Do It! Marketing Blog: Marketing for Smart People™

In this final installment of New Year Goodness... you're getting my top picks of marketing must-read info, strategies, templates and tools. 

Why?

Simple... 

So you CAN (and WILL!) make 2013 your best year yet. 

Is this just more smoke and mirrors and hokey motivation?

Nope - it's a 12-pack of "Real Deal" marketing tools that you can review over a weekend (ahem... maybe even THIS weekend?) and start to implement bright and early Monday morning. 

Ready? 

Here we go...

Most popular posts:

1. Marketing Coach: 17 Ways to Drive More Traffic FAST
2. Email Blast: Creating subject lines that pack punch
3. 23 things to say when you're asked for "free consulting"
4. Small Business Marketing Coach: Developing Customer Intimacy
5. Referral Blurbs - Marketing Coach Tip
6. Marketing Coach: How to Write Your Kickass Bio (12 Tips and Example)
7. Social Media Scripts: Tips from a Marketing Coach
   
   

Hidden treasures:

1. Marketing Coach: 33 Ways to Make 2013 Your Best Year Yet
2. Professional Services Marketing: Speaking to Attract New Clients
3. Marketing Concept: Use these headline techniques if you dare
4. 5 Signs that Your Prospect is Giving You Too Much Bullsh*t
5. Business Coach: 50 Reasons People Should Buy from YOU
   
   

Ah, heck - I can't resist giving you THIS one...

The (REAL) Idiot's Guide to Social Media Marketing

And one more for good luck:

Marketing Speaker Tip: Erase. Start Fresh. Kick Ass

p.s. As you review these, please share YOUR advice, insights and recommendations in the COMMENTS section for each of these blogs. Even if the posts are older, I always see new comments as you post them -- so I'd love to generate discussions with YOU on how you can max out these ideas in 2013 for YOUR business!

Inspired by my pal Michael Goldberg of Building Blocks Consulting - who wrote this post - here are the Top 5 things to get excited about in YOUR business for the New Year and all of Lucky '13!

1. Books

Reading 'em. Writing 'em. Ebooks. Hardcopy books. All kinds of books.

As you may know, the DO IT! Marketing book is coming this summer from AMACOM and there's lots of cool developments brewing there... but let's talk about YOU... 

• Do YOU want to write a book? 
• Have YOU written a book that's under-marketed? 
• Do YOU have an ebook or information product that you're working on and just can't seem to finish?
• Do YOU have plans to develop a NEW book or information product - and just don't know where to begin?

Don't get stuck - let me help you take your first (or next) ebook, book, or information product over the finish line.

As for books to read - here are five recommendations for YOUR 2013 reading list:

2. Focus

Focus on a specific target market.

Focus on your "secret sauce" of expertise.

Focus on your most fun and profitable projects, prospects and programs.

And...

     Let...

          Everything...    

               Else...

                    Go...

3. Fitness, Toughness, Accountability 

As you may know, I've lost a tremendous amount of weight recently.

Sidebar: OK, my wife Vanessa HATES when I say that to people - it's 18 pounds in 90 days to be exact. (She thinks I make it sound like 100 pounds and she further thinks it makes people feel awkward when they haven't noticed. On the other hand, people whom I haven't seen in YEARS are shocked by my total weight loss of almost 40 pounds since 2008 - so to ME, it IS a "tremendous" amount!!)

The secret? The Charlie Newman hardass eating program plus twice weekly workouts at Nick's Gym.

What's the Charlie Newman program? Three things - all simple but not easy: 

1. No white stuff (dramatically reduce carbs, breads, sugars, etc.)
2. Drink a ton of water daily. More than is comfortable. More than is fun. More than you want to. Like you need to go pee 10 times a day. That is the right amount.
3. No food after 7pm.

The toughness comes at times like Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Eve - when it's EASY (or even expected) that you'll go overboard and do things you should not do. Toughness says you don't go there. 

Accountability is the fact that I live with Charlie Newman - he's my son - and he SEES what I eat, HOW much, WHEN I eat it... and there aren't enough places to hide in our kitchen. 

So consider one of your goals - what's going to fuel YOUR fitness (financial fitness, marketing fitness, relationship fitness, physical fitness, etc)? And which kinds of built-in toughness and accountability mechanisms will you use to ensure your success?

