Maintain a Success Circle in Direct Sales & Relationship Marketing

Archive for the ‘Branding’ Category

Customer follow-up is an area that is important in any business, but is critical to anyone in any type of sales.

1.The Invisible Sign - Mary Kay Ash taught that she imagined that everyone wore an invisible sign around their neck that says “Make Me Feel Important.”  Isn’t this really true about ourselves even if we don’t readily admit it?  We know it has value because when we are made to feel special by someone else, and especially at a place where we spend our money, we remember it.

Business owners – entrepreneurs must promote ideas and implement strategies to ensure that each customer is made to feel special.  Ultimately each business owner has to determine which ideas Read the rest of this entry »

People have been known offline to make a big fuss about huge ‘Giveaways’ that turn out to be very disappointing for many customers because the item that was given was of poor quality or of very little value.

What about those of us who work online?  What should we give away, and how can giving away valuable products help to attract more visitors and ultimately business to our website?

The most important thing to keep in mind is that whatever we give away, whether it’s a free report, an e-book, e-course, teleseminar, etc. should be of good quality and value.  Someone may reason that it does not make sense Read the rest of this entry »

When you market offline you get to physically interact with your prospects and customers.  They get to see and read your facial expressions as well as your body language.  When you market online people can base their opinions only on the image or persona that you present to them.  They can individually create their own perception of who you are.

It is not always easy to translate who you really are online and it takes time to refine as well as a measure of skill.

Perhaps like me you may have found Twitter a challenge at the outset.  I’m more reserved, like to observe people before jumping in.  I laugh a lot with close friends, but smile more often than laugh.  I’m detail oriented and like real discussions and conversations but was never good at ‘one-liners.’  So, initially I found it difficult to condense what I wanted to say in 140 characters.   Did you have that challenge?

Another thing that presents a challenge when marketing online is that you can say something with  smile in your heart Read the rest of this entry »

Providing valuable content on your blog, the hub of your online activities, is not always easy.  Your goal should always be to provide a valuable source of information so that your readers will want to come back for more.

It’s easy to reason that since you’re not being paid for the information on your blog, it does not have to be of the highest quality.  Thinking that way would be a huge mistake.  Put yourself in your readers’ place.  Would you revisit a website where the information is of little or no value?

It is true that you are in business because we want to make money.  On the other hand, the interesting thing is that when you give your readers really valuable information, you are nurturing and building relationships so that when you have something for sale they will be more willing to purchase products from or through you.  They will have come to appreciate that you have their interests at heart and so you would recommend only products that are worthwhile and will be of  benefit  to them.

What are your thoughts on the topic?  Please share in the Comments section.

What is a Domain Name?  It’s the name that you will give to your website. It’s the URL that people will type in to gain access to whatever you are offering online.  It’s the name that over time people will come to associate with you.

Choosing a domain name is step that requires careful consideration and should involve some research for a number of reasons:

1)    You can make the decision to use your name; however, while I strongly recommend that you purchase your name if it’s available, if you are new to the internet you may want to park it temporarily.  An important reason for this recommendation is that you may not be sure at this stage what you want your name to represent in the online community.  You may need time to determine how you’d like to brand yourself online and what Read the rest of this entry »

The value of using video in online marketing strategies has been highlighted and re-emphasized.  Many of us are hesitant to do anything new because of not knowing how to do it.

Earlier this year one of the assignments in a Course I was taking was to create a video on YouTube using Google Search Stories.  Prior to this I’d never heard of Search Stories.  You can view my Search Story by clicking here.  Make sure your speakers are on.

After creating the assignment I had no idea how to upload it to my blog and viewed several “How To” videos on YouTube – some of them were very long and detailed.  I kept saying there must be an easier way or so many people would not be doing it.  I then did a Google search and found a very simple method, which I used.  In fact I was amazed at how easy Read the rest of this entry »

Recently I have been focusing on the value of having a blog, which should be the hub of your online activities.  In talking with people, visiting forums, I’ve found out that the reason some people do not understand the value of having a blog because in many cases they started a blog, but did not get traffic or visitors to their blog, so they became discouraged and gave up.

