More Clients - the Online Marketing Newsletter
for Independent Professionals
from Action Plan Marketing
and Robert MiddletonIn This Week's Issue: Be bold. Declare that you produce tangible results or no one will take notice.
Declare You Deliver Results
This past week I've been giving feedback to several people who purchased the "Take Your Business to the Top" program. The core of this program is how to write attention-getting letters that will get you appointments with top executives.
As a bonus to the program I set up a discussion group where I'm giving feedback on the letters people are developing.
This is an eye-opening process.
It became very clear to me that it wasn't the components of the letter that were the most important. It wasn't just the attention-getting opening, the proof-points or the call-to-action.
The biggest thing that either got or lost my attention was the ability or inability to declare that a service actually produced a valuable, tangible result.
After reading some of the letters, I could only come to the conclusion that many people are offering a service that promises no more than "I'll try to do a good job for you."
That is, there was no clear communication that said: "I have a service that will deliver XYZ important benefits to you. This service will impact your business in the following ways."
It doesn't get more fundamental than that does it?
Instead, the tendency is to be vague and amorphous. "Well, we really can't tell you what you'll get specifically, it's pretty intangible, but I assure you that your employees will get a lot of value from this process."
The interest level of a potential client for a message like this is very specific: Absolutely Zero.
Ultimately, every professional service needs to provide an answer to some kind of problem, issue, challenge or predicament that a client is facing and is worrying about. Your service not only needs to address that issue, you need to boldly declare that you can solve it (and then prove it).
How do you do that? Let me count the ways!
1. Be Specific - Tell exactly the kind of results your clients can expect to receive if they utilize your services. To persuade them, outline plenty of believable, understandable advantages.
2. Be Clear - Generate attention and interest with every word of your message. Watch out for cliches and generalities. "We help our clients increase productivity" doesn't hold a candle to, "Our program guarantees our clients will meet their key financial targets every time."
3. Quote Statistics - You strengthen your position if you can give specific numbers. Measure actual client results and report on those. How much more did they make or save using your service?
4. Cite Studies - Prove that your methodology works by utilizing third party studies. Your credibility multiplies if your approach is the same as that cited in the studies.
5. Tell Stories - Well crafted case studies that explain the original client situation, what you did for them and the results you produced, are very persuasive.
6. Use Testimonials - You'll increase credibility and establish trust by using the actual words of a satisifed client. Make sure the clients tells about the specific results they received.
7. Be Confident - Confidence comes when you have produced real results and you know you can produce them again. Don't undersell yourself; let your prospective clients know they can expect the same results if they work with you.
* The More Clients Bottom Line: The most important marketing activity you can implement is proving conclusively that you can produce the outcomes your clients desire. If you can't do that, you have absolutely no foundation to build your marketing on.
How will our online products help you?
The InfoGuru Marketing Manual
This manual will help you develop a complete, workable marketing strategy to attract new clients to your business. It will give you the hands-on tools and action plans to market your services with authenticity and impact.
http://www.actionplan.com/infoguru.html
The Web Site ToolKit
This ToolKit provides you absolutely everything you need to create a high quality web site that will establish a solid foundation for all your marketing. It will show you what to put in your site, how to write it, format it and design it for the best possible results.
http://www.actionplan.com/wstk.html
The Take Your Business to The Top Program
This program gives you a proven step-by-step strategy to get the attention of, make appointments with, and close sales with Top Officers in big companies and corporations. It includes a manual, CD, two bonus reports and personalized feedback on your letters.
http://www.actionplan.com/tybt.html
Until next week, all the best,
Robert Middleton
ACTION PLAN MARKETING
Cracking the Marketing Code for Independent Professionals~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
210 Riverside Drive
Boulder Creek, CA 95006
831-338-7790© 2005 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."
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