4. Travel + Leisure

Yes, I mean both the concept - and the magazine. We get this magazine and it has opened my eyes to an undiscovered opportunity that YOU have if business travel is part of YOUR work...

In my work as a professional speaker and marketing coach, travel is a given.

How much you enjoy it and exploit it is 100% up to YOU... 

2012 trips have taken me to Columbus OH, NYC, Toronto, Denver, Shelton CT, Indianapolis, Minneapolis, Phoenix, Atlantic City, and Winnipeg ("Brrr...") Future trips already planned for 2013 include Atlanta, Vancouver, NYC, Minneapolis, Pittsburgh, and Chicago.

But there is a HUGE difference between the two words "trips" and "travel." You can take business trips and they look like this:

• Get to airport in your home city 
• Go through security
• Swallow stale air in thin metal tube for between 1-8 hours
• Land 
• Taxi to hotel
• See inside of hotel
• See inside of conference rooms
• Eat inside hotel
• Eat inside conference rooms
• Taxi to airport
• Go through security
• Swallow stale air in thin metal tube for between 1-8 hours
• Land
• Go home. Hug spouse. Kiss dog. Fall into own bed.
• Repeat as needed to meet your career or entrepreneurial goals

THAT, my friends, is not travel.

Travel is sightseeing, museums, restaurants, cafes, bars, shopping, exploring new places and discovering local experiences.

Question for you: How can you bake more TRAVEL into your TRIPS during 2013? I'll do my best - and hope you do, too.

Let's check in with each other over the next few months to see how we're both doing!

5. Giving away WAY more FREE stuff

Since November, I have made a commitment to sharing MORE experiences of value - for free - and making MORE profit-rich resources available - again, for free.

If you know me at all, you know I've always done this BIG-time. But I wanted to see what would happen if I ramped this UP to near-ridiculous levels.

• Would I burn out? (No)
• Would you? (Not yet - but we're just starting)
• Would anybody come (Yes - see below) 
• Would there be anything left for me to monetize and sell? (Apparently)
• Would people tell their friends and colleagues? (Yes - and thank you!)

Early Results:

In November, I presented the "Marketing Strategy Blueprint for 2013." We had 169 people register for that info-packed training call and it generated $4500 of client work. Good for you - and good for me. 

In December, I presented the "Sponsorship Strategy Blueprint." We had 161 people register for that training call where I laid out my VERY BEST fee-paid advice with no holds barred. That call generated $8100 of client work. Again good for you - and good for me.

Coming up later this week, YOU are invited to "Your Speaking Business in 2013" with my friend and colleague Andrea Gold of Gold Star Speakers Bureau and author of "The Business of Successful Speaking."

Join us - you don't need to buy anything and there's no catch. If we provide value and you want more, you'll know what to do.

Questions for you:

• Are you strategically giving away RIDICULOUS amounts of value? 
• How could you give even MORE? 
• What could you do to AMPLIFY your impact with your target market? 
• Whose HELP do you need? Partners, affiliates, mentors?
• WHEN will you launch your "WAY More FREE Stuff" campaign?
• HOW will you measure its success?

What do you think?

Use the COMMENTS area below to share what YOU are most excited about in YOUR business for 2013 and... 

I am leading an ExecSense webinar on “How to Get Published as CEO of a VC-Funded Company and How to Make it Work Towards Your Company's Success” on Friday September 28th.

Shhhh... it's NOT just for venture-backed CEOs. It's for YOU!

What we'll talk about:

As a business coach, I love tools, strategies, templates and exercises that help small business owners sell more, more easily and more often. 

After reading this post, YOU will be able to build yourself one of the most powerful sales tools I've ever seen. (And I've seen a LOT of marketing/sales tools in my 20+ years in business.) 

Because of my involvement in the National Speakers Association (NSA) and the Canadian Association of Professional Speakers (CAPS), I've been fortunate to develop personal friendships with some of the smartest and most successful business speakers, sales experts and marketing gurus in my field.

One of these folks is known as Canada's Sales Coach - his name is Tom Stoyan and he is also a member of the Speaker's Hall of Fame (HoF). When Tom and I were co-presenting at a convention almost three years ago, he kindly participated in a small part of my program and I participated in his. We thought we'd compare notes and both learn a thing or two.

Tom picked up some ideas around social media and inbound marketing and I picked up a Million Dollar Idea called the "Why People Buy from Me" worksheet.

