Growing Sales Through Creating Connections

Your mission as a business owner is to develop a marketing strategy which offers your potential clients/customers a way to improve their situation in a certain way, solve a problem, provide more value, or open new opportunities for them which will motivate them to pick up the phone and buy from you. This requires that the focus of your marketing plan be placed on your customer - NOT ON YOU! Taken from The 90 Day Marketing Marathon Blunders from A to Z these ten powerful tools will support you in creating meaningful connections with your clients/customers and providing real time solutions to their challenges of the today.

1. Custom Assessments.

By using a tool such as Assessment Generator you can build custom assessments which will allow the visitors to your website the opportunity to engage with you while providing value which is memorable. With Assessment Generator you as the business owner will receive the basic results of the survey to see if clients are where they want to be in their lives or their businesses.

2. Online Survey Tools.

A well-designed online survey can greatly empower business, academic, and charitable organizations by finding out quickly what is on the minds of your current and prospective customers/clients. Creating an online survey can be extremely simple and convenient with a free survey tool such as Advanced Survey or Zoomerang. By designing a survey and sending this to your database, you can poll targeted groups quickly and in detail while obtaining real time results.

3. "Feedback" Hot Links.

As you update your website, author articles, or launch new products and services, add a "feedback hot link" to your site or to your e-mail signature. This link can state "Send me feedback" or "Send me your comments" and will automatically link to an e-mail which can be used for your website visitors to provide you with insight into what is working and what is not with your products and services. The key is to make communicating with you as easy as possible.

4. Weblogs With Comments.

A weblog is a simple yet compelling online environment, which will allow you to put your thoughts, ideas, and experiences on the web via a journal, photo album, or diary. With a tool such as Typepad you can provide your clients and customers with access to your online journal AND allow them the ability to comment to your posts. If you are blogging around a topic which creates discussion or a topic which can generate ideas for your new products and services, you will find that blogging with a tool which allows for comments will take your products and services to a more advanced and sophisticated level quickly and with the support of your customers/clients.

5. Client Scenarios That Create an Emotional Tug.

What are the typical challenges of your clients, what do they complain about to others, and what do they really want in life? Do they say things such as:

· I am a CEO, and I cannot seem to motivate my team.

· I am a pet owner, and I am looking for a Veterinarian I can trust.

· I am a Solopreneur who is working for a lunatic.

· I am a business owner who is looking to invest my money to double my financial wealth.

· I am a new college graduate, and I am looking for the career of my dreams.

By honing in on what's most important to your website visitors and actually posting these for the world to see, you will begin to connect with these folks in a way which calls the emotions to be tapped. List these client scenarios in bullet form on your website, and link each scenario to a very tangible benefit of what you can offer.

Example: If you are marketing to pet owners who are looking for a Veterinarian he/she can trust, link this client scenario to a special report on "The Top Ten Questions to Ask When Hiring a Veterinarian for Your Pet."

6. Data Driven Landing Pages.

Landing pages, also known as "jump" pages in the world of marketing, are self-contained web pages that visitors are driven to for a specific purpose (usually for the purpose of collecting e-mail addresses.) Landing pages are very focused and usually contain a message, in most cases to allow you as the web host to determine what visitors click on as well as other statistics. A data driven landing page contains a form requesting the user to enter contact information, usually in order to get something, such as a free special report, newsletter, or to register for an upcoming event. By including a question on this page such as "What is the thing you most want in the area of _______________" (fill in the blank) you will be able to see trends of what folks most want, which can be key to the growth of your business.

7. A Research and Development Team.

A Research and Development team is a group of people you invite to join you in developing your products, programs, and services. Your R & D Team may be as small as ten people or as large as 1,000 people. It is recommended that you call on your R & D team at least two times per month, as they will provide you with valuable information about what is working/not working in your business, and they will tell others about what you are up to. As your business grows, you will want to continue to add people to your list so that you have a cross section of people, ideas, and perspectives from people from all walks of life and all corners of the globe.

8. A Mastermind Group.

The purpose of a mastermind group is to share thoughts, ideas, opinions, and information. To be successful in business, it is important for this group to be supportive and to care enough about you and your business to provide you with honest feedback about what they see is possible for your business. Spend at least one hour per week with your mastermind group, and use the feedback gained to grow your life, both personally and professionally.

9. A Product/Service Development Team.

Are you ready to develop a new product or service, and you just don't know where to begin or how to make it happen? If so, invite ten of the coolest people you know to support you in developing the new product or service in exchange for a slice of the pie once the product/service is launched. People love to share their wisdom, especially when they know that they are involved in development of something that will be financially rewarding in the end.

