Small Business Marketing Blog from Duct Tape Marketing

People today are bombarded by so much information that
they have become numb to what feels like advertising or,
during political cycles like we are in today, out and
out fabrication.
Small business owners should resist the temptation to copy
what passes for advertising today and focus on telling the
truth. I don’t really mean to imply that companies are lying
about [...]

One of the most powerful driving forces in human
nature is competition. The desire to overcome something
or some company, the need to win, the cause, can in
many cases be more important than the day-to-day work
of the company.
If your company and your people are to ever reach some
level of greatness, you must identify and focus on beating
something, [...]

One of the greatest ways to check if your content
or sales letter will be effective is to count the
number of adjectives and then compare that with the
number of verbs.
Just remember, verbs sell…adjectives fluff or worse.
I was reminded of this in a recent story from Alex Mandossian,
an unrelenting Internet Marketing self-promoter.
“The Ten Commandments, handed down to [...]

You can make the sale. You know your core message. You know your
target market inside out, right?
But, if you have even one employee then you’ve got another sales job
to do. Everyone in your organization must also be sold on the dream
you have. Everyone who answers the phone, walks the sales floor,
attends that Chamber event, or [...]

Yesterday I had a nice chat with Dr. Ivan Misner. Misner
is the CEO and founder of BNI or Business Network
International.
And, the “Networking Guru” according to Entrepreneur
magazine.
You can listen to myinterview with Dr Misner.
What you’ve never heard of them? You really do need
to get out more. Listen to what Misner’s invention
accomplished last year.
Last year alone, [...]

In my Referral Flood program one of the referral strategies
that I recommend involves partnering with a charitable
organization and promoting that charities’ mission as a
referral strategy.
Maybe something as simple as – “Buy today and we will
donate 10% of the proceeds to XYZ charity.”
H3O4 in Phoenix took this idea and turned the tables.
They have actively gone out [...]

Too many small business owners focus most of their attention
on single event lead generation promotions.
The most effective lead generation comes from the careful
combination of many tactics, but I have found that no lead
generation strategy is complete until it weaves the use of
advertising (know), public relations (like), and referrals (trust)
around a unified message or brand.

I know the overwhelming majority of sales books out there
extol the virtues of listening. And, I guess there is a time and
place for that, but here’s my theory.
You know who makes a great client for you. You have a
core message that presents your value. You can explain the
benefits of doing business with your firm…and, you [...]