It is a structured process that walks you through 5 key questions - which require 10 (ten!) answers to each, giving you an arsenal of 50 selling points. You can use these in your marketing materials, sales conversations, website copy, phone calls, emails, and anyplace else you need to PROVE to your buyers that buying from anyone else would be a HUGE mistake.

At the risk of being self-serving (get over it - it's an example, OK?) here is mine for the marketing coaching part of my business.

Note I cheated on Question #3 because I did this exercise from a personal perspective, not an overall company perspective. If you work for an organization larger than yourself, DO NOT SKIP Question #3. Seek help from your boss and co-workers to answer it - or call Tom Stoyan and he'll help you answer it as part of his program!

1. Why should I buy your product/service?

1. Because you're terrible at marketing
2. You don't make time for marketing
3. You've read too many books yet implemented too few ideas
4. Because without proactive marketing, you're the best kept secret at what you do
5. Because you don't need marketing information - you need marketing implementation
6. You don't know what you don't know about marketing your services
7. You're tired of throwing money in a marketing black hole
8. You want to regain control of your marketing and sales results
9. You're tired of spinning your wheels and you're ready to commit to marketing success
10. You realize that for every marketing dollar you spend, you should get at least $3 in return

2. Why should I buy from YOU?

1. Because of my brilliant testimonials from some of the top entrepreneurs and consultants in the US
2. Because I've been the talent, bought the talent, and sold the talent so I've sat on all three sides of the table!
3. Because I give you the strategies, tactics, and guided implementation you need to generate results
4. Because my materials, advice, articles, and presentations are splattered all over the web! (You've already heard of me so I must be doing something right - what if YOU could do the same in your prospect base?)
5. Because I've been quoted or featured in the New York Times, Investors Business Daily, Fast Company, Selling Power, Sales & Marketing Management, Business 2.0 and Entrepreneur Magazine (with a picture!)
6. Because I'm the author of 3 books on marketing and professional services, including The Manager's Pocket Guide to Using Consultants (HRD Press, 2007) Do It! Marketing (AMACOM, 2013) and 21 Secrets of Simple Marketing Success
7. Because I've delivered over 600 presentations since 1992 and I've worked with 44 of the Fortune 500
8. Because I have an application process that you must go through before we work together - I don't work with any warm body with a checkbook
9. Because my programs are consistently among the highest rated at national conventions and association chapters nationwide
10. Because I have over 40 video testimonials on YouTube so you can see I'm the "real deal"

3. Why should I buy from your company?

My company and me are one and the same. See reasons above.

4. Why should I buy your price?

1. Because I have a 1000% guarantee as follows: "I'm better than anyone who's cheaper; and I'm cheaper than anyone who's better."
2. Pay one price for unlimited coaching - I'm more concerned in getting you to your destination than running the meter.
3. The fee is the fee - and if you're not making back 3-10x my fee after our work, one of us is not doing his job... and it's not usually me.
4. Everything is too expensive until you want it* (*T. Stoyan, 2012)
5. People won't spend $50 to fix a $5 problem. But they will spend $1 million to solve a $10 million problem
6. If you're not comfortable spending big money with me, why would you expect your prospects to spend big money with you?
7. If you ask anyone I've worked with, 90% of them will tell you that working with me was some of the smartest money they ever spent. The other 10% didn't do the work. 
8. You shouldn't work with me if marketing and growing your business is not a serious priority for you
9. You shouldn't work with me if your business is struggling - get sales coaching first (I'm serious!)
10. You can spend less and you'll get less - and you can also spend more and you'll still get less. I over-deliver like crazy (see testimonials) because once you're "in" with me, I have nothing more to sell you and we can get to work!

5. Why should I buy NOW? ("Now is a relative term" -- T. Stoyan, 2012)

1. Because it's rare that I have openings in my client roster - you can get in now or typically wait 3-6 months.
2. Because the longer you delay getting your marketing house in order, the longer you'll be in a state of confusion, inaction, and overwhelm
3. Because "waiting til my business picks up" to invest in marketing is like saying "I'm sick as a dog but I'll wait til I feel better to go to the doctor." It's never going to happen
4. I've never seen a marketing plan that starts with "Generate enough sales to afford marketing plan"
5. Maybe you should never buy - and you might not qualify to work with me.
6. What would it be like if your next year's revenues were much like your last year's? If you're OK with that, there's probably no reason for us to work together.
7. Are you sure you have a marketing problem and not a sales problem? Maybe Stoyan is a better fit for you. Would you like his number?
8. Because the money you're NOT making week after week, month after month, is a larger number than the money you'd be investing to restore your revenues to where you'd like them to be
9. Because you want to stop the "feast or famine" revenue cycle and get a proactive handle on your marketing process before you hit your next dip
10. Because someone you know and respect recommended we chat and I'm the answer to your prayers. (In addition to... I'm one of the most humble people you know!)

