Getting in front of a prospect is only a part of the selling process.

This is closely followed by having to convince them that you are THE solution to their problem (assuming you have correctly identified their problem of course!)

One of the strategies you should be using to convince your prospect is PROOF that you can deliver the solution they need. But this in itself is not enough, it also helps if you can show proof of having done it before – of having helped others who have had exactly the same problem as they are having.

One of the elements you should use – and which should be in every marketing arsenal – are testimonials.
Testimonials from satisfied customers are one of the best and most powerful assets you can build, but how do you go about collecting them?

Now let’s be clear – You’re not looking for the “John is a nice guy and easy to work with…” type comment.

You are looking for a powerful rave review which you can use to attract more customers and clients.
Here are my top tips for collecting effective testimonials which you can use to add power throughout your marketing.

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I have a passion for learning.

I am always looking to do better in what I do, so I am always looking for that better angle, or things which will make things run more smoothly or quicker – both in my personal as well as my business life.

Just recently I heard a recording by Dan Kennedy where he said something along the lines of “You can judge a successful person by the size of their library, not the size of their television”, a philosophy I have always lived by (I don’t watch much TV, but I do read a lot).

Whilst re-reading a book just now, it reminded me that my clients ask regularly what books I read and what they should be reading to expand their knowledge to help them be more successful.

I thought it would be good to compile a list of the top books you’ve learnt from.

So, I have a question for you…

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If you’ve run your own company for any length of time you will know that generating new prospects and converting them into paying clients is the most expensive part of growing any business.

Yet selling more to existing clients costs 5 to 9 times LESS, and is actually an easier sell because the client has already been involved buying from you. As long as they have had a good experience, they are more likely to buy again.

So why is it that people INSIST on driving their customers away?

To give you some examples which may seem familiar to you, here are a few of the things I’ve seen just in the past few weeks…

• A restaurant I went to the other night for dinner with friends had serving staff who were so rude I will NEVER go back (and I won’t be recommending them either)
• A franchise opportunity where the franchisor didn’t answer phone calls or respond to emails, even though a friend of mine had spoken to them once and already expressed an interest in spending £60,000 to buy a License (they kept my friend waiting for nearly a week and when they finally contacted him, it was only to say they were “too busy” to have the meeting!)
• A well known mobile phone provider where the Customers Services representative actually called my partner ‘a liar’ regarding an upgrade request she had previously placed for a new mobile phone (then the girl found the detail already on her computer system but I think she forgot the call was being recorded!)
• A hotel which is actively being marketed as a place with “Good Coffee and Quiet Meeting Environment” to encourage business people to meet there, but where they serve you pre-made (and quite disgusting) coffee. (I like my coffee…)
• A major Energy Provider who sent a number of threatening letters to a friend of mine just before Christmas, to pay an electricity bill for £3,425.37 which they later admitted had been sent to the wrong person in error.

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We all want to believe that the majority of people we deal with are honest… and generally, most people are.

But when push comes to shove over money, relationships and trust can take a completely different meaning – even “good” friendships can quickly turned sour, as I found out to my cost.

But before I tell you about that, you need to understand that if you want to do the best you can for your clients and have a truly successful business, then you NEED to build up a solid relationship – you need to build trust.

If you want a business that will survive, DESPITE what the economy is doing, then not only do you need to do better than your competitors at supplying what your clients need, but you must build up trusting relationships with your clients AND your suppliers. They are, after all the ones responsible for getting you where you want to be.

The trouble is that when there is money involved, people have a tendency towards “self-preservation”, and any loyalty or friendship can fly out of the window.

Let me tell you a story which shows you exactly what I mean, and where I suffered because of it…

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Well it’s that time of year again – mulled wine by a log fire and