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The Secret of Ethical Selling

Posted by

Ian Brodie on March 23rd, 2012.

Ethical Selling: Three wise monkeys What's the secret of being able to sell ethically without being manipulative, salesy or pushy?

Marketing.

No, seriously. It's marketing.

Here's why:

Why Marketing is the Key to Ethical Selling

Let's think about what might cause someone to sell unethically. To manipulate or push someone into buying something they perhaps don't really want or need?

Or to bring it right home, what might cause you or me to sell unethically?

I'm a nice person. I'm sure you're a nice person. In fact overwhelmingly, most people I know are nice people.

None of us wants to sell unethically. So why might we do it?

Selling is a pretty simple process when it comes down to it. You sit down with someone, disucss their problems and challenges, goals and aspirations. You talk about what it would take to solve or achieve them – and what the impact would be. Then you discuss how you might be able to help and whether you're a good fit for working with them.

Why might that conversation stray and become manipulative?

The answer is desperation.

If you're the only potential client a professional has met for a month and he needs you to hire him so he can pay the mortgage and feed the kids, then the chances are that even if you're not a perfect fit, he's going to try to “sell” you.

Desperate professionals overstep the mark. If they really need the sale, they perhaps claim their service is that little bit better than it actually is. They ignore some of the alternative options the client could take even though they should really mention them. They try to get the client to sign up quickly, instead of when the time is right for them.

So if it's you, how do you stop that desperation causing you to sell unethically?

Well, you either develop an iron will…

Or in the real world, you remove the cause of the desperation.

And that's where marketing comes in.

Marketing makes sure you have a service that's in demand. That lots of potential clients want and need and that will deliver great value to them.

And marketing makes sure you have a steady stream of leads – more than you need – so that when you sit down with that potential client, he's not the only one you've seen that month. You have a backlog of potential clients to see.

And that way, when he's not a perfect fit, or the timing isn't right for him, there's no need for you to push or drive for a sale you really shouldn't be pushing for.

You can do what's best for the client and move on, confident that the bills will still be paid and little Johnny will still have plenty to eat. Because there's a steady flow of high quality leads coming in to your business. If this one isn't right, the next one will be, or the next one.

Truth be told: ethical selling is pretty easy if you've got more leads than you need.

So marketing, good marketing, is the key to ethical selling.

–> By the way, one of the very best resources on behaving (and selling) ethically is Charlie Green's Trust Matters blog. Lots of very thought provoking articles that will help you come to grips with this tricky topic.

Ethical Selling (and much, much more) at the Trust Matters blog.

——–

Photo Credit: Anderson Mancini via Compfight

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The word of mouth trap

Posted by

Ian Brodie on March 18th, 2012.

Do you get most of your business through word of mouth?

It sounds great, doesn't it? You do such a good job that people spontaneously recommend you to others and your business grows without you having to do much active marketing.

And a few years ago, it was a viable strategy. The economy was growing fast, there was plenty of work around.

And potential clients often weren't aware of the alternative options open to them. If you were recommended by a friend you were often the only option they considered.

Not so these days.

The number one thing I hear from clients with flat or stagnating businesses is “we've always grown by word of mouth – but it's just not working any more”.

You see, the trouble with a business that gets most of its clients through word of mouth is not that there's anything wrong with word of mouth itself. Far from it.

It's that it can lead you to being passive. To waiting for the phone to ring rather than taking active steps to MAKE it ring.

It's great to get lots of clients via word of mouth. Thank your lucky stars if you do.

But don't let your active marketing atrophy. Don't fool yourself into thinking it will last forever. Get to work building your marketing muscles. Building your skills.

When word of mouth ceases to be enough you'll be glad you did.

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Get Clients Online

How to profit from other people’s marketing

Posted by

Ian Brodie on March 11th, 2012.

Do you have a “swipe file”?

What's a “swipe file” I hear you ask.

Well, OK, I can't actually hear you. Email's pretty good these days, but not that good…

But if you're wondering what a swipe file is, it's simply a collection of examples and templates of proven, effective marketing you've “swiped” from other sources.

