I do understand the cold calling concept and realize it works for many.  I actually set an appointment from someone that cold called me to do a “Lunch and Learn” power meeting.  This is a great concept – that reeled me in to accepting the appointment.

The caller first introduced himself and stated the name of his company and then went on to say that he is making an effort to take networking to the next level by scheduling a quick 20 minute “Lunch ‘N Learn” type meeting were we can tell each other what we do and what type of clients we are searching for.  No hard sell at all, this is an amazing Cold Calling Technique that I am going to give a try over the next few months.

Check out these other High Performance Sales Techniques.

Tim Somers
Bizarre Promotions, Inc.

- 23% of respondents have cut staff

- 36% of respondents have decreased business travel

- 36% of respondents have minimized marketing efforts

- 29% of respondents have put a freeze on bonuses and raises

Being in the promotional products industry with a marketing and advertising background the third most popular cut, minimizing marketing, raised my eyebrows for sure.  I am amazed that any business would even consider cutting their marketing and advertising in a slow economy.

Marketing has never been more important for a businesses survival, if you are not marketing your business consumers may forget about you or assume that you have fallen victim to back economic times and gone out of business.  Keeping in touch with current customers takes even more marketing dollars for the same reason.

Beefing up your advertising and marketing lets your current customers and potential customers know that you are a strong company and ready to service their needs in these rollercoaster times.

If you still find your marketing budget needs to be cut here are 8 low-cost or no-cost money saving tips that any business can use.

1. Word-of-mouth marketing, ask for referrals – better yet, give referrals and you will get them in return.
 
2. Generate an eNewsletter, market to current customers.

3. Create YouTube Videos. Video is a very strong and free way to get your business noticed.

4. Post on forums and message boards. Posting valuable comments will build your reputation and lead to more business.
 
5. Start a Blog. A business Blog is a must these days, you can advertise, review your offerings and give free tips as often as you’d like without worrying about running up your budget all while building traffic to your brand.

6. Get your clients to advertise for you. Trade blog posts or email blasts with customers.

7. Join trade associations. You’ll get industry-specific information, advice, sales opportunities and other member benefits.
 
8. Double Up. Include advertising material in all your mailings such as invoices. You can also drop a small ad into every email you send.

To Your Success!

Tim Somers
Bizarre Promotions, Inc.

In a recent visit to an industry tradeshow I was exposed to a brilliant idea that will double tradeshow booth traffic.  This item that will make your booth stand out from all the other exhibitors that are just handing out a low cost custom printed pen. 

When someone stops by your booth you hand them a custom printed pedometer that features your company name and web address.  You then tell them to wear it and return to your booth at the end of the show, because you will be tracking the amount of steps each attendee has taken and the one with the most steps wins a prize, like an iPod or some other cool techno gadget.

This is a great concept that will excite the recipient and make them return to your booth a second time giving you an advantage over your competition that more than likely will only have one exposure to prospects attending the event.

To Your Success!

Tim Somers
Bizarre Promotions, Inc.

I have listed a just few of the 12 mistakes that I have made over the years -
 
Marketing To The Wrong Audience
This mistake can break the bank trying to figure out.  Luckily I figured it out pretty quickly. 

Focusing Your Copy On You
Customers don’t care about your product.  So talk directly to their problems, needs and desires.  This is so true you can bore your prospects to death if you are not careful.

Not Having A Profitably Planned Follow-up Campaign
It’s much easier and less costly to sell to someone who’s already bought from you than it is to bring in new business.  This was one of my biggest mistakes, now I use Send Out Cards to keep in touch with customers after the sale.

Changing Your Marketing Out Of Boredom
If the market continues to respond to your promotions, don’t change it! If it doesn’t work…do some research and change it!  I used to run the same ad over and over even when I did not get a response, thinking sooner or later someone will notice it and call.

Tim Somers
Bizarre Promotions, Inc.

It’s pretty easy to find businesses that are interested in doing this.  Online forums, discussion groups, social networks, networking groups and chamber of commerce members are good places to start in your quest to find business partners.

When posting or talking with others make it known that you are looking for cross promotion partners to share advertising and marketing expenses with.  A very cost effective and most often free way to work this powerful practice is to trade email blasts to each others distribution lists.  You simply email out a recommendation to your list with information about your cross promotion partner and they do the same to their list.

You should have an idea of how you and the company you are approaching could work together – offering them a bit more in return will surely entice them to jump on this great opportunity to increase their sales.

Feel free to let me know if you are interested in a Cross Promotion venture with Bizarre Promotions, Inc.

To Your Success!

Tim Somers
Bizarre Promotions, Inc.

Here is a great example of a sale I made today that took me 10 Minutes, 4 Months and $3.98.  Just over 4 Months ago I attended a networking event and spoke with several people over the coarse of the event.  The very next day I plugged in every business card I was able to get by talking with prospects.  This is the important part – I could have grabbed up a ton more, but I only wanted to market to those that I actually had a conversation with at the event.

