More Clients - the Online Marketing Newsletter
for Independent Professionals
from Action Plan Marketing
and Robert MiddletonIn This Week's Issue: What do you do when you experience severe rejection from one of your marketing efforts?
Surviving Marketing Rejection
Today I got an email from a subscriber and InfoGuru Manual owner from Belgium. She and her partners have been working on an email campaign to a certain business sector and offering a complimentary assessment.
One of their responses really threw them off.
She said, "We received one very aggressive reply from an important and influential person in this sector. We were astounded by the vehemence of the man's outburst (he was furious at having received an unsolicited e-mail, dismissive of the free offer, critical of our web site, derogatory about our expertise and frankly insolent on the whole, going on at great length about how we wasted his time with a poorly considered promo that no one in their right minds would buy). It was really the textual equivalent of a slap in the face from a total stranger."
Ouch.
I took a look at the promotional letter they'd sent and also at their web site. They were both well-written, professional and credible. What had they done to deserve such a reaction?
I suggested that unsolicited email simply elicits that kind of reaction in some people, no matter how valid or how professionally the offer is presented.
I recommended they do pre-calls for initial qualification before sending the email offer. I pointed out that even if this would take more time and be more expensive, it would likely get a much more favorable overall response.
But this More Clients isn't about the dos and don'ts of unsolicited email. We've all read dozens of articles on the topic.
More important is how we react to and recover from a severe marketing rejection. Many people would get a response like this and be afraid to try another marketing campaign again (let alone an email campaign).
Many Independent Professionals, I've found, are very sensitive about offending anyone. They don't want to be seen as unprofessional and are worried about damaging their good reputation, or even worse, being seen as *salespeople*. (Perish the thought!)
These are valid concerns, however it's easy to blow the potential consequences out of proportion. So we stick our heads inside our shell, keep a low profile and avoid doing any marketing that could possibly offend anyone. (Which usually means doing marketing that has zero impact.)
Clearly this is counterproductive. But when you get a rejection like this it can really get under your skin and stop you from moving forward.
I don't recommend just brushing it off and ignoring it. That doesn't work. It will pop up again. I suggest doing a serious reality check about the situation so that you can truly see it from a new, more powerful perspective.
Here are some questions for you:
- Was your marketing truly offensive? My guess is that it wasn't. Maybe it could have been done better, but did it really deserve such a harsh reaction? No way.- What does another's reaction have to do with you? My observation is that usually it has *nothing* to do with you. So why do you want to give so much power to someone who can't control their emotions?
- Are you offering a valuable, honest and sincere service? Do you deserve to attract new business, serve your clients well and receive financial rewards in return? Of course you do, no matter what another's opinion might be.
- Do you make mistakes? Of course, everyone does and you are not, and will never be, perfect. So if you really did screw up somewhere, make amends if required, forgive yourself quickly, and move on.
- Are you willing to make marketing a game? You win some, you lose some. If you play with real commitment you'll get better and better at it and you'll win more often. Still, not everyone will like what you do. Can you live with that?
I sincerely hope that my Belgian friends will process their negative feedback quickly and dispassionately, make the necessary changes in their marketing and get on with promoting their services with vigor.
More on "Surviving Marketing Rejection" in Marketing Flashes below.
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Not Just Surviving but Thriving
I was gratified that the email from Belgium opened not with a problem, but a compliment:
"We've been putting your advice into practice for a few months now and find that whenever we do something you advise, it works! This is hugely motivating and we're all real Middleton converts now."Sometimes we need help to figure out how to survive a marketing setback. This is important to get beyond being stuck. But much more important is to ask the question, "How can I continue to succeed and thrive in my business and my marketing?"
And you probably have some specific questions such as:
How do I best position my services? Who are my best potential clients? How do I craft an attention-getting marketing message? What are the best promotional activities? How do I get in front of decision makers? What's the best format for a proposal? How do I close the sale without too much pressure? How do I generate referrals from satisfied clients?All of these questions, and a whole lot more, are answered in the InfoGuru Marketing Manual.
www.actionplan.com/infoguru.html- It was developed exclusively for Independent Professionals such as consultants, coaches, trainers and other service professionals who are great at what they do, but have a hard time consistently attracting clients to their businesses.
- The manual is based on a few powerful marketing principles that, once you understand them will transform your marketing. These essential principles are missed by almost everyone (and implemented by even fewer).
- The marketing principles contained in the manual will help you increase interest in your services, build trust and credibility with prospects, get prospects wanting to learn more about what you do, and create a steady stream of word-of-mouth business.
- It goes way beyond theory, vague generalizations or concepts, and contains hundreds of hands-on marketing strategies and action plans that are easy to implement, even if you have no marketing experience.
- It includes foundational marketing information on things like creating an attention-getting marketing message, and then goes into depth on the most recent marketing techniques of web marketing and eZines.
- You can read it like a book -- you can go through it slowly and do the exercises like a home-study course -- or you can refer to it whenever you have a question about marketing your business.
- It comes with over 11 hours of audio files with teleclasses and interviews on the finer points of marketing your services. These audio files alone are worth the price of the manual.
- I've included a boatload of extras, including 150 pages of articles, dozens of resources and, most importantly, the InfoGuru Support Forum, where you can get any question about marketing your services answered for free.
- The Support Forum can be used to answer questions, provide resources, and get "peer-review" of marketing materials, web sites, proposals and sales letters, as well as explore the more complex and confusing aspects of attracting clients to your business.
- It will help remove the mystery and struggle about marketing and selling that so many Independent Professionals experience, and will help you realize that marketing can actually be fun.
- It comes with my unconditional guarantee. Get it and try it. If you don't think it's worth much more than what you paid, tell me and I'll refund 100% of your purchase price.
- Unlike most marketing information sold on the web, the manual is available in both digital format (.pdf file) for immediate download, and for just a few dollars more, you can get a printed manual as well.
- The InfoGuru Marketing Manual was published in February of 2001, and it's just as relevant today, because I add to it regularly with updates of the manual that can be downloaded repeatedly at no additional cost.
- If you are looking for one tool that will help you attract clients with an approach and methodology that is highly effective but doesn't compromise your integrity, you've found it!
For complete details and to order online go to:
www.actionplan.com/infoguru.html~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Marketing Flashes on "Surviving Marketing Rejection"
* Don't take things personally. People who respond out of anger usually have stuff going on that has nothing to do with your marketing. Maybe they're just having a bad day.
* If you're not offending anyone with your marketing, you're playing it too safe. If your marketing is safe and tepid, you will be ignored. I'd rather be noticed and irritate a few people.
* When you get a negative reaction to your marketing, listen carefully, but listen much closer to actual results. The marketplace should determine your actions, not your critics.
* Pay attention to people who give you friendly, constructive feedback on your marketing. Those who rant and rave about how offensive your marketing is are simply not credible.
* When you get less than favorable feedback, redouble your efforts to improve your marketing. Look at every aspect - your message, your target market, your medium. Then make careful, considered changes.
Until next week, all the best,
Robert Middleton
ACTION PLAN MARKETING
Helping Independent Professionals Attract More Clients~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
210 Riverside Drive
Boulder Creek, CA 95006
831-338-7790© 2004 Robert Middleton, All rights reserved. You are free to use material from the More Clients eZine in whole or in part, as long as you include complete attribution, including live web site link. Please also notify me where the material will appear. The attribution should read:
"By Robert Middleton of Action Plan Marketing. Please visit Robert's web site at http://www.actionplan.com for additional marketing articles and resources on marketing for professional service businesses."
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