Now the idea is not to copy the marketing directly. Apart from being unethical, it might not work as the target client of the marketing piece may be different to yours, the benefit being promoted different, etc.

But swipe files are amazingly effective for inspiration.

One of the most opened emails I've ever written was entitled “5 crippling beliefs that keep consultants and coaches in the poor house”.

That was based on an article headline from Copyblogger entitled “5 Crippling Beliefs That Keep Writers Penniless and Mired in Mediocrity”.

When I'm writing emails, I'll often look to previous emails that have worked either for me or for other marketers and I'll follow the same basic structure.

It's the same with presentations, blog posts, even videos.

Not that you'll notice. I try to pour a ton of me into everything I do.

But more often than not, I like to start with something I know works.

How do you build up a swipe file?

Start with your own effective campaigns: emails, letters, whatever marketing you do.

But not just the ones YOU thought were good. Or the ones you got compliments on.

Base it on results: ideally clients or sales gained as a result. If you can't directly measure that, then use responses, clicks, whatever indicates the marketing piece is having the desired effect.

When it comes to other people's marketing, sometimes you can buy complete swipe files including their results.

For example, a few years I bought a review from veteran copywriter Bob Bly of all the emails he'd sent out, how they'd performed and what he'd learned from them.

Denny Hatch published a collection of some of the most successful direct mail pieces of all time with commentary (you can get a copy here)

Pure gold.

You can also judge what's working by what's long-lived.

For example, Martin Conroy's “Two Young Men” advert for the Wall Street Journal ran pretty much unchanged for 28 years.

The reason: it worked. They kept testing it against other ads but it kept winning, so they kept using it.

If the same ads keep appearing in the publications your clients read, then the chances are they're working.

Or if the same ads keep appearing for your keyword phrases on google searches (you can check the history using tools like Keyword Spy) then the chances are it's because they're profitable.

So take a copy of them. Analyse them. See how you could learn from them. What benefits do they focus on? What's the offer? What wording, style or structure do they use?

Or, if you're lucky enough to be similar to your clients (you sell to CFOs and you used to be one, for example) then pay attention to the marketing that works on you.

What got you to buy? Or to take some action like subscribe to a mailing list, send an email, or even just to think “I could work with this guy”.

Take a copy of whatever it was that triggered it and store it away.

Then when you next come to do any marketing, pull out your wipe file and see what you could learn from.

It'll save you a lot of blood, sweat and tears…

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Marketing

How I gained instant credibility and enhanced my visibility whilst gaining new clients

Posted by

Ian Brodie on March 7th, 2012.

This is a guest post by my good friend Griselda Kumordzie Togobo. Check out her other tips for small business.

Imagine a room of potential clients (large or small, whatever you're comfortable with).

You have their undivided attention and the opportunity to present you and your business in the best possible light. Whilst on stage, you give them a preview of the solutions you provide, transformations and successes experienced by clients, sharing your expertise with a willing and grateful audience.

What could regular opportunities like this do for your business?

Speaking is the one place where you have permission to ask people to unplug and just focus and listen to what you have to say. When you go on stage, immediately the audience view you as an authority.

One good speaking gig keeps giving and giving long after you’ve walked off stage. This is because; you never know who is in the audience or the ideas your talk may be generating.

Let me explain what I mean by this.

I got my first FREE public relations feature in a multinational multilingual publication because the editor was in the audience at a conference I spoke at. FREE PR in a popular magazine that generated further opportunities to speak at two other conferences and make new valuable business connections.

I also just signed up a new client who was present at a conference I spoke at six months ago. It took a while. I carried on nurturing the relationship off stage, but we got there in the end. She viewed me as a highly credible prospect because she had seen me on stage and then subscribed to my insider tips newsletter.

So how can you start?

There is no reason to panic about speaking in front of an audience. You don’t have to be a professional speaker to do this. Increasingly “experts” are expected to be able to present on their areas of expertise or share their success to inspire and educate other business owners. So start small before a forgiving audience, and work your way up.

Before you know it, you’ll be invited to speak at conferences you had only dreamed about previously. My first speaking event when I started was at an event organized by a life coach – I got my first two clients from there and was hooked. You can’t blame me. I had found a way of marketing my business that I loved, was pain free and less time consuming than networking.