My favorite part of the Send Out Cards system is the ability to set up campaigns.  I set up a 3 postcard, 1 greeting card campaign to hit these prospects over the next four months.  The first postcard simply said it was great meeting you at the Chamber event last week, hope the event was a success for you (with my business card printed under the message),  That’s it – no sale pitch at all.  The following two post cards simple gave some basic promotional tips (with my business card printed under them message) – again no sales pitch.  The final mailing was a Greeting Card that had a slight call to action – “It’s Time to Start Using Promotional Products”…

This final card hit the mail last week, and today got the call landing a $500 order.  Not bad for $3.98 in postcards and a greeting card (which includes the postage).  Sure I spent maybe 10 minutes talking with the customer at the event and a few minutes plugging his information into my Send Out Cards database, but it was virtually effortless backend prospecting at it’s best.

We all work had to meet prospects so don’t let them slip away, keep in touch using the same system I do Send Out Cards – give it a try right now, send two cards on me.

To Your Success!

Tim Somers
Bizarre Promotions, Inc.

Allan’s article touches on some great points and features eight steps to generating productive response driven marketing results.

One of the points Allan talks about is “Mindset”, stating that when someone asks you what you do for a living you should NOT tell them your profession, but convey that you are a “problem solver” – as an example I would say that I help businesses of all sizes grow their businesses through the use of promotional items.

Writing a winning marketing message is something Allan hits a home run on.  In keeping your problem solving mindset and targeting your market you touch on a problem that your prospect has, then hit them with the solution that you can offer.  An example I might use “Are Your Sales Down”?  The economy has hit many businesses small and large alike.  Using promotional products along with a powerful direct mail campaign will “Help Your Business Grow” in these tough times.

The last tip I’ll cover is “Sending Our Your Messages” Allan states that most small businesses believe that every person in their city or town is a prospect for your product or service.  In reality only 5% may become customers.  Your marketing message must keep your target market in mind and blow them away.  It’s far better to send out a series of smaller messages to fewer targeted prospects than mass coverage to those that are not nor never will be your target audience.

Check out the entire article by Allan Katz by clicking here.

To Your Success!

Tim Somers
Bizarre Promotions, Inc.

These organizations host meetings and events monthly that make networking very affordable and easy.  Although attending the meetings and networking when you are there is an important part of building your business, you really need to go one step further after you have made contact with a new prospect.

Simply – Follow Up!

This is an area that I often failed at. Since I really hate being called the day after a networking event and harassed, I never ever called someone that I’d met at an event unless they asked me to.  So I am spending money attending these events meeting 100’s of people and not following up with them.

Sure I could blast them an email and take a chance of getting fined for spamming them, or I could call them and cheese them off and drowned any hopes of making a sale.  Or I could follow up using a great marketing tool like Send Out Cards.  I was turned on to Send Out Cards over a year ago and have been following up with prospects and clients very cost effectively and with little effort.

I have set up various campaigns in my Send Out Cards back office that do all the follow up for me.  My “Nice To Meat” you campaigns sends out a post card immediately after the event, then sends a card three weeks later, with a great promotional product tip, then 4 weeks later another tip and the hits keep coming at 60 days, then 90 days and 120 days later.  This particular campaign costs me just under $5, sending out 6 different direct mail pieces.  I also plug in a reminder midway through this campaign to send the prospect a custom printed promo item as another great angle to keep my name in front of them.

Not matter what method you use, maximizing your networking efforts by following up with everyone you meet will increase you business in the long run.

To Your Success!

Tim Somers
Bizarre Promotions, Inc.

This post sponsored by:

To prove how powerful this new product really is, a box with a sample of the product was mailed out.  Sounds like a regular old product mailing, but the spin cycle on this mailing was simple – they wrapped the box with a basic white t-shirt.

You guessed it the t-shirt was not so white when it arrived at the recipient’s home, and what better way to test the product first hand.  This was so clever, the t-shirt wrapped box grabs your attention and gets your curiosity going – making you tear into the package to see what the heck is in side.

I would surely try the product on the dirty shirt – which was the intent of the promotion,  grab the consumer and make them take action – then impress the shirt off them and gain their trust in your product – which will lead to sales.

Tim Somers
Bizarre Promotions, Inc.

Biznik was launched and based in Seattle, Washington and, impressively the site has more than 5,000 members already. The focal point of the web site is to help people network their businesses offline, great concept in my option.

Biznik co-founder, Dan McComb, is looking for people around the world to host events using Biznik’s services so check it out, sign up and organize an event in your area.

Join me on Biznik - http://biznik.com/join/tim-somers

Tim Somers
Bizarre Promotions, Inc.