The Marketing Mix | official blog of the Marketing Mentor community

Join Peleg Top for an Afternoon Workshop in OC, California

I'm delighted to announce an upcoming workshop I am presenting in collaboration with the AIGA OC Chapter.

Here are the details:

Taking Control of Your Business:
Growing a Thriving Agency in Any Economy

Afternoon Workshop & Think Tank for Creative Agency Owners

Saturday, April 25th, 2009
12:00pm - 4:00pm

Many creative business owners are facing challenges that hold them back from growing their business and making good profit. You’re great at what you do but don’t have enough business and marketing experience or education to move you to the next level. Instead you get jobs and don’t know how to price them, you don’t know how to get new clients or how to simply talk about what you do and get your name out there.

Is your creative agency in trouble?

Are you getting less work from existing clients?

Is your pipeline of leads is drying up?

Join business development and marketing expert Peleg Top as he facilitates a 3 hour think tank workshop with a limited group of creative business owners. Learn how to take control of your business, create a recession proof marketing plan and position your agency for growth.

By attending this workshop you will:

:: Acquire the tools to create a smart marketing plan that reflects your ideal financial goals and the small actionable steps to take in reaching those ideal financial goals.

:: Learn the 5 must tools you need to implement in your business that create a strong marketing machine.

:: Learn an easy way to follow up and keep in touch with prospects so that they don’t forget about you and think instantly of you when their moment of need arises.

:: Learn from your peers and what they are doing to grow their business.

:: Get inspired and energized to help you get out of the economic funk and get focused on the recovery.

Workshop limited to 12 attendees. This event will sell out. Register today and take a step towards taking control of your business and doing what’s required to ride through these economic times successfully.

Who should attend: Creative agency owners with a 2 or more employees

Location: Orange County, Ca (City of Tustin, Address will be provided upon registration)

Your investment: $77.00

:: After workshop ::
Join us for networking and appetizers

Click here to register

Can Twitter be a marketing tool?

A few months ago, after resisting it for a while, I went ahead and signed up for a Twitter account. Frankly, it was mostly out of curiosity. What is this twittering all about? How can it improve my life? I started following my immediate group of contacts and people were following me as well. It was (and still is in my opinion) mostly a time sucker. Most people write meaningless information. Do I really care who that someone just ate a sandwich or is waiting in line somewhere? Not really. It was too much. I ended that experience pretty fast. I signed off Twitter and that was the end of that.

Last weekend I presented a new workshop here in LA called “Nuts and Bolts of Winning Proposals”. 12 interesting design and marketing business owners came from all parts of Southern California including one attendee that drove from Arizona.  When I asked him how he heard about this workshop he said: “I found it via Twitter." You can imagine my surprise. Twitter? Really? Apparently someone heard about my workshop and twittered about it. And then someone else twitted about it and so on and so forth all the way to getting this guy to drive from Arizona and spend the day at my workshop.

So this changes things. Don’t get me wrong. I’m not about to start twittering but it makes me rethink about the power of twitter and how it could be used as a marketing too. I don’t have to twitter but it may be good to know people who are active twitters with big following. And that’s a marketing tool right there.

So, do you twitter? Is it affecting your business?

 

Go ahead, get emotional

Over the last year I’ve been teaching a communication and conflict resolution course for a corporate client of mine. Most of the material in this program comes from the New York Times best-seller, Crucial Conversations. One of the tools that the book teaches is called “Master My Stories”. The idea behind this tool is that how we feel lies in the stories we tell ourselves.  And these stories generate emotions that often lead to actions. We create our stories.

When you think about marketing your business or product,  your goal is to generate action from your clients and prospects. And an effective way to generate action is to tell a compelling story, one that hits your customer’s emotions.  Take a look at your marketing materials, your website, your newsletters, your printed collateral and ask yourself: “What emotions am I hitting?”.  Which feeling will your customer generate when they see your stuff?

If you look at the majority of service companies (especially in the creative industry), the common story is all about who they are and what they do best.  If I’m the customer, why would I believe them? What would compel me to trust that they really know what MY problem is? What my needs are? No feelings are generated and I will pass over them without a second thought.

As you are creating marketing materials to promote your business ask yourself the following questions:

   1. What are your clients' hot buttons? What’s not working for them?
   2. What is the outcome your client is asking for (not the specific thing they need from you)?
   3. Is your story creating an emotional reaction with your client?

So think about the stories you can create with your marketing. Stories that will generate a feeling with your client. A feeling that will inspire them to pick up the phone and call you. Hit their emotions and they will respond.

Keep in Touch Toolbox: The Face to Face Lunch

A couple of weeks ago I started a new blog post series titled “The Keep In Touch Toolbox” where I’ll be suggesting tools and strategies to keeping in touch with your clients and prospects. If you missed it you can read it here.

