Picture this.
You have been trying to get a meeting with a prospect who continually blows you off or maybe you can’t seem to get their commitment to move forward on doing business together.
It’s frustrating right? Especially to be that close to the Visa but you can’t touch it.
I can relate. I “use to” be there until I started applying what I feel is the most persuasive and ethical strategy that exists when it comes to getting new clients.
This one strategy alone has made me the most money throughout my entire business life. If you have heard me speak at my Nashville networking events then you know that I discuss this strategy in-depth there.
The greatest lesson I have learned about persuading prospects is proof.
I think it trumps anything else you can do for your business.
You tell me what you think is more powerful
If I said that you should go get my free 54 minute Ultimate Nashville Marketing Audio Guide because I think it would really help your business, you would probably pass it off as “Oh, that’s just Dave pitching something“.
I could even go on and on about how good it is but it wouldn’t do much good because you may have been burned in the past with a similar offer.
However, if you read what Nashpreneur and local author Ukela Moore (side note: She has a great Novel coming out in March) said after she ordered my free guide, it might change your mind because she is a real person like you who is a Nashville business professional.
Ukela Moore
Nashpreneur and Author www.UkelaAMoore.com
My reservation (about the Free Ultimate Nashville Marketing Audio Guide concerned my time. I’m busy. Sometimes I only have an hour or thirty minutes a day to write.
I wondered if listening to the cd was going to be a waste of the time that I could have been writing with.
I not only found several good ideas on the cd, but there were other “freebies” within the cd, i.e. a number to call for 45 more minutes of instruction and tips.
I also found myself wondering about the mechanics of how he used the greeting cards to generate business and before I knew it, he had given me a specific route to go to get to it on his website.
There were several other examples similar to that in the audio cd.
“I was playing in the beginning but the mood all changed.”…a quote from a rap artist. That was the subject of the first topic he dealt with on the cd. I liked the reference to this because I love rap and hip hop.
I had been to one meeting so he didn’t seem to me to be a person I could just look at and say, “Oh, he probably listens to rap music/Eminem” but Em is our (my husband and I) favorite artist so immediately he grabbed my attention. And it is that kind of thinking outside the box that has kept my attention.
I also learned:
1) The three ways to grow your business.
2) The 8 real world examples of marketing strategies
3) The 45 bonus session (or that’s what I call it). The number we get to call and listen in on a real world example.
I would absolutely recommend it because:
1) I am a writer, but “the term is best-selling author not best-writing author.” ~David Dutton
2) There is nothing to lose except maybe….some extra business.
3) Two heads are better than one and I just can’t think of hundreds of ways to market my business alone.Those are the top three reasons that I’m going to hang out a while at “Nashpreneur University” and pick up a few marketing skills.
My rationale is that if I spend just a year going to meetings, following the blog and reading and implementing the new book, there will be more to gain than from trying to think of ideas alone to market my products or worse, doing nothing at all.
I am not trying to get rich overnight. If it takes me 10 years of writing books to be able to afford to live my life the way I want, worrying less about money, it will be well worth the time. However, I know that if I do not learn how to effectively market those books, whether I have 10 years or 100 years, I won’t be a step closer than I am today.
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Obviously there is a big difference in the prospects eyes when they hear others talking about you instead of you doing it yourself.
The more you can do to show P R O O F that you know what you are doing the better.
Another great way to put this strategy on steroids is to write down ALL the common objections you get from prospects and then gather testimonials from customers who have had the same objection.
For instance, I would send Ukela’s testimonial to someone who was worried about wasting time on my products or services.
Extra Bonus Tip
When you start using proof elements in your marketing, the more specific you can be, the better! Let me repeat that for you. The more specific you can be, the better!
I always like using examples to prove a point (hmm, am I actually using what I am teaching you right before your eyes?) so here is one more example to drive the point home on specifics.
Jeff Livak
Nashpreneur and Founder of www.CatapultCreative.com
Jeff Livak did the branding for Nashpreneurville. He is a great branding expert. Notice how specific he is in sharing what he liked about my free audio CD.
I appreciate that the information on the audio is mostly about immediately applicable tactics that you have tested and actually use.
It’s not a bunch of high-level marketing concepts with no real-world application, Dave offer suggestions that the average business owner can put into effect immediately.
After getting to know Dave better, I can definitely appreciate seeing how Dave applies the same concepts he teaches.
I’m a big proponent of “practice what you preach” and Dave’s approach is very much in line with what he recommends to others.
I would absolutely recommend people pick up a copy of The Ultimate Nashville Audio Guide. It’s a great way to get the wheels turning on creating new ideas to market your business.
There are a bunch of immediately digestible suggestions for little things you can begin doing today to help promote your business as well as tested strategies to develop a multi-channel lead generation system to ensure your long-term success.
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Action Step For You To Take Right Away
Go to your past customers and ask them why they bought from you. Ask them what their concerns were before buying from you. Even interview them like I did with some my clients.
Get their permission to use what they say in your marketing. If you did your job by offering more than they expected, they will be happy to help. Please post your comments below.