I found this video by Lisa Irby of http://2createawebsite.com that’s approximately 9 minutes, in which she shared some valuable pointers:

For your blog to be successful, some of the key points Read the rest of this entry »

This is a guest post by Barbara Lopez, The Elevator Pitch Coach.  I like to say that Barbara elevated my elevator pitch as a Direct Sales Consultant so that I became much more effective at networking events.  I chose this article by Barbara because she wrote it so well that I did not need to, and it is so easy when you are new to internet marketing to want to try to be like the ‘gurus’ in order to cover the fact that you are relatively new.    The downside to this is that you would not be authentic and people can see through pretense.  Instead of building the know, like and trust factor this is more likely to alienate the very people you want to attract.

“There is only one you for all time. Fearlessly be yourself.” –Anonymous

Have you ever received some advice, but it didn’t really “click” or resonate with you until many years down the road? When I was a teenager, and I’d be getting ready to head out with my friends, as I’d get to the door to leave my father would always say, “Remember who you are!” At the time, as a naive yet typical teenager who thought she knew everything, I’d always think to myself that it was such a weird thing to say – of course I’d remember who I was! How could I forget? I know who I am! I’m Barbara!

It wasn’t until many years later, when I became an adult, that I really understood the meaning behind those words, “remember who you are”. I realized that my father wasn’t telling me to remember my NAME, but to remember who I am as a person. What he was trying to advise me at the time, very gently, was to remember who I am as a person, and to be true to it. That, no matter what activities I’d be up to that evening, no matter whose company I was spending time in, that it was important for me to be true to myself – and to not stray from that – ever.

As I’ve grown older, I think that is actually the best piece of advice I’ve ever received. It’s great advice for a teenager, but I’m also seeing how applying it to my adult self has done great things for me both personally and professionally.

Reflecting on this advice of “remember who you are” recently, I also realized this is SO important when making a first introduction. There are a few reasons for that; allow me to explain.

You are more relaxed. When meeting someone for the very first time, if you just remember to be yourself, you’ll automatically relax a bit and enjoy the introduction more. Plus, if you’re attending a networking function where you’re meeting a lot of people at once or giving your elevator pitch to an entire room of people, you’ll feel more at ease. Read the rest of this entry »

During a recent 30-day blog challenge I was part of, I endeavored to visit 3 to 5 blogs each day, read a post on each, and leave a meaningful comment.  I noticed that on many blogs there was a gray rectangular box on the top right-hand of each post that indicated how many tweets had been made on that post.  Under the box was a green box that showed if the post had been tweeted by me on a previous visit or not.  It would show “retweet” or “tweeted.”

I became curious because I had a  widget installed from Add to Any, but this one seemed much easier to use, and if not placed correctly could be overlooked.  Eventually I went to tweetmeme.com to learn more.  I found out that the Tweetmeme button is a plug-in you need to download and then upload to your Plug-ins in your admin area, after which you click to make active.  It’s been fun using it, but for this post I decided to Read the rest of this entry »

In my last post we discussed the fact that many people have unique skills, hobbies, and ideas.  The Internet allows you to reach others with similar interests effortlessly and in a way that reduces rejection and bolsters your confidence.

From my personal experience and that of many others who come online, it can be challenging to start  with creating your own product. For many this could take a long time and derail their efforts to launch their business.  You could, instead, chose to promote someone else’ product, that matches your niche and receive an affiliate commission. That’s called Affiliate Marketing.

In recent times product creation has become a little easier with the use of PLR products.  PLR stands for Private Label Rights. PLR articles are usually written by a ghostwriter and sold to several website owners. This means that you (and a limited number of other bloggers) can edit the articles and publish them without being required to link back to anyone or give anyone credit for writing them. You become the expert when using PLR articles. Read the rest of this entry »