Today’s tool is called “The Face to Face Lunch.” I’m suggesting this to some of my clients who are wondering how to start getting some more work through the door as their work load seems to be drying up. This tool is not just a quick fix. In fact, as I see it, it’s one of the most important marketing tools you can have in your business. It provides you one on one face time with your clients which is another step towards deepening your relationship. After all, people hire people they like first.

So here is the idea. Go through your contact list and identify as many clients and prospects that you have not seen face to face in the last 90 days.  Pick up the phone and start calling them. Simply ask them for lunch. Tell them that you will be in their area on a specific date and would love to treat them for a quick lunch so you can catch up. Your goal is at least 2 lunch meetings per week. 

And what do you talk about during that lunch? Not much. It’s not about you. It’s about listening to your clients and paying attention to what’s going on with their business. So try to get them to tell you all of that. Ask as many questions as you can. Sometimes our clients just want someone to listen and understand their world. Now if you were like me, you may have some ideas and suggestions on how you could help their business grow. Try to not share those ideas during the lunch meeting. Here’s why.

A couple of days after the lunch, you can call you client back, thank them for the time together and tell them that you’ve been thinking about what they shared with you and that you have some great ideas on how they can grow/improve/market (choose the one that fits your idea best) their business. Ask if you can drop by their office to share some of those ideas. They most likely be open to taking this meeting now that you already had a nice social lunch together.

We are facing some interesting times where business development and marketing require unusual and innovative tactics. This one works. I’ve done it and had great success with it over the years. I’d like to hear from you when it works for your business too!

Woo Woo Negotiations

Earlier this week a friend of mine who recently became a certified reflexologist and energy worker came over to my house to do some work on me. I was her first paying client. (Yes, I’m into that woo woo stuff.  Clearing the chakras is essential to a busy guy like me.)

She came over at 4:00 pm and worked on me for 2 hours. The session was great and as she was packing up her massage table it was time for me to pay her.  Which meant we needed to have the money conversation. What was this luxury going to cost me? We didn’t discuss money up front AND we were good friends. A dangerous combination.

I asked her “So, what do I owe you?” and instead of getting a clear answer she started to mumble. After about a minute of her sharing with me her thought process on how much she should charge me she blurred it out with fear: “$60.00!" What I responded with was, “OK." What was going through my mind was “Wow, that’s cheap!”.

As I was reaching out to get my checkbook my conscience just didn’t sit well with me. The work was worth more than $60. I knew it. She probably knew it too but didn’t believe it. So I wrote her a check for $80 and told her that $60 just sounded a little too low. Would she accept $80? She smiled and told me that was the original number she had in mind and thanked me for my generosity.

So you may ask yourself “How does this relate to marketing?”. My friend was not confident in her pricing and value of service she provided. She doubted herself and therefore priced the work on the low side. I on the other hand had a great experience and thought the work was worth much more. Are your prices aligned with the value of your work? In our industry I see many creative solopreneurs and service firms under price their work because they don’t project a high level of confidence in their work. That projection is marketing. If you believe you are worth a lot, chances are your clients will too.

Next time you have to give a price for a project remember two things:

1. Have the money conversation up front. Don’t wait to talk money until it gets uncomfortable. Especially when working with a close friend.
2. Believe what you are creating has great value for your clients. Your work will probably help their business grow and put money in their pocket. That’s worth more than you think and you should get paid accordingly.

And of course if you have to negotiate a price with a reflexologist, it’s not a bad idea to have your chakras cleared first...

Everything is negotiable

The other day I was heading to the airport to catch a flight. Although normally I take a taxi, I decided to save some money and park my car at the airport.  I usually park at one of the airport lots for about $12.00 per day but after getting stuck in traffic and worrying about missing my flight I decided to park in one of the airport-adjacent hotels that offers valet parking.

I pulled into the lot of the hotel I would normally park at and a uniformed attendant greeted me with a smile. I asked him what was the valet parking fee and he said $28.00 per day. I grinned and knew my money savings strategy was shot.

I looked at him and said “wow, that’s kind of high isn’t it?”. He replied “hold on, I’ll be right back” and quickly disappeared behind the valet booth in search of something.

A few minutes later he returned and handed me a discount coupon that brought the parking down to $12.00 per day. “We know times are tough so hopefully this will help”.  Without even asking for a discount, I got one.

It made me think that everything these days is negotiable. Even valet parking. Our struggling economy is creating new rules for selling. And I’m liking it. You see, I was born and raised in Israel, part of the Middle East, where negotiating is part of everyday life there. In fact, some vendors would get insulted if you don’t negotiate. It’s part of how we buy and sell.

