" offering?
What is your core offering?
What are your add-ons to increase value?
What is your "members only" offering?
What are your strategic partner pairings?..." (Read more here.)

Whether you're a solo lawyer trying to market your services, or a larger firm trying to build a new clientele, focusing on an effective marketing plan and process can help you turn interested parties into paying clients.

Susan Martin, Marketing coaching for professionals

Web Marketing: How to create a lawyer website that attracts clients

Susan Martin — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 13:16:00 GMT

If you run a law firm or are in private practice, I'm sure you can agree that having a website is no longer a luxury, but a necessity. But simply putting up a website isn't enough to bring in new business, especially with all of the competition that's already out there. What you need is a well designed and executed web marketing strategy. Once you have one, you'll have the online marketing collateral you'll need to grow your business through the internet.

Here are some tips to help you create an effective online marketing machine:

Create a compelling marketing message that speaks to your ideal client, pinpoints their pain or problems, shows them how you can help and proves that you help people / companies like them with those same issues, everyday.
Help them understand why you're different (and better) than the competition.
Develop trust by showcasing client testimonials and case studies.
Speak to them in language they can understand - legalize doesn't sell legal services!
Optimize your copy for keywords your ideal clients will use to find someone like you, and utilize those keywords in your website copy and create metatags that let the search engines know what you're all about.
Make it human and real: Don't hide behind a corporate facade, use copy that's stuffed with keywords or sound generic. Let them "meet" you and get a sense of who you really are, just like they would if they came to your office.
Include an invitation to contact you on every page, ABOVE the fold.
Add graphics to help demonstrate your experience, expertise and personality.
Keep adding content that helps to position your firm as experts.

Whether you're just thinking about developing a website, or already have one that isn't coverting; if your law firm needs an online marketing strategy that works, contact me to find out how I can help.

Susan Martin, Lawyer Marketing

Why Business Presentations Don't Work

Susan Martin — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 10:28:00 GMT

Henry sells insurance for a well known, solid company that's been around for years. He's been with the company for about a year, and has recently been focusing on improving his business presentations.

He sat in my office and ran through his presentation. He covered all kinds of things, the myriad of products his company offered, the company history, his experience and education. Awards his company has won. The differentiation factors. His sales presentations weren't much different than those of most professionals in his field, in fact, he was already improving upon the things his company wants him to cover. I love Henry, but I have to admit, I was getting antsy as he was speaking. He lost me in the first couple of minutes, and in fact, he was losing his prospects too.

If Henry's story sounds familiar, here are some things to avoid when doing business presentations:

Don't bore them with a laundry list of all of the services or products your company provides. Instead, find out what what their biggest problems are and talk about the ONE product or service that you have that will help them solve that problem.
Don't focus on your company's history, your experience or awards you've won. Instead, talk about the benefits and results your clients have received from working with you. Tell stories, illustrate with testimonials.
Don't try to be all things to all people or try to sell them things they don't need. I know your company may want you to sell "everything", but it really does work better if you carve out a niche. So instead of trying to convince people to buy things they don't need, focus on developing a reputation as someone who sells one specific solution. Once you win a client, and gain their trust, it will be much easier to sell them the additional products or services as well.

To give really effective presentations, you need to focus more on them, and less on yourself or your company. Make it personal, key it into the problems, pain or issues they're facing. That makes it real, and gets them interested in doing business with you.

Susan Martin, Sales Coaching

Website Copy | Deadly Mistakes Lawyer Websites Too Often Make

Susan Martin — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 13:41:00 GMT

When selling professional services, generic solutions don't work.

I knew that an attorney client of mine was having a website developed by a nationally known provider of legal information. I had gently warned her that this company was famous for it's generic graphics and copy. But, a partner in my client's firm had already signed a contract and put down the big bucks, so I gave her some advice and hoped for the best.

Several months later, while on a coaching call with my client, the website came up again. She admitted that I had warned her. Sure enough, they had received back the copy which had been written "expressly" for them. She was distraught and embarrassed at the thought of having this gobbeldygook represent her.