Speaking is one of those abilities that can be developed with practice. Seek every opportunity to speak in front of an audience, whether you are paid for it or not and you’ll gradually get better at it

No matter how you look at it, speaking is a vital part of promoting a consulting, coaching or professional service business. I always encourage my clients to give it a try. Why not give it a go too?

Griselda Kumordzie Togobo is a business consultant, coach, speaker and writer dedicated to helping business owners increase their cash flow, profits and productivity. She is a chartered accountant and holds an MPhil in Industrial Systems, Manufacture and Management from Wolfson College, Cambridge University. Griselda is the founder of AWOVi Consulting, a consulting practice that provides cashflow and profit enhancement solutions to owners of small and medium sized businesses using her unique blend of business development and financial management techniques. For more tips visit http://www.awovi.com.

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How to get anyone to do anything

Posted by

Ian Brodie on March 4th, 2012.

I went to a seminar a number of years ago with a guy called Rob Torres.

Rob's sadly no longer with us. But back then he was a world-class comedian, mime and juggler. Kind of like a live version of Mr Bean.

My reason for going to the seminar was to learn more about stagecraft – using your body, the space on stage, timing – all the things that can make your presence on stage more powerful.

But I also indirectly picked up some great lessons about marketing.

One came from a story Rob told about how he interacts with his audience.

To get the most laughs out of his show he needed a couple of his audience members to participate with gusto. To join in and do things they wouldn't normally do.

How did he do that?

Gradually. And with kindness.

In one case, for example, he started off by handing a camera to an audience member in the front row and gesturing for him to take a photo of Rob on stage.

Not a huge commitment, nothing risky or embarrassing, so the audience member played along.

Then he whipped out a tie for the photo – but struggled to get it on. So he handed the tie to the audience member gesturing for him to show him how to tie it.

Again, not asking for much more. The audience member's in the spotlight a bit now, but nothing arduous. And he got a big round of applause just for tying a tie.

Next, Rob jumped off stage to have his photo taken with the audience member and they both posed for the photo amidst much laughter. By now the audience member was happily taking cues and enjoying every minute of it.

Rob combed his hair with a giant comb. So did the audience member.

He put on a huge cheesy grin. So did the audience member.

He then blew up a balloon and shoved it in his mouth so his cheeks puff out like a blowfish.

And amazingly, the audience member followed suit stuffing a balloon into his cheeks.

And they posed for the camera to tumultuous applause.

Now if Rob had just appeared on stage and asked that audience member from cold to shove a balloon in his mouth and pose in front of the whole audience, there's no way he'd have done it.

But by building up to it. By asking for small commitments and rewarding (through the applause of the audience) him for each step, he built up to a stage where the audience member was more than willing to do so.

In a very short space of time, he'd learnt to trust Rob. He knew he wouldn't be embarrassed or ridiculed. And that there'd be a payoff for him. So he did it.

And, of course, that's a great model for our own marketing.

Rather than asking our clients to take the big step of hiring us from cold, we should be nurturing our relationship with them.

Every interaction with us should build trust – and give some sort of payoff for them.

For Rob's impromptu assistant, the payoff was the applause.

For us, it's going to be some kind of useful advice or help that makes their life or business better.

But at every stage, they need to be building up their confidence in us so that when we ask them to shove a balloon in their mouth and grin for the audience, they have no hesitation in doing so.

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How to resurrect old relationships

Posted by

Ian Brodie on February 26th, 2012.

A couple of years ago I wrote an article called “How to turn old contacts into new clients”.

(You can read it here by the way)

The point of the article is that our old contacts who already know and trust us can be a great source of new business or referrals. But unfortunately, because we've not been in touch for a while, we often don't know how to reconnect. Or we feel too embarrassed.

The article shows a bunch of ways you can reconnect even if you've been out of touch for months or years.

But recently I was asked by a coaching client:

“What happens if you've not seen them for 5 years or more – and you want to ask them a favour?”

That's a fairly extreme case. But not at all uncommon.

I thought about it for a while, but in the end, my answer was simple.

“Be straight with them”.