See? I told you it was self-serving.

Until now.

Because NOW - it is YOUR turn. Here is your assignment:

And then leave a comment below with your questions, thoughts, and advice on the ideas above.

Are you a DO IT freak? Welcome to the club!! Please use the social media buttons at the top of this post to share it with your network. YOU are a rock star!

Here's the problem for you:

• you have integrity
• you have smarts
• you have standards
• you have ethics
• you have conscientiousness
• you have detail orientation
• you have an innate desire to only deliver your best work

Why is any of this a problem? 

Because you're competing with idiots who have no hesitation to: 

• charge more (way more in some cases)
• deliver less (way less in MOST cases)
• shoot faster
• shoot more often
• brag and boast with nothing but hot air and smoke
• overpromise and package their offerings with more sizzle
• underdeliver but become brilliant at evasion and deceit
• game the system to win meaningless awards, garner inflated reviews, and continue to deceive the world that they are better than you.

Truth: they're not better than you at all. Not for a second.

But here's the rub: perception is reality.

Let me repeat that: perception IS reality.

You're fighting the wrong war.

• You're trying to win the wrong game
• You are who Google says you are
• Your clients see what your LinkedIn recommendations tell them to look for

You are really fighting a two-front war:

1. Managing the perceptions of you and your firm

2. Managing the reality of you and your firm

The fakers are better at FAKING it.

So you better be better at DELIVERING it.

For real. Every minute of every day.

If perception is reality, then the sooner you get busy changing your perception, the sooner your prospects and clients will appreciate your reality.

Keep it real, people.   

It's amazing to me how many professionals fall right into the marketing trap of overt self-promotion, pathetic begging, and self-commoditization. 

What am I talking about? 

I belong to several online forums, special interest sites and private message boards for organizations like the National Speakers Association and Vistage International, the world's largest CEO organization. 

At least weekly, there are requests for referrals to various types of speakers, consultants, coaches and training firms.

And sure as the sun goes around the moon, there are desperate goofballs who emerge from the murkiness and respond to these like hungry sharks chasing chum in bloody waters. Instead of positioning themselves as experts and giving the REFERRALS as asked, they see these as opportunities to play their favorite game of "Pick me! Pick me!"

Here is a recent example: 

===

I'm working with a client who needs a keynoter on growth (franchise-related, if possible). Can anyone recommend a fantastic and engaging executive-level speaker on this topic?

===

Response 1: I am a professional speaker with topics from communication, diversity & personal & business growth. My firm has grown 15% in the last year, so I have some insights into the topic. [Excerpted]

Response 2: We work extensively with franchise organizations on business growth, strategy, and marketing. I'd be happy to explore whether the vast body of knowledge we have about franchise growth in our industry might be adapted to your client. [Excerpted]

Response 3: I'm a former VP with Hilton Worldwide. Specifically for the Homewood Suites by Hilton brand. I played an integral role in helping double the Brand's size - from 75 properties to 150 - in a four year period. Not sure if the hospitality industry would be an optimal choice for your client, nonetheless I'd be happy to hear more about your client's needs to see if there's a fit. [Excerpted]

Response 4: There is a fantastic niche bureau in the franchise world run by my pal Katrina Mitchell - some of these folks are extremely well-versed in the franchise world: http://www.franchisespeakers.com/ Also T. Scott Gross would be a home run for this type of group as well - which is why he's among the folks Katrina works with!!

Response 5: I'm both a speaker and a retail franchise owner, so I may be a good fit if they are still looking. I'm a leadership keynoter who focuses on building trust in teams. I also own two franchises, and am in the process of expanding into a third. View my profile for more info if I can help.

===

I'll stop there only because to quote more of these people would make me nauseated. 

Lesson: There was only ONE "trusted advisor" answer in the whole bunch. Can you see which one it was? It was the one that gave the requester what she WANTED - namely, a REFERRAL and not a self-serving sales pitch. 