She sent me the file. Sure enough, the website copy was stuffed with keywords. It had little or nothing to do with the specific legal service they provide. It looked as though it had been lifted from any number of generic attorney websites that are out there in cyberspace. It had no voice, no character. Instead of showcasing her firm in the best possible light, it minimized them and made them look, well, just plain ordinary. A terrible thing for a firm that offers specialized services to high end, sophisticated clients.

Here's what I'm doing to help:

1. We looked at the architecture of the site, and eliminated unnecessary pages, replacing them with pages that would give visitors a keen idea of exactly what types of legal services they provide and for whom.

2. We talked about what made the firm different and better than their competition. I've drafted new copy for the homepage that clearly illustrates their character, their integrity and their strengths. Now, we're working on the services sections.

3. We're focusing on their message and positioning their firm as the experts they are in their field.

4. And, we looked at the graphic design, and made improvements that would help to graphically represent the firm's branding and appeal to their ideal clients.

If your lawyer website is too generic, and doesn't represent your firm in the best possible way, or you want to build a website that will drive more of your ideal clients to your firm, give me a call at 718-499-2831 to find out how my website copy services can help.

Susan Martin, Laywer Marketing

Buzz Marketing | Are Your Services Stuck In The Closet?

Susan Martin — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 00:59:00 GMT

Are your professional services stuck in the closet?

An interesting post on the "Damn I wish I'd thought of that" blog about how consumer product companies are trying to stimulate buzz marketing by packaging products more interestingly or attractively, so that people will be more likely to take them out of the closet and leave them out on the table. If they're out, they're more likely to be spotted and even discussed with a friend, relative or other visitor, creating viral marketing opportunities at a very grass roots level.

Case in point, new Kleenex package above. Febreeze is doing something similar with a line of packages that are more subtley designed, clear bottles with flowers that can sit attractively on a counter.

This got me thinking about how this same strategy could be used for creating word of mouth for professional services, and a couple of things came to mind:

Arrange for your current happy clients to meet your prospects. The upcoming holiday season is a perfect backdrop for parties and events.
Feature photos, articles and videos of clients on your website, newsletter or blog.
Where appropriate, team up with clients for seminars, workshops and webinars.

Are your services stuck in your client's closets? Contact me to learn innovative ways to market your business or practice and create word of mouth for your services.

Susan Martin, Marketing Coaching

Strategic Marketing Strategy | Market Like A Psychiatrist

Susan Martin — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 13:39:00 GMT

Did you know that psychiatry is actually a form of marketing?

When developing a strategic marketing strategy for your professional services firm, it's important to think like a shrink - or so points out Melissa Karnaze in her recent Copyblogger post:

"Psychotherapy, a discipline intended to help people, is actually a form of marketing...American psychiatrist Jerome Frank put it eloquently over forty years ago: psychotherapy is the art of Persuasion and Healing...

To market like a psychotherapist, you can start with these five basic steps:

Don't think in simplistic terms of selling products or services. Find the ideas and attitudes that you are really trying to sell. You're not manipulating people to buy; you're presenting them with ideas and attitudes that they can choose to adopt.
Before you can persuade, you have to thoroughly understand your "patient." With the web at your fingertips, you can conduct your own polls, take Twitter's pulse, or use web analytics to study your traffic. Thoughtful research helps you to be more empathetic toward your prospects, because you listen to and care about their concerns, questions, and interests.
Be mindful of the professional literature in your field. Psychotherapists go through years of professional training to learn the best-respected theories and modalities. Make an ongoing study of the best research and thinking on persuasion.
Instead of viewing your work as selling or marketing, see it for what it is: a comfortable conversation on a couch, about topics that are important to everyday people.
Share the ideas and attitudes that benefit your customers. Psychotherapists market "welfare" emotions because they want people to lead happier, more effective lives. Learn to market the ideas that you see helping your customers do the same." read entire post here.

Susan Martin, Marketing Coaching

Turning Bad Customer Service Into Great Customer Service

Susan Martin — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 10:44:00 GMT

Are your customer service representatives doing your company justice?

