Not much new here, but here's a list of 11 'dead certs' from Nigel Botterill that might be a useful check list for some:
Dead Cert #1
You’ll make more money if you market and sell to the affluent. Banker bonuses aren’t what they were, and the days of “my yacht’s longer than your yacht” conspicuous consumption seem so 2007 but regardless of the state of the economy, lots of people have still got lots of money.
Millionaires need much the same stuff as a Regular Joe, it’s just that they’ve got the means to pay more for it – if your marketing and value proposition stacks up.
Dead Cert #2
You’ll make more money if you offer people multiple price points. People want different things and they’re prepared to pay different prices to get them. There’s no good reason to limit yourself to a single price, it doesn’t matter what you do. Two price points would be good, in most cases three will be better still.
Dead Cert #3
You’ll make more money if you offer an upsell as part of your sales process. Over 20% of buyers typically take an upsell if it’s priced right and offered at the right stage during the sales process.
Dead Cert #4
You’ll make more sales if people can read, hear or see testimonials during the sales process, whether they’re for the product or service they’re about to buy, for you, or for the last product or service you made available.
Dead Cert #5
You’ll make more money if you give people a choice of ways to pay. Let them pay online, or over the phone, or by cheque, direct debit, BACS, even 30-day invoice or PayPal. Think about offering installments too. The easier you make it for money to flow to you, the more will come.
Dead Cert #6
You’ll make more money if you sit down with a blank sheet of paper and give some real thought to how to promote whatever you’ve got to sell. Think about who your target market is – who’s your ideal buyer – and then work out what message is going to hit home with them. Then figure out the most effective way of getting your message to your market. Market. Message. Media. Always in that order.
Dead Cert #7
You’ll make more money if you’ve got a guarantee of some sort; there are loads to choose from, like money-back guarantees, personal guarantees and results-based guarantees. If you’re serious about making money you could combine two or three of these guarantees together and do your bit to combat uncertainly for your buyers.
Dead Cert #8
You’ll make more money if your advertising is eye-catching or outrageous, or shocking or distasteful. Dull, boring, dreary advertising is a waste of money. Look at the popularity of the ‘Compare the Market’ meerkat campaign and the fat opera singer for GoCompare. Annoying they may be, but they grab attention, and before anything else, that’s the first thing that any marketing needs to do.
Dead Cert #9
You’ll make more money the longer you stay in touch with your prospects and buyers. Too many businesses make the expensive mistake of thinking in terms of discrete communications, rather than multi-step campaigns. A one-off email will generate fewer sales than a three-step campaign. And a five-step campaign would be even better.
Dead Cert #10
You’ll make more money if you focus on selling the benefits, not features. And not just the direct benefits of what you’re selling either. Try to relate your product or service directly to a universal emotion. Explain how your service makes people happier or how your product gives buyers more free time to enjoy life.
Dead Cert #11
You’ll make more money if you focus on selling, at the expense of doing ‘other’ stuff – most business owners will do almost anything to avoid selling, because that’s the hardest bit.
Dead Cert #1
You’ll make more money if you market and sell to the affluent. Banker bonuses aren’t what they were, and the days of “my yacht’s longer than your yacht” conspicuous consumption seem so 2007 but regardless of the state of the economy, lots of people have still got lots of money.
Millionaires need much the same stuff as a Regular Joe, it’s just that they’ve got the means to pay more for it – if your marketing and value proposition stacks up.
Dead Cert #2
You’ll make more money if you offer people multiple price points. People want different things and they’re prepared to pay different prices to get them. There’s no good reason to limit yourself to a single price, it doesn’t matter what you do. Two price points would be good, in most cases three will be better still.
Dead Cert #3
You’ll make more money if you offer an upsell as part of your sales process. Over 20% of buyers typically take an upsell if it’s priced right and offered at the right stage during the sales process.
Dead Cert #4
You’ll make more sales if people can read, hear or see testimonials during the sales process, whether they’re for the product or service they’re about to buy, for you, or for the last product or service you made available.
Dead Cert #5
You’ll make more money if you give people a choice of ways to pay. Let them pay online, or over the phone, or by cheque, direct debit, BACS, even 30-day invoice or PayPal. Think about offering installments too. The easier you make it for money to flow to you, the more will come.
Dead Cert #6
You’ll make more money if you sit down with a blank sheet of paper and give some real thought to how to promote whatever you’ve got to sell. Think about who your target market is – who’s your ideal buyer – and then work out what message is going to hit home with them. Then figure out the most effective way of getting your message to your market. Market. Message. Media. Always in that order.
Dead Cert #7
You’ll make more money if you’ve got a guarantee of some sort; there are loads to choose from, like money-back guarantees, personal guarantees and results-based guarantees. If you’re serious about making money you could combine two or three of these guarantees together and do your bit to combat uncertainly for your buyers.
Dead Cert #8
You’ll make more money if your advertising is eye-catching or outrageous, or shocking or distasteful. Dull, boring, dreary advertising is a waste of money. Look at the popularity of the ‘Compare the Market’ meerkat campaign and the fat opera singer for GoCompare. Annoying they may be, but they grab attention, and before anything else, that’s the first thing that any marketing needs to do.
Dead Cert #9
You’ll make more money the longer you stay in touch with your prospects and buyers. Too many businesses make the expensive mistake of thinking in terms of discrete communications, rather than multi-step campaigns. A one-off email will generate fewer sales than a three-step campaign. And a five-step campaign would be even better.
Dead Cert #10
You’ll make more money if you focus on selling the benefits, not features. And not just the direct benefits of what you’re selling either. Try to relate your product or service directly to a universal emotion. Explain how your service makes people happier or how your product gives buyers more free time to enjoy life.
Dead Cert #11
You’ll make more money if you focus on selling, at the expense of doing ‘other’ stuff – most business owners will do almost anything to avoid selling, because that’s the hardest bit.
