January 2018 – Page 3

Leaving The World A Better Place

I’ve talked about
how the average person
is selfish.
She only cares
about herself,
about her issues.

This is why
taking action
on big issues,
issues with consequences in the far future,
like the environment,
are such a hard sell.

The real problems
stemming from our actions
or lack of actions
will happen after we’re dead.
Our children
or grandchildren
or great-grandchildren
will have to deal with the fallout.

And the average person,
myself included,
isn’t thinking about
these people right now.
She is focused on herself.

Leaving the world
a better place
isn’t a great motivator.

If you want to motivate people
to take actions on these issues,
figure out a way to make it
personal,
have it affect THEM.

This might be as simple
as putting their names
on a plaque
for their loved ones to see.

If you’re selling the far future,
try to make the benefits
personal and immediate.

What’s In It For Me?

The average person
is selfish.
I know I am.

If the first thing
a salesperson does
is talk about her product,
I tend to tune her out.

I’m not interested
in her products.
I’m interested
in finding solutions
for my problems.

If the salesperson
asks about me,
about my needs,
however,
I’m fully engaged.

Seth Godin
shares

“When someone acts
in a way that says,
“can I help you buy something?”
or,
“can I help you achieve your goals?”
then we’re on our way.”

Make any sales pitches
about the person
you’re pitching to,
not your product or service.

Waste To Want

I recently returned
from a cruise
on board the Caribbean Princess.
This ship has
one of the best libraries at sea.

How do they do this?

It’s simple.
They have a paperback exchange.
Cruisers can take a book
and leave a book.

Many cruisers, like myself,
take multiple books
on vacation with them.
Instead of discarding the books
somewhere,
I left all of these recent releases
in the ship’s library.

Some cruisers forget
to bring books
(or they read the books
they brought quickly).
They borrow these discarded books.

For no cost,
other than some shelf space,
the cruise ship
has added value to
their customers
AND decreased waste.

Is there waste
in your company
you can convert
to a bonus
for your customers?

Marketing The Cold Weather

There’s been a cold snap
in most of the U.S.
lately.

On social media,
folks are talking about
the weather.

Which makes it
an excellent event
to market around.

I sell romance novels,
a product that doesn’t really
have anything to do with the weather.

One of my most popular memes
this week,
however, was
“If you’re cold,
he’s cold.
Bring your hunky romance hero
inside today.”

There is ALWAYS a reason
to promote your products or services.
Be creative.
Have fun with it.

What Emotion Do You Sell?

The business you’re building
might be selling
a product or a service
but it is also selling an emotion.

That emotion could be fear,
pride, envy, security,
surprise, or countless others.

In the Romance Novel Business,
as with many entertainment industries,
we’re selling happiness
(also love, optimism and hope).

My books (products) are designed
to give the reader (customer)
a shot of happiness at the end.

Knowing this,
I try to craft
all of my marketing
and other material
to also give the reader (customer)
a shot of happiness.

That is my branding.
That is the emotion
I want associated with my pen names.

Any negative emotions
I communicate
can mess with that branding.
This doesn’t mean
I’m happy-happy all the time
but I keep that in mind
when I’m not-so-happy.

What emotion are you selling?
Does your marketing and sales material
reflect this?

Making New Less Scary

New is scary
for many of us.

Sometimes as business builders,
we forget this.

Because we’ve been working
with our products/services
for days, months, years,
we often also forget
how new our offerings are.

Seth Godin
shares

“…having an experience
for the first time
is frightening.
So we try to avoid the fear
by simulating it,
putting the experience into a box
that makes it like
something else we’ve done,
something that’s safe.”

The Romance Novel Business
does this very well.

Every story is unique.
I’ve written stories
with cannibal heroes,
genocide,
post apocalyptic events.
That can be scary for readers
but because the stories
are classified as romance,
because readers are assured
there will be a romantic
happy ever after or happy for now
at the end of the stories,
readers take a chance on them.

Framing the new with the old
can make your offering
less scary for prospects/customers.

Honing Your Instincts

I always listen to my gut,
to my instincts,
when making a decision.
Sometimes I ignore them
(when, for example,
I know I’m operating
out of a place
of fear)
but I always listen to them.

But I’ve also worked on
developing my instincts.
I note when they’re wrong
and when they’re right,
when they are emotion-based
and when my brain
subconsciously picks up details
I can’t verbalize.

Seth Godin
shares a great way
to develop better instincts.

“Practice going with your instincts
in private.
Every day,
make a judgment call.
Make ten.

Make predictions
about what’s going to happen next,
who’s got a hit,
what designs are going to resonate,
which videos will go viral,
which hires are going to work out.

Write them down
or they don’t count.

It makes no sense
to refuse to practice your instinct
and to only use it
when the stakes are high.”

Work on developing
your instincts.
They are another tool
you have
at your disposal.

Communication Takes Two People

We have a saying
in the Romance Novel Business
– Once a story is published,
it belongs to the reader,
not the writer.

What this means is
writers can’t control
how their stories are interpreted.
Readers bring their own viewpoints
to each story.
No two readers read the same story.

This applies to ANY type
of communication,
including marketing copy
and sale pitches.

As
Seth Godin
shares

“What you say
is not nearly as important as
what we hear.”

Don’t assume your customers/prospect
have interpreted your words
the way you want them
to be interpreted.
Consider verifying
your message has been received.

The Power Of A Reply

Speaking of Facebook parties…
Many hosts think
the real drivers of sales
at these events,
the primary factor
influencing party goer satisfaction,
are the posts
-the contests,
the questions asked,
the graphics.

Those ARE great to have
but they aren’t the most critical factors.

The most critical factor
is replying to comments.

The guest host could post ONE post
and if she replies to comments,
keeps that thread going,
party goers will be happy.

The key thing
Facebook party goers want
is the interaction with the guest host.
That is why they show up.
That is what makes them happiest.

THIS is the power
of responding to your customers/prospects.
Some of them will attend an event,
put aside time in their busy schedules,
simply to talk with you.

Mentor By Example

I was a guest host
at a Facebook party recently.
I was the most experienced person
at that type of event
involved.

No one asked me for advice.
That’s normal.
People often hesitate
to ask.

The people guest hosting
before I did
were confused,
clearly didn’t know
how these events worked.

Then I guest hosted.
I posted something new
every ten minutes.
I replied to every comment.
I greeted commenters, etc. etc.
I did all of the expected things.

Almost every guest host
after me
mimicked my guest hosting stint.
The party goers became happier
and participated more.
The guest hosts were more relaxed.

You might not think
you’re mentoring people
but you are.
People are observing what you do.