The definition of a trusted advisor is a professional who puts their client's interests before his or her own.

The folks who respond like #1, 2, 3, and 5 position themselves as PEDDLERS, not PARTNERS. 

Remember: Chasing Chum Makes You a Chump

Don't do it.

What's a smarter approach? There are three:

1. Ask one of your clients for whom you have done similar work to visit that forum and post an honest recommendation of your work. A third-party endorsement means a TON more than a self-serving sales pitch.

2. Take the conversation offline. Connect the referral requester with the person you'd like to refer (or if we're back to promoting yourself, then simply connect your past client with the requester's contact details and ask them to get in touch directly.)

3. Trade referrals and endorsements. This is one of my favorites - smarter than self-promotion and easier than connecting back with previous clients. Establish a trusted circle of 5-7 experts, consultants or professional services providers whose work you believe in and would gladly put your reputation behind. Offer to tee each other up regularly for opportunities like the one above. 

in my circle, for example, I have: 

• A women's leadership guru whose message focuses on women's sanity, confidence and fun
• A NY Times bestselling healthcare author and Hall of Fame speaker
• One of the nation's top experts on building sales culture
• A top-notch trainer on presentation skills (virtual and in-person)
• One of the funniest motivational humor speakers on the planet
• A networking and referral marketing expert in financial services
• A small business leadership expert, bestselling author and Hurricane Katrina survivor

Stop chasing chum and you'll stop looking like a chump.

Question: Who is in YOUR referral circle? Get busy and create yours today!

Please use the COMMENTS area below to share your referral and lead sharing advice, success stories and feedback.

As a marketing speaker and marketing coach, I preach and teach and continually refine my own ability to stimulate more and better referrals in addition to helping my small business and professional services clients do the same. 

Although I am not a referral expert - check out my pal referral marketing expert Michael Goldberg for that - I am indeed a referral enthusiast. 

A client of mine - a consultant with a midsized firm - asked me a great referral question.

After reading this post, YOU will see where your own referral generation process may be stuck - and how to fix it. 

My client said to me, "David, I don't seem to have any problem generating referrals. In fact, my clients and colleagues are always very generous and forthcoming with referrals. The problem is not with QUANTITY - it is with QUALITY."

She went on, "No matter how successful my referral source may be, they seem to always refer me only to losers. I hate to say that - but you know what I mean. People who can't afford what we do, folks who are not decision-makers, or folks who for a variety of reasons are simply not the right fit."

Her question: "How can I get out of referral jail?"

Here are five ideas to help YOU get out of referral jail and put YOUR allies, advocates, friends and fans in the best and most likely position to refer you to the right people for the right reasons with the right fit. 

1. Ask for what you want. 

Be specific. "Business owners" is not specific. "IT managers" is not specific. "Front line salespeople" is not specific.

• "CEOs of 20-100 person companies in the food distribution industry in the Northeast US" is specific.
• "Female sales executives in the technology industry" is specific.
• "IT managers in Canadian call centers" is specific. 

Some of my clients also like to include a "phrase book" in their referral description. This means the phrases to listen for that indicate someone may be a good fit as a referral to you.

The WORST kind of referral request is, "I'll talk to anybody who needs [your product/service.]"

Stop making dumb referral requests and you'll stop getting dumb referrals.

2. Show them names, companies, and proof that you can make those people happy.

Let's face it - the reason people don't want to give you referrals is because they're putting their own relational capital (aka reputation) on the line. And that's risky.

If you can remove the risk of the referral, you will open the floodgates to getting more and better referrals for life. 

Hint: They won't believe YOU. They WILL believe your clients, past referrals, and people who have given you money and been thrilled to do so. 

Print up a sheet called "Referral Success Stories." Put in 5-7 specific referrals you've gotten over the last 12 months. Put in TWO kinds of quotes from both:

a. Clients who were referred and eventually hired you (Client success)
b. Your referral sources who are quoting how good they looked for making the referral (Referral success)

3. Tell them exactly what to say or send.

I hate to repeat myself so let me simply point out this post on the power of referral blurbs. Follow the templates given here to create your own referral blurb and START USING IT.

4. When a bad referral comes in, give some referral coaching.

When you get referred to a dud, diplomatically tell your referral source why it wasn't a great fit AND how they can tune their radar better next time.