Yesterday I spoke about an unfortunate customer service experience with a large credit card bank in my post entitled "Customer Service Management | A great way to alienate clients" Today I'm going to examine where each customer service representative went wrong, and how they could have made a bad customer experience into a good one.

Interaction #1:

Problem: In the very first call, customer was given an insufficient pay off amount.

Solution: Better customer service training would have resulted in the rep understanding where to look for the correct information, as well as warning the customer that additional interest may accrue.

Interaction #2:

Problem: Different rep, same problem, gave insufficient payoff amount.

Solution: See above.

Interaction #3:

Problem: Rude, dismissive and unhelpful customer service representative made customer more angry.

Solution: Only hire reps with good people skills. Train them to be knowledgeable about all the solutions your company has to offer. Let them know that it is unacceptable to treat customers poorly, and that their goal should be to retain them.

Interaction #4:

Problem: Inexperienced customer service rep gave inaccurate information and made customer feel as if they had done something wrong.

Solution: Better / longer training. Let reps know that their job is to make customer happy. If they don't have a solution that works, have them check with their supervisor to make sure there isn't something else to consider.

Is your company guilty of bad customer service?

Turning bad customer service into great customer service isn't difficult. If your company needs help improving the quality of your customer service, give me a call.

Susan Martin, Business Coaching

Customer Service Management | A great way to alienate clients

Susan Martin — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 11:13:00 GMT

Are large corporations completely oblivious to good customer service?

It certainly seems that way. Some months ago I wanted to pay off a large credit card bill. Knowing that interest can accrue between statements, I called the credit card company to find out exactly how much I owed. The customer service representative gave me a figure and I paid that amount, thinking that this debt had been totally repaid.

The next month, just as I was about to leave for a trip the mail came, and in it was a statement from the credit card company. Thinking it was just going to tell me that I had a zero balance, I left for the airport without opening it.

The following month I got another bill. This time I opened it. Evidently, the pay off amount I had been given by customer service was incorrect as I owed an additional $41 for additional interest that had accrued. Because I hadn't opened the prior month's statement, there was now a late fee added to it, which almost doubled the amount I owed.

I called the company. They apologized for their mistake, and took off the late fee. They told me that the final amount I would owe was $41. I paid it immediately and thought the issue was resolved.

When I sat down to pay bills this month, I opened another statement, this time finding that I owed $1.50, even though I had been given "final" amounts twice so far by their customer service representatives.

You can imagine my frustration when I opened a letter from my home equity line of credit, saying they were freezing our line because of a "significant change" to our credit status, and that I should contact Experian to find out why.

I downloaded both my and my husband's credit reports. There was one account listed under "potentially negative". You guessed it, it was the $41 (and late fee)that had been past due.

I called the credit card company and tried to explain that I needed their help to reverse the negative credit report. The first person I spoke to was particularly rude, and said they could do absolutely nothing to help me, that they were just a "call center", and said their supervisor wouldn't be able to help me either. When I insisted on speaking to someone else, I was told I should talk to their collections dept., (which didn't make any sense since my account was not in for collection). While on hold for them, I was disconnected.

I called back that evening, hoping to get someone more helpful. Although the representative was somewhat more friendly, he informed me that he could not do anything to reverse the past due reports. The next day, I was still peeved about the letter from my home equity loan, and decided to give it one more try.

This time, I got someone who sounded as if they worked for a totally different company. She apologized profusely, said she had worked for the bank for over 10 years, and would write me a credit reference letter, reverse the past due reports, and sent an inter-office email asking their back-office asking them to send a letter to Experian with an updated report. I thanked her and got on with my day, knowing that I would not use that card again.

Why did I have to make three calls to get to someone reasonable? Chalk it up to poor training, chalk it up to new hires; but the bottom line is that this bank has alienated yet another client.

How are your customer service representatives treating your clients?

Tomorrow, we'll examine what each of the representatives did, and where they went wrong.