What I've found is that rather than saying you're calling for a made-up reason, then working the conversation round to asking for the favour – it's far better just to be honest.

If you try to twist or manipulate conversations it's often pretty transparent and your old contact realises you're just contacting them for a favour. Yet you didn't come clean about it.

It's better just to say something like:

“Hi John – long time no speak.

John, this is a bit embarrassing – I know we've not been in touch for ages, but I'd like to ask your advice if it's OK.

I noticed on Linkedin you're connected to Fred Smith. We've just written a benchmarking report on XYZ which I think Fred would benefit from.

If you were me, how would you go about getting a copy to Fred?”

So here's what you're doing.

You're being completely honest – and apologising too.

And rather than asking for a big favour (e.g. “can you introduce me to Fred”) you're asking for John's advice.

That's just a small favour – in keeping with the relationship you have with him.

(It's also pretty flattering to be asked for your advice too).

You're not putting John on the spot and asking him for a recommendation or an introduction. So he can give you his advice without feeling pressured.

And most of the time, if he knows Fred well enough, he'll offer to make an introduction anyway.

If he can't, he'll suggest something else you could do.

But the key is you've been straight with him. And you haven't asked for too much.

Are there any old contacts you could be reconnecting with?

I'm betting the answer is yes. And I'm betting if you did reconnect it could lead to new opportunities.

Take a look at the article and see some of the ways you can reconnect without embarrassment.

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Marketing

My Odd Job Man: Marketing Genius

Posted by

Ian Brodie on February 23rd, 2012.

We have a guy called James who comes round to our house and offers to do odd jobs every now and then.

Youngish guy, big grin, the odd tooth missing. Looks like he's had an interesting life.

When he came round last week it struck me that in many ways he's a great role model for marketing.

We first met James a year or so ago when he knocked on our door offering to clean our gutters for £20.

Now we didn't know him from Adam at the time. But the gutters really did need doing, it's a tricky job getting up on ladders to do it yourself, and for only £20 – what did we have to lose?

So we said yes.

He set off to clean them, and as it was a pretty sunny day, he chatted to us as he did it.

When he'd finished, as we were paying him, he said:

“You know, your decking could do with a bit of wood preserver on it”.

He was right, it could. But it's a big job – we have a lot of decking surrounding the extension to the house we built a few years ago.

So he quoted us a very reasonable price (not that we checked or got any competitive quotes – but it seemed cheap for the amount of work) and we agreed for him to do it.

A couple of days later he was back to do the decking. He worked like a dog for 2 days – sanding the decking down and hand painting it all with the wood preserver.

As we paid him, he said:

“You know, if you've got any other jobs need doing – painting, repairs, anything, just give me a call”.

And as it happens, we'd been thinking about getting the main room in the extension and the hallway painted.

So guess what? James ended up doing that too.

So from what started out as a £20 job to clean out our gutters, he ended up with a small 4 figure sum.

Not a bad bit of business development work really!

How to become a Marketing Genius

What were James's “secrets”?

Well, firstly, he had a low cost, low risk entry level offer.

When we first met him, we didn't know if he could do a good job or whether we could trust him. But for £20 it wasn't much of a risk.

When he did a good job, and when he chatted to us as he did it, he built his credibility and his relationship with us.

Next, he used his eyes, ears and common sense to spot something else we needed doing – the decking.

By working flat out on it and charging a good value price, he built his credibility and relationship further.

Having built his credibility, he'd earned the right to ask if there was anything else that he could help with. And there was.

Now here's the thing. James is “just” an odd job man.

But how many of us highly qualified professionals have that low cost, low risk entry level offer where we can prove ourselves?

Not many.

How many of us professionals keep our heads up and our eyes and ears open to spot other areas we can help our clients in – rather than just knuckling down, doing the work and getting out?

Not many.

And how many of us have the confidence in our own capabilities to know that after having done good work, offering to help in other areas is not being pushy or salesy – it's actually appreciated by our clients who need that help.

Once again, not many.

The next few years are probably going to be pretty tough for many professional firms. But I suspect James is going to do OK.