Here's the template you can adapt to your own situation, style and tone. This is a delicate communication so you will want to re-word this carefully. Definitely not a cut-and-paste cookie cutter response but here's your starting point: 

===

Michelle,

I've kindly and gently turned down the opportunity to pursue a business relationship with [referral name.]

Too many red flags and especially after listening to his concerns, he's just not a good fit for us.

Thank you very much indeed for the referral - and in my book, it still counts. (EVERY referral counts no matter how it turns out!!)

If this causes you any strain in your relationship with [referral name] (and I doubt it will), please accept my apologies in advance.

For the record, his PROFILE was perfect - [DESCRIBE 2-3 ideal qualities about the referral.] The disconnect was in OUR FIT with his expectations and [lack of budget, lack of need, lack of authority, whatever was missing] -- two factors over which YOU had no control.

Always appreciate your advocacy, guidance and friendship.

-- David

===

5. Ask smart Referral-GIVING questions to generate smart Referral-GETTING answers. 

If you want to increase both the quality and quantity of your INCOMING referrals - the fastest way to do that is to increase your OWN track record of GIVING high-quality referrals. 

And to do so, you need to stop guessing and start targeting. 

Become a referral detective.

Learn to ask consultative questions of your current clients, vendors, partners, suppliers, friends, colleagues, and networking associates -- anyone to whom you wish to GIVE more targeted referrals. 

Your questions might include: 

1. Who is your best client and why?
2. How did they come to you? 
3. What situation were they in? 
4. What did they say or do to show interest? 
5. How could you tell they were a great fit? 
6. How have you tried to get more just like them? 
7. What should I be listening for? (Ask for details and specifics)
8. What's the DNA of a great prospect for you? (Ask for details and specifics)
9. What phrases, key words or problems should I be listening for on your behalf? 
10. What wants, needs, desires, and aspirations do your best clients have in common? (Ask for details and specifics)
11. What heartaches, headaches, obstacles and challenges do your best clients have in common? (Ask for details and specifics)
12. If I programmed my GPS to home in on perfect prospects for you, what would those settings look like? (Ask for details and specifics)

As a marketing coach, clients often ask me about getting featured and quoted in the media. 

My short answer is simple: Subscribe to PR Leads (at $99/month, it's the best money you can spend on PR, bar none.)

Second question clients ask is, "How do I get the journalist to email me or circle back with me once the article is published or posted online?"

The short answer is - forget it. Journalists need you as a source and then they move on to their next assignment, hardly ever looking back, much less following up with egomaniacal entrepreneurs who drool over seeing their name in print (or electrons).

So you can chase these poor reporters and the only thing you'll do is ensure they NEVER use you as a source EVER again.

OR you can offer to help them.

Here's the template:

===

Mike,

Wanted to circle back with you to see where things landed with your fabulous story.

Is it live online or could you send me a copy?

Let me know anything else I can do to promote, tweet, link to, and share your work.

Thanks!

-- David 

===

Guess what? This gets a response. 

Every. Single. Time.

Use it - share it - and please use the COMMENTS area below to share your experiences leveraging PR to help you grow your business. 

p.s. Want some expert help to get you started on article marketing and PR? This program might be exactly what you've been looking for. 

Have you ever been rejected out of hand by a prospect who not only doesn't understand what it is you DO but - as a bonus - also told you they already have it taken care of in-house? 

It's like they're saying, "Uh, I don't know what that is, but we already have that here."

This is what I call rejection by ignorance (RBI). And it is one of the most frustrating things you'll run into as a marketing or sales executive - and certainly as an entrepreneurial business owner. 

Quick example from my world - and let's see how this story applies to YOU and YOUR products, services and value proposition...

First, a bit of background to set the context. As a marketing speaker and marketing coach, I market and sell to two audiences. 

1. For marketing coaching, I market to speakers, consultants, coaches, and independent experts.

2. For speaking, I market to conferences, associations and various industry groups. 

After reading this post, you will pick up some tools for marketing YOUR products and services better, smarter and faster - and you'll also see how to avoid one of the STUPIDEST sales rejections ever. 

Ready? Strap in - this could get ugly...

Oh, wait...

First, let me share a really good speaker prospecting letter with you. I use this one to get back in touch with speaking clients and also to cross-sell and upsell along the geographic hierarchy (local - state - regional - national) of organizations I've already spoken for.