So how does that relate to your business? You can expect your clients to negotiate with you now more than ever. Be prepared for that. And be open to the experience. Go into the selling process with “negotiation in mind”. Even if your fees have been the same for years, your clients may now expect some kind of a deal or discount because of our “struggling economy”.  So rather than lowering your fees (which you don’t want to do because that send a message that you are desperate) you can offer your clients incentives, something extra if they buy from you.  Throw in something extra.  Help your clients feel like they are getting a good deal.

What’s in your ‘keep in touch’ toolbox?

You’ve heard us say this before. Networking is one of the strongest marketing tools you can use to grow your business. Well a big part of networking happens not only face to face at schmoozing events, it keeps happening if you follow up with people.

Keeping in touch is a key part of this game. It’s a big part of building a relationship and in business, relationships are everything. So what’s your ‘keep in touch’ plan? Especially as we are in a weird economy with some of us not knowing when the next client is coming from it’s a good idea to plan how to keep in touch with clients and prospects and create the right tools to do so.

So today I’d like to start a series of posts that can help you create your own ‘keep in touch’ toolbox. I’ll share some ideas that worked well for me in the past and hopefully some of them will inspire you to try something new.

First tool in the ‘keep in touch’ toolbox is the “Touching Base Connection”.  Send a short email message to the clients who you haven’t worked with in a while and to prospects just to say hello. I bet if you looked in your address book right now you can pick at least 30 people to get in touch with. Write them each a short, personalized email and say something like:

Dear Dan,

It’s been a while since we’ve connected. I was just looking through my address book and your name jumped out of the crowd!.

Just thought I’d send you a quick note to say hello and see how things are going on your end. 

Would be great to hear from you sometime soon!

Best,

Peleg

Note how this email does not ask for anything in particular. It’s simply starting a conversation. It’s casual and it’s in your own friendly voice. Let your personality come through and keep it professional. You never know where that could lead to. 

And for those of you who are brave enough to try this in person, I dare you to pick up the telephone  and over the next week call 30 of your clients and prospects and just say hello. You game?

The Ultimate Freelancer

We are currently in the planning stages of the Second Annual Creative Freelancer Conference. For those of you who haven’t heard about this event, it’s a one-of-a-kind business conference for creative freelancers who want to grow their business. It’s slated for August 26-28 in San Diego and the Marketing Mentor team will be there!

As we are looking at topic and ideas on what to bring to this event I have been researching successful freelancers out there. What I am looking for is examples of “The Ultimate Freelancer”. Someone who is running a one-person creative business and doing it well. Someone who is making a great living, has a balanced life and produces exceptional work. I have some ideas in mind but would love to hear from you out there too. Can you think of anyone that fits this description? Leave a comment here or email me direct.

If Betty can do it so can you

Although I don’t have a TV or cable at home, there are a few shows that are worth downloading from iTunes. Ugly Betty is one of those guilty pleasure shows for me. I admit it. I never miss an episode. So imagine my surprise when during last week’s episode Betty was getting some marketing and networking advice from  her boss and colleagues.  It’s ok to admit that you may hate networking but even Betty’s boss reminds her that “Networking us is one of those annoying things but if you’re serious about your career it’s something you have to do.”  

Betty also received some advice from  her co-workers about the three steps of networking. Although their methods could be questionable, the ideas are good.

Step 1: Forge a bond. Share a memorable fact about you that can lead to an interesting conversation
Step 2: Gather info. Share a resource or an idea in order and you will most likely get the same
Step 3: Know your exit strategy. Know when to end the conversation and meet other people in the room.

I would like to add a fourth step:  Follow up or die. The real connection starts happening after the initial meeting so don’t let all the business cards you’ve collected sit in your pocket. Continue the conversation and get a relationship started.

I knew I had to share this clip with you. So I clipped the scene, got it up on YouTube and here it is for your viewing pleasure.  

Publish and promote your work in my new book!

Can a book change the world? We're about to find out with my next project, and I'd like you to be part of it. There's absolutely no cost for you to be involved, but your participation could place both your work and the issues you care about in front of thousands of influential readers worldwide. And that’s good marketing!

The book will be called Designing for the Greater Good, and I am working on it with Jonathan Cleveland of Cleveland Design -- who also did the recent redesign of the Marketing Mentor web site and blog. This new book will showcase the best design work for non-profit and cause-related marketing produced in the last five years.

There's a much larger purpose for this project compared to other design books. That's because we won't just be presenting the best socially-responsible design that's going on in the world today. We also want to tell the stories of the people who are doing it and raise awareness of the causes that mean the most to you.

This is your opportunity to be part of a movement...something bigger than a design book. We want to see your best work for a cause, whether it's for a non-profit organization or a paid campaign designed to bring about social change.

There's a lot of great cause-related work happening out there (probably a lot more than we know) but there's never been a book that reveals the best the industry has to offer until now.

If you're one of the people doing it, I’d like to hear from you today.

Visit the official book website and submit  your work online today to learn more!