10. Risky Business.

One time per month, add one product or service that is out of the norm or a little bit risky for you and your business. Why? Because it will keep your mind moving and will allow your customers to sample something which is cutting edge and exciting! Example: You are a bookstore owner, and you host a "Mystery Night." Invite the public to preview the 12 hottest mysteries by attending a masquerade party on the premises of your bookstore - loads of fun, intrigue, and excitement. A suggestion/comment box can be situated near the door, inviting guests to contribute feedback and ideas for the next big event for your biz.

For more information on the 90 Day Marketing Marathon program please visit www.90DayMarketingMarathon.com

© Copyright 2004 by Alicia Smith & Bea Fields. All Rights Reserved

Alicia Smith, a Coach and Trainer whose specialty is helping people Make Money Now. This article is derived from just one of the 26 lessons contained in her audio program, Marketing Marathon Blunders From A ? Z. To learn more about that course and her other products and services, please visit http://www.90DayMarketingMarathon.com or http://www.AliciaSmith.com. You can also email her at alicia@aliciasmith.com

---

Four Ways To Increase Your Sales Fast... In 2-4 Weeks?

You built a very good web site...You have a great... Read More

Equal Chance of Winning The Sale? Bah!

Are you going to win this deal? With just less... Read More

Closing the Sale - It Doesnt Have To Be Uncomfortable

"The Close" is sales jargon for the bit where you... Read More

Secrets to Getting in Front of Your Best Prospects

As a salesperson, your ultimate goal, of course, is to... Read More

Increase Your Sales With an Incredible Offer

What are you selling?Coaching? Consulting? Professional services? A product? Information?To... Read More

The Canned Sales Pitch Myth

Canned or scripted sales approaches are rarely successful, because one... Read More

Focus On The Customer: The Only Secret To Closing

People are always looking for ways to close the sale.... Read More

Get More Clients Now!

Although David has been a graphic designer for a decade,... Read More

Putting Benefits Before Features

Having spent so many years in retail, I always enjoy... Read More

Why Sales People Are Creating Their Own Objections

I'm about to reveal the biggest secret to growing any... Read More

More Sales with Less Selling

Have you ever passed by a bakery display case without... Read More

Increase Your Selling Confidence

1. Be on time. In fact, arrive a few minutes... Read More

Top 5 Characteristics of Great Salespeople

I am a big believer that great salespeople generally realize... Read More

Increase Your Influence, Increase Your Sales

Selling is everyone's lifeblood whether they realize it or not.... Read More

Humanize the Sales Process

Q & AQ. Sometimes when I'm presenting to clients, I... Read More

How Can A Smelly, Hissing Goose Teach You To Be A Business Leader?

In the 1990's we lived on a farm in Iowa.... Read More

The ?Shocking? Sales Strategy of Saying THANKS!

I would like you to begin thinking of mailboxes in... Read More

Turning Sales Techniques Into Sales Success!

The goal of all sales training is not just to... Read More

3 Steps to Immediately Improve Sales

Want to increase sales within your company? It's not as... Read More

The Top 7 Sales Blunders

We all make mistakes when selling our product or service.... Read More

How to Achieve Sales Goals by Focusing on Activities

When I broke into sales in 1986, I read several... Read More

Sales and the Law of Attraction

I'm about to challenge your belief system, or at least... Read More

How to Build Rapport in 7 Seconds!

I had my first official sales training by a man... Read More

How to Build a Repeat Client Base in Automobile Sales

Here is a question I recently received from a young... Read More

A Simple Sales Strategy: Talk to Yourself!

You are about to speak to a potential client, go... Read More

Top 10 Secrets to Fully Embrace Sales and Exceed Your Goals Forever!

1.- REMAIN VERY CLIENT FOCUSED! Not Company focused. Your clients... Read More

In Sales You Get What You Expect

If your mind is set, you will be unable to... Read More

3 Hot Ways To Crank Up Your Sales

1) QUICK FOLLOW-UPSWhen you make your first sale, follow-up with... Read More

Six Simple Steps to Increase Sales and Decrease Stress

Have you ever found a lead on a scrap of... Read More

Three Essential Questions You Must Ask To Make More Sales ? Ignore Them At Your Peril

There's loads of material about making money available on the... Read More

Simple Technique for Isolating Objections

To isolate any objection quickly you can use this effective... Read More

Sales Tips from Sales Masters

Dogs are great teachers of how to sell easier and... Read More

The Myth of the Natural Born Sales Wonder

When I researched the field of using personality inventories to... Read More