If you'd like to discover the practical steps to making your next year successful too, check out the $1 trial of my Momentum Club by clicking here.

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Marketing

How To Make A Podcast

Posted by

Ian Brodie on February 22nd, 2012.

Podcasts can be a great marketing approach.

They help you engage with your audience (hearing your voice is that bit more personal than reading your blog). They're often more intimate (people listen while jogging or in their car so you get more of their attention than if they're speed-surfing). They help you reach a wider audience via iTunes who might not have found your material. And they help you build your authority and perception of you as an expert in your field.

But many people hold back from doing them because it all seems quite technical and tricky.

I've been asked by a few people recently how I make my podcasts – so I've made a short video taking you step by step through everything you need to do. From creating and formatting the audio to getting it on your website, to getting it onto iTunes.

Just click on the video below to watch.

And get podcasting…

(Update: since I made the podcast iTunes have updated the requirements for cover images – they now need to be 1400×1400 pixels)

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Marketing

What Jeremy Clarkson Taught Me About Marketing

Posted by

Ian Brodie on February 17th, 2012.

Just in case you're not familiar with Top Gear, the BBC's flagship programme for “petrolheads”, Clarkson is the outspoken front-man – you can find out more by clicking here:

Jeremy Clarkson Bio

So what can a middle-aged, over-tight-trouser-wearing, prone-to-put-his-foot-in-it “grumpy old man” teach us about marketing?

Well, the truth is that Clarkson is something of a phenomenon. His fans essentially hang on his every word and he's certainly the most influential motoring journalist in the UK, if not globally.

Yet at the same time, he inspires equally strong passions in his detractors. His views on the environmental movement, Barack Obama, and the residents of Mexico, Argentina and Norfolk have (perhaps deliberately) inflamed opinions and triggered numerous “we hate Clarkson” campaigns.

And it's that polarisation we can learn from.

Clarkson's fans will “buy” whatever he has to offer. And he doesn't much care what his detractors think or do.

Yet most of us are inordinately concerned with not upsetting people. With trying to please everyone. As a result, we end up with everyone thinking we're “nice”.

But nice is not enough.

Nobody buys nice. We buy what we love.

Now, of course, if you're a big multinational with half the world as your clients, you can't afford to upset large sections of them. You have to try to please everyone.

But most of us aren't in that position. We work for small organisations or ourselves.

And that gives us a big advantage.

We don't need huge numbers of clients. A handful of hugely loyal raving fans can keep us well fed for a lifetime.

And nowadays thanks to the increased visibility of the internet, we can find those potentially raving fans and they can find us. As long as we're not bland. As long as we have the guts to focus ourselves on being the perfect match for that small group and ignore the rest.

And Clarkson goes further than that. He doesn't just appeal to dedicated motoring fans – he champions them. He stands up for them. He says what they wish they could say. He takes on their enemies. He's become the person they want to be (if they only dared).

As a result, they're fiercely loyal. Not the “I can't be bothered to switch away from you it's too much hassle” kind of loyalty most businesses have. It's “follow you to the ends of the earth” loyalty.

That's the kind of loyalty that brings huge, dazzling success.

So if you want huge, dazzling success, ask yourself these questions:

Who do you stand for? Who are you the champion of? Who looks up to you and wishes they could be like you?

Answer these questions as well as Clarkson can and you're on your way.

* Update * Since I wrote this blog post Clarkson has again courted controversy by allegedly throwing a punch at his producer when he didn't get the food he wanted after they arrived late at a hotel. After being suspended by the BBC around half a million people signed an online petition to reinstate him. That really shows the power of aligning yourself with your audience.

Personally I believe it's possible to build loyalty without the arrogance, ill-nature and disrespect for others that Clarkson shows. But setting that aside, it's a clear lesson in the power of polarisation.

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Marketing

Linkedin Tips: The Real Secrets of Linkedin

Posted by

Ian Brodie on February 17th, 2012.

I ran a webinar yesterday for members of Momentum Club focusing on practical strategies for winning clients with Linkedin.

If you'd like to get access to the recording (and all the other resources in Momentum Club), you can get hold of it by taking a $1 trial by clicking here.

