6 Tips to Get Your Clients Barking Like Dogs

A key to business success is having loyal customers.

Too many businesses neglect their loyal customer base because they are consistently looking for new customers. But the truth is you will sell more of your products and services to existing customers, more regularly.

By practicing these basic six tips, you will foster greater loyalty in your customers that will reward your business with higher profits than before.

1. Always thank your customers. It is extremely important to always say, “thank you” to new and existing customers for doing business with you. Thanking all of your customers should be done verbally, through e-mail, or through a handwritten note. By doing this, your customers will understand they are appreciated and valued.
2. Customize and personalize each customer. Know the names of your regular customers. Also, review and recommend other products and/or services that compliment the products and/or services they regularly buy. Think about it this way, how great does it feel when the Starbucks lady greets you every visit by name and knows your exact drink order? You only go to that Starbucks and you always tip her now. The same concept will work on your customers.
3. Know why past customers left. Everyone has heard the saying, “learn from your mistakes.” This can be achieved by fixing problems and searching for ways to improve your business.
4. Survey your customers. Survey research is used to identify and solve problems. Surveys should be kept short, simple, and unbiased. Questions provided on each survey should include simple answer choices. Examples of simple answer choices would be, “satisfied/unsatisfied” or “true/false.” If assistance is needed for a proper survey design, professional services are available.
5. Credibility is a must. Every single time, do exactly what you told your customer you would do for them. If you have any hidden agendas, in most cases, you will lose your customers. Transparency is important in this relationship as it increases trust.
6. Make loyalty-building a commitment. All employees in your business are responsible for fostering customer loyalty and making this a priority. As an employee, a requirement is to be trained in how to deliver and convey the customer loyalty message. Make sure everyone has an understanding about how important the customer truly is.

What Makes Good Graphic Design?

Is it a combination of the right colors? Perhaps a lot of white space? Could it be a particular style of art? In reality, it can be any of these factors, none of these factors, or even a variety of other factors. Graphic design, unlike art, generally should not be a subjective thing. Graphic design has a business purpose and that being the case, means that it should accomplish a particular goal. That may mean driving sales, promoting your product, educating, or whatever applies to your business model.

How to create effective layouts

• Use different sizes of type for different elements.
• Establish a hierarchy of type sizes for headlines, subheads, text, etc. and be consistent with formatting. (All headlines should be formatted alike, all subheads should be formatted alike, all text should be formatted alike, etc.)
• Make the most important element you want your readers to see the largest and the least important element the smallest.
• Use rules (lines) to separate information into groups.
• Use different weights of type.
• Use white space for design purposes in your publication.
• Position important information in the upper left corner. The upper left corner is usually read first. Place a box around important information.
• Call attention to lists of items by placing bullets in front of them.
• Use colored or reversed type (white type on a dark background) to separate or emphasize.

Here are 5 elements when designing a layout you should consider:

1. Images – Often photographs are the first things chosen. Quality is very important! The image should be chosen to reflect either a theme, a feeling, or mood conveyed in or by the company, or subject of the project. Choosing just 1 or 2 strong images that supports the idea of the project is better then using 4 or 5 weak images. If more then 1 or 2 images are chosen the designer will need to find a way to unify these images into a cohesive whole. A technique for accomplishing this is through the use of a grid to display the images.
2. Graphics - Choose a graphic that accents the image, mood or theme of the project or company. Try using the graphic as a leading line. You can also use smaller versions of the graphic to indicate the location of headers, buttons, or new elements in the design. Try inverting the colors, rotating, or cropping these smaller graphics to create interest but still create a unified feeling.
3. Font Choices - Try just 2-4 fonts in a layout. One for the title, one for headings, one for body copy, one for everything else for example: captions, footers, copyright, etc… Each font should fit or compliment each other and the overall mood or theme of the project. But each font must also be distinguishable from the others.
4. Color Choices - 2 -3 max. 
Choose to either compliment or contrast the images or the graphics. Try to relate the colors to the mood or theme of the piece. The font colors are particularly important. Fonts must have enough value contrast between them and the background to enhance (not detract) from legibility.
5. Alignment – Each of the previous elements must be placed in such a way as to justify its position in relationship to its surrounding elements. Options include left or right edge, centered, top or bottom, tangent or along the curve. Regardless, each and every element should have thought and consideration given to its placement. If you can’t say why you put it there, then you haven’t thought it through. Placement affects legibility.