Susan Martin, Business Coaching

Sales Advice | From the Shoe Repair Guy

Susan Martin — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 09:45:00 GMT

Sales advice from a shoe repair guy?

Last weekend one of my favorite sandals broke. A friend mentioned that she had a similar problem, and had her's fixed at great expense at a shoemaker in Manhattan, said it wasn't worth it. Before I threw them away, I decided to find out how much it would cost at a new local place that opened right here in Park Slope.

He said it would be no problem to fix, would only cost $6, and would be ready the same day. That was about 1/4 of what my friend spent, and pretty fast service; so I readily agreed. Before I left, he looked at the other shoe, and sure enough, it was starting to tear in the same place. (sale now doubled)

He asked for a deposit (smart move, I'm sure a lot of people don't pick up old shoes they're having repaired). Before I left, he let me know that he also repairs watches, which reminded me that my leather watchband needed to be fixed as well. (sale tripled)

As I walked to my office, I remembered that my kid needed arch supports for a new pair of boots. (sale quadrupled)

The sales lesson here? Solve one small problem for a new prospect quickly and easily, and they'll come back for more.

Do your prospective clients have any shoes that need repairing?

Susan Martin, Sales Coaching

Is Referral Marketing The Only Fast Track To Trust?

Susan Martin — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 11:48:00 GMT

How do you go from marketing to a deal?

It has a lot to do with the speed and degree with which you build trust.

Lou, an estate attorney in solo practice, has always gotten most of his business through referrals. When Lou gets a referral, he finds it fairly easy to convert that prospect into a paying client, even though selling is not his strong suit.

Why?

Because when someone refers a potential client to Lou, there is already a lot of trust built in, and that trust is automatically passed along from the referrer to Lou, just by suggesting that they work with him. In effect, the deal is almost closed before they even meet Lou, often, all he has to do is not blow it when they meet.

In their new book "Professional Services Marketing" Mike Schultz & John Doerr point out that there is a only a small gap between the amount of trust a referral brings with it, and the amount of trust needed to win a sale from a referral. In contrast, a much larger trust gap exists when trying to win a sale from a cold call. But referrals are not the only strategy that brings with it a significant amount of trust, "strong marketing" does as well.

In marketing professional services, strong marketing starts by understanding your ideal clients and their problems really well. Identifying your competition, and pinpointing what makes your services different and better. Positioning your firm as experts in your field. Creating a strong value proposition. Developing a compelling message and getting that message out to your ideal prospects on a consistent basis to generate leads that act like referrals.

Susan Martin, Marketing Coach

Staff Motivation | 7 Sure Fire Ways to Turn-Off Employees

Susan Martin — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 08:15:00 GMT

Does your staff lack motivation?

No one can deny that Phil is a terrific fundraiser. He knows how to get donors to keep giving and has the energy to keep it up, year after year. Phil gets results.

But each time he comes to the end of a campaign, Phil is frustrated with his employees. He often feels as though he's had to do all the work himself, even though he has a team of "qualified" staff members who are supposed to help.

Why can't Phil find the right people?

This is the question I asked myself when I first met Phil a couple of years ago. The answer became clear as I got to know Phil and his management style a bit better. Obviously Phil had some great skills, but he also had a knack for turning off his employees.

If your staff lacks motivation, before blaming them, look inside and see if you're guilty of any of these employee "de-motivators":

Barking orders and maintaining a negative attitude. The first rule of employee motivation is to inspire by setting a positive example.
Not acknowledging employee's efforts. Most people want to do a good job, and put in a great deal of effort. A great way to motivate employees is to appreciate their efforts.
Dismissing their ideas and concerns. No one likes to be dismissed. When staff members offer ideas or concerns, listen attentively and take them seriously even if you don't agree.
Micro managing. Good staff training sets the foundation for how to do things. If you find yourself micro managing, take a look at your training and staff management strategies and make necessary adjustments. Then, let them go off and do the work, don't hover - you'll get better results that way.
Failing to set clear expectations. Let your employees know what you want them to accomplish and why. Help them to understand each of your roles, and their place in the grand scheme.
Changing course without sharing your reasoning. Often in business things change. It's much easier for people to embrace change when they understand why changes are necessary. Keeping employees in the loop helps keep them motivated to comply.
Poor communication skills. Employee motivation is so much easier when you communicate clearly and positively.