(All names changed to protect.... well, you know!) Here it is: 

=====
Dear Glenda,

I'm hoping you can help me. I'm trying to get in touch with the person responsible for selecting speakers for your [insert organization name] national conferences for two reasons:

1. To invite them to a conversation with me about exploring our possible fit for your speaker roster in 2013 - I presented an extremely well-received keynote at the regional [insert organization name] last year and would love to do more for [insert organization name].

The conference promo from last year is attached for your reference and the special welcome video I did for your group is here: [Youtube link]

2. If a high-energy, high-content marketing program is not a fit, I can recommend several other outstanding professional speakers to you because of my active involvement and leadership roles within the National Speakers Association.

Please do get back to me and let me know your thoughts.

-- David Newman

[Signature block]
=====

So far, so good. And please DO use this letter template above if you're a speaker, consultant, or a professional who uses speaking to generate leads and revenue for your firm.

(And yes, you're very welcome!)

And now here's where things get stupid...

A very nice person forwarded my note to their national HQ. I got this 3-line email from HQ. Please keep your eye out for the aforementioned RBI - rejection by ignorance.

=====

[Nice person] forwarded your email to me. I work with our conferences and events. Because of our arrangement with [corporate HQ], we do not have marketing speakers on our programs. [Our organization] has their own marketing division and provides the marketing support to all offices in the country, so it is not part of our professional development portfolio.

=====

As best as I can tell, she's telling me, "Uh, we have a department that does that."

That's funny because I've spoken for clients like IBM, Microsoft, TD Bank, Merrill Lynch, and Accenture and I'm pretty sure THEY all have marketing departments too!

By this logic, no Fortune 500 company would hire a sales speaker because:

They have a sales department.

No large organization would hire an outside training company because:

They have a training department.

No multi-national corporation would use a recruiting firm because (say it with me, now):

They have a recruiting department.

So what should YOU do to avoid (or recover from) RBI?

Acknowledge it - love it - embrace it.

Corollary: If you can't market and sell to ignorant people who give you stupid excuses, you're going to have a very brief career in sales.

Oh, damn... was this microphone on?

Back to the show...

The tricky part is you never know when you're going to run into this particular brand of stupidity so I don't recommend doing anything differently up front.

Once RBI rears it's ugly head, your best chance at a recovery is what I call CSI. This stands for Complement and Supplement In-house efforts.

Here's a sample phone conversation or an email reply back to little Susie Creamcheese* at the global HQ of the Moron Corporation above:

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Susie,

Thank you for your note. I understand completely.

Most organizations that I work with also have a robust marketing department.

They value the programs we collaborate on precisely because I help them with strategies, tactics and tools that complement and supplement what they're already doing in-house.

I'm attaching a brief overview of the program I'm proposing along with 5 testimonial letters from clients in your industry who have a strong central marketing function AND who had great things to say about the results of our work together.

Worth a 10-minute phone conversation? Let me know either way and thanks in advance for considering it.

-- David Newman
[signature block]
=====

BOO-YAH.

Eat that, Jack.

RBI has met CSI and it's game over.

Hope that was as good for you as it was for me.

* Little Susie Creamcheese is a favorite saying of my speaking colleague, David Yoho. Hire him. He's awesome.

* * Grab this free "Sell More Speaking" web training>> 

Marketing Concept: Your home page is your calling card. 

Question: Are you communicating everything that you need to on that all-important home page to get people engaged with you and your products and services? 

Let's back up one step. Before you can answer that question, a better marketing concept to explore is the key question: 

What IS the main purpose of your home page? 

Multiple choice answers for you to choose from: 

a. To create a cosmetically appealing "cover page" for the rest of your site

b. To concisely summarize all your product and service offerings

c. To showcase your primary offering that you want to highlight (your flagship product, current promotion, etc.)

d. To create an easy-to-navigate roadmap with multiple ways to access the key pages of your site

e. None of the above

And the answer is... 

Wait for it...

Hang on... 

Alright, you win - it's e. None of the above.

Why? Because the main purpose of your home page is to convey two (and only two) key marketing concepts:

1. We know what you (the prospect, reader, website visitor) are going through.

2. We can help.

Here are 12 home page must-haves according to our partners over at Hubspot: 

What do you think? Please share your insights in the COMMENTS section below and..

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