Most common design problems to avoid in a layout:

• Hideous colors
• Low resolution photos
• Exaggerated tabs and indents
• Too many typefaces or hard to read fonts
• Cramped logos and addresses
• Unequal spacing
• Excessive spacing after punctuation
• •    Buried heads and subheads
• •    Claustrophobic pages
• •    Too many boxes and rules

14 No Cost or Low Cost Ways to Market

1. Broadcast Your Business
   Put magnets on your vehicle(s). Get some shirts made with your logo, website and compelling message. Wear your shirts where ever large crowds of your target market happen to be.
2. Exhibit at Trade Shows, Community Events, Health Fairs
   Shows are especially good if you are in a niche. There are trade shows for almost everything. You are sure to find one perfectly suited for your business or practice.
3. Give Out Useful, Well-Thought Out Promotional Items
   Don’t just buy the least expensive item you can find. Make sure it has lasting value and will be used and seen on a regular basis. Good ideas are: a nice pen, a decent coffee mug, a calendar, a beverage coaster.
4. Have a Webinar or Teleseminars
   These are pretty easy to do these days. They are a terrific way to show off your expertise and attract new clients and patients.
5. Get Out There and Network
   There are lots of free events out there and plenty of good paid ones. MeetUp.com is a great place to see what might be happening in your area. You can even start your own networking group on MeetUp.com. Be sure what ever group you attend has the right people for your services.
6. Use Free Classifieds and Listings
   Craiglist takes a little to work to update every now and then, but can be a source for new clients and patients. Search online for other free listings available. Check with your local newspapers and publications for what free listings they may have to offer.
7. Send Out a Printed Newsletter
   Of course, this is one of my favorites because it works! You can’t just do it once though. It needs to be sent on a consistent basis. Many people think a newsletter is costly, but when it is done right, it becomes an income generator not a business expense.
8. Post Flyers on Community Boards
   These boards are everywhere – Panera, Robek’s, local community centers, senior centers. It’s a inexpensive and easy way to showcase your business.
9. Join Your Local Chamber of Commerce
   Chambers are a great way for you to integrate into a community. Plus they are pretty cost effective too.
10. Register Your Business with Google Local, Yahoo, Bing, Hot Frog, Yelp
    Many business have still yet to claim there listing on Google, which is pretty amazing. These listings will provide back links to your website and they’re free!
11. Put an Offer on Your Business Cards
    Instead of having just your contact information, make your card useful by putting some type of offer for new clients or patients. Then, get those cards in places and business where your clients can be found.
12. Use Your Email Signature
    Lots of emails go out everyday and they also get forwarded. Why not do a little promotion with your email signature? Change it up every so often to make it interesting and fun.
13. Write Articles and Post them Online
    Another great way to get back links to your website and position you as an expert at the same time! One of the sites you can submit your articles to is ezinearticles.com. There are lots of others that can be found with a simple search.
14. Start a Referral Program
    After a current client, referrals are the easiest person to sell and can often times turn into your best clients. Asking for referrals is an easy, low cost way to get new business. The toughest thing about getting referrals is the asking. The best time to ask for a referral is when your client or patient is basking in the glory of their purchase. Start asking and ask often.

Credibility is essential to making sales.

When you have credibility it is easy to introduce new products and services with built-in demand. When you demonstrate credibility your clients, patients and even prospects are willing to put their faith in you because they see you as an authority. They don’t need to be sold. They buy because they trust you, no convincing necessary.

Here are seven ways to create and show credibility–

1. Write down three to five things that are unique about you and your product and/or services. Communicate these things as often as possible to your customers and prospects. Your value and your credibility will increase when you do.
2. The more confident you are in your sales presentations, the more people will believe in you. Be sure you have no doubts about what it is you are selling. The presenter is much more important than the presentation.
3. Abundance attracts, scarcity repels. Make sure you are speaking from abundance. No one likes to be around people who are down and out. It is a sure way to push people and sales away.
4. Be responsible. Don’t blame others. The more responsible you are, the more credibility you will have.
5. Be honest and never lie to anyone.
   Honesty is at the core of every successful leader.
6. Show respect. The more respect you show, the more credibility you will have.
7. Follow through on your commitments. If you said you were going to do it, do it. Nothing can destroy credibility faster than not following through on your promises.

Some added bonuse tips–

• People notice shoes. Make sure yours are of high quality, clean, and free of scuffs and mars.
• People notice handshakes. Make sure yours is firm and exudes self esteem.
• Watch your language. Many people find swearing and slang distasteful.

It Can Be Hard To Be Real

When someone is genuine, you can feel it. You can sense their passion and along with that comes trust. We believe them because they are being themselves. They are not putting on heirs or trying to conform to what they think others want them to be.