If you want to learn more about staff motivation, call me, I'm here to help.

Susan Martin, Business Coaching

Marketing For Lawyers | Time to flex your marketing muscles again?

Susan Martin — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 09:20:00 GMT

Have referrals slowed down for your law practice?

Things had been going very well for Terry's small law firm over the past 5 years or so. Referrals were coming in without any effort, and his income had been growing quite nicely each year as a result.

Busy with a number of cases that had come in last year, Terry thought he was immune to the recession. But over the past 6 months, he slowly began to realize that the rate of new cases had dropped significantly since the beginning of the year. If he didn't get any new matters in very soon, his income would suffer.

It's been almost a year since the recession took hold, and although there are many signs that the economy is bouncing back; if you're like most professionals, you're feeling the pinch in one way or another.

If this scenario sounds familiar, it may be time to flex your marketing muscles again. Here are some proactive off and on-line marketing strategies you can implement right now:

Revisit your marketing message: What niche have you carved out for yourself? Who is your ideal client? What are the problems they experience that your services can alleviate? What differentiates you from your competition?
Tweak your website and other marketing materials accordingly. If you don't have a site, perhaps it's time to develop one.
Cultivate your current referral base and do some referral marketing by reaching out to additional professionals who can become new sources of referral.
Start, or resume blogging - about your clients, about their problems, about solutions.
Reach out to your community, network, volunteer, speak and generally get yourself out there again.

And of course, if you don't have the energy, resources, knowledge or bandwidth to do it in-house, I'm here to help.

Susan Martin, Lawyer Marketing

Is Social Networking Enough?

Susan Martin — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 09:04:00 GMT

On and offline media are atwitter with stories about social networking, new media and the like, often making it seem as though traditional forms of marketing are completely outdated. And perhaps some are.

But in a recent post entitled "Why New Media Evangelists Annoy Me", copywriter Bob Bly points out that although new media and social networking have had some good initial results, these new tactics have not been sufficiently proven to replace conventional marketing methods such as direct mail and space advertising.

And I agree. However, if we're talking about selling professional services, social networking and new media can be combined with other more conventional relationship building tactics and referral marketing to form an effective, comprehensive marketing strategy.

Granted, a blog can be used to provide good information and help to position you as an expert. Facebook, Linkedin and twitter can help connect you with people who may not otherwise be approachable. Youtube, digg, technorati and google can help your site be found on the internet...

But without getting back to the basics - a solid marketing message, consistent real world marketing efforts and referral relationships with other trusted professionals in your geographic community, can you bring in enough prospects to fill your pipeline, and your bank account?

Anyway, that's my two cents, what do you think?

Susan Martin, Marketing Coaching

Strategic Selling | Creating Sales Opportunities

Susan Martin — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 08:39:00 GMT

Jess, the principal of a small architectural firm, just found out that a new competitor had won yet another project that Jess didn't even know existed. As his blood pressure rose, he started to wonder how this opportunity had escaped him...

He called around to some of his contacts in the field, and after a dozen or so calls, Jess finally found someone who had the scoop. It seems that the new firm followed the local and industry news very closely. Some months ago, they read that the client in question recently merged with another company, gotten an influx of additional capital, and would be needing new, larger headquarters. Armed with this information, they dug deeper, familiarized themselves with the management team, and arranged a meeting through a mutual contact.

By positioning themselves to take advantage of sales opportunities, the new firm was able to win the project before an RFP even went out.

Creating sales opportunities by mining for information, keeping your eyes on the news, and your ears open to all information and possibilities, and then taking appropriate action is a key part of strategic selling.

The next time you find yourself waiting for the phone to ring, think of Jess, and take action that will bring in new business to your firm.

Susan Martin, Sales and marketing coaching.