Here's a summary of the Linkedin Tips we covered:

Strategy 1. Get Yourself a Client Focused Profile

Although I don't believe many clients actively search on Linkedin for potential service providers – they will almost always check you out on there before speaking to you or meeting with you if you connect in other ways.

So having a good linkedin profile is pretty vital.

The mistake most people make is that they treat Linkedin like an online CV. They focus on their jobs, their achievements, the responsibilities they've had over the years.

While that may be the sort of thing that interests prospective employers – it's of no value to potential clients.

My best linkedin profile tip is simple: make your profile client focused.

A client focused profile will highlight who you work with and how you help them. It should be more like the way you introduce yourself at a networking event than a resume.

You want a potential senior client to read it and think “this guy could help us – and I think we could work with him”.

So focus on what your clients get from working with you – and potentially include some testimonial type quotes from them too.

2. Connect Broadly, but with Purpose

When I first started on Linkedin I followed the advice to only connect with people I already knew well.

With hindsight, that was a mistake.

Linkedin can be a good way of starting new relationships – not just maintaining them with people you already know.

Now I'm not saying connect with everyone. But if you get the opportunity to connect with people who may know potential clients for you – then take it. Use it as a chance to start building a relationship with them. Send them a message after you connect and get a conversation going.

After all, if you went to a face to face networking event you wouldn't spend the whole time talking to people you already knew.

3. Use Linkedin to Turbo-Charge Your Referrals

Of all the Linkedin Tips I've given over the years – this one is without doubt the most powerful for getting new clients.

Referrals are pretty much the most powerful strategy you can harness to get more clients. The trouble is, we usually don't know who the people we know are connected to. So we end up making vague requests for referrals to “any small business” or “senior executives” that rarely come to fruition.

But imagine how powerful our requests for referrals would be if we knew who our contacts knew and were able to ask for referrals specifically to the ones that would be great clients for us.

Well, with Linkedin that's exactly what you can do.

You can either start by looking at the connections of people you know well. People you feel confident would give you a strong recommendation.

If you spot someone you'd like an introduction to then give your contact a call or an email (but preferably a call) and gently ask them to introduce you.

Or you can start by doing an “Advanced Search” on Linkedin to look for people in the ideal industry sector for you, with the right sort of job titles, and in the right geography. Or with a premium Linkedin subscription, working in the right sort of business with the right level of seniority.

When the search function returns the list of people meeting these criteria, choose to view 2nd order connections only (i.e. the connections of your direct contacts) and the list will tell you the name of the person who connects you.

If you know them well enough you can proceed as before. Give them a call and gently ask for an introduction or referral.

This strategy, more than any other, is the one that people who are having the most success using Linkedin to win clients are using. But you need to make sure you're connected to all the people you know who themselves are likely to be connected to your potential clients.

4. Use Groups (and Your Lead Magnet) to Turn Cold Contacts into Warm

One little known strategy that is incredibly effective is to harness the feature of Linkedin that allows you to send direct messages to people you're in the same group as even if you're not connected.

That means that if you join groups that your potential clients have joined (even if they're not active in dicussions) you can send them a message.

Now you have to be careful with this. An unsolicited message trying to sell yourself or your services to them is spam. And on Linkedin it feels even worse because it's such an intimate medium with mesages being primarily between people who have agreed to connect with each other.

But if you use the message to offer them something of value (your lead magnet), then it turns a cold contact into a communication the recipient will appeciate.

I recently ran a test campaign using this strategy and over 20% of the people I sent messages to offering a copy of my Pain Free Marketing Blueprint either went off and downloaded it directly, or sent me a message back to thank me and request a copy.

If you know about response rates in direct mail and email marketing you'll know that 20% is an order of magnitude higher than you normally get.

But it only works if you have something of value to offer, not a sales pitch.

Put These Linkedin Tips Into Action

These are the simple and direct strategies I've found to work the best to connect with high potential clients via Linkedin.

If you'd like more details on them and on other high performing client-winning strategies, then you might like to consider the $1 trial of Momentum Club. You'll get immediate access to the Linkedin webinar recording along with all my Core Marketing training on the best ways of getting clients.

Click here for more details.

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