In order to be authentic, you need to be self-aware. When you are self-aware, you are present to the current moment. When you are present to the current moment or the now, you become in tune with others and know what is needed at that given moment. You are not thinking about the past or planning the future. Being in the present moment causes you to really focus on the people in your environment and it inspires you to move in certain directions or gives you a sense of what your purpose is in the moment.

Most people find it hard to be authentic. Not because they are bad people but because they are truly good people. They want to do anything and everything they can to help even if that means they are stepping outside of who they really are. What happens when we do this sort of thing is we become uncomfortable because it is not us, it is not within the realm of what we know. That discomfort then gets transferred to the client and a feeling of untrustworthiness becomes apparent to them. It all can be very subtle and with good intentions.

So, how do you become more authentic? Besides being self-aware, here are some questions to ask yourself to set you in the right direction–

What is your story? Your experience?
What do you believe in? What do you stand for?
Who inspires you?
What are your goals or your vision?

Something to keep in mind — any client or potential client who is put off by your being genuine were never going to buy anyway. Stop being who you are not. When you are true to your self, you will resonate with the right people who will be willing to build a long relationship with you because of what you stand for and who you really are.

Either You have Excuses or You Have Results

It seems as though I see the same thing over and over in many businesses. When people first start out in their business they do everything they can to get business in the door. At this beginning stage, they have more time to market their business because there just isn’t that much of it for them to do. They network, they send emails, they send newsletters, they exhibit at tradeshows, they meet with people, they may even cold call.

Then they get busy…and fat and happy. They slowly stop doing what got them the clients or patients in the first place. And then all of a sudden, one day, there is very little business coming down the pike.

If you ask them what happened, they have all kinds of excuses why business is down and blame lots of different things. At this point, some go back to working for someone else, closing up shop and moving on. Others flip into panic mode and start doing all kinds of new and different things in the hopes it will bring them the business they so desperately need. These new and different things may be costly because they are not proven methods, but the latest and greatest thing someone convinces them will do the trick. Maybe they will work, but with all new things, it can take time…and more money…both of which may not exist.

Of course, the best thing to do is never stop marketing in the first place, even when you are busy. However, should you find yourself or your business in this lack luster client/patient situation, go back and start doing what worked that got you the results in the beginning. Take a look at what is currently in your marketing mix and what you may have let fall by the wayside. Where are you not being consistent like before? What can you simply add back into the mix?

In the end, there are only 4 reasons why people don’t make it in business:
1. They fail to plan
2. Their plan sucks
3. They fail to execute their plan
4. They have lots of excuses.
So you either have EXCUSES or RESULTS. I’ll opt for the latter. What about you?

Getting Past the Gatekeeper

One of the best ways to get past the gatekeeper and on to the decision maker is through direct mail. Leaving messages and sending emails just don’t seem to do the trick like they used to. There was a story I heard from an audio version of “The Ultimate Sales Machine” by Chet Holmes where he repeatedly called the decision maker every day until they screamed “Uncle” and returned his call. I guess that could work too, and it may be a great idea for those few top people on your list, but you may also risk annoying the living hell out of them too. A direct mail approach could be a more fun and less obnoxious way to accomplish the same result.

Here are the 4 best ways to reach decision makers through the mail–

1. Make sure your piece is interesting and gets attention.
   What works well here is FedEx or a Priority Mail envelopes. Those come with special delivery. They are not in the pile of regular mail that the gatekeeper gets everyday. They are more apt to go past the gatekeeper and directly to the intended recipient. The same holds true for pieces that have dimension, are made out of a different type of material other than paper, and are handwritten.
2. Use personalized customization.
   People love to see their name. It tells them that you took the time to address them personally. With variable data printing, this can easily be done on a more mass market scale. The more personalized you can make the piece, the better. Include pictures and personal information that are relative to your prospect. The more you can speak to them at their level and based on their specific needs, the better chances you have of getting them to take action and call you.
3. Consider tying in a gift.
   As with the personalization in item two, a gift that is relative to your prospect could prove to be a powerful element in opening the door. Business success books or bestsellers and other business related items work well. If your prospect is a sports fanatic, some type of memorabilia may work. Do some homework on your prospect and uncover what their likes are.
4. Give them multiple ways to respond and get information. Don’t just leave it to them to give you a call. Offer them all the ways they can interact with you. Some people like email, some prefer going to a website and downloading information, others will pick up the phone and talk direct, still others want information in hard copy and mailed. Be sure you have all your bases covered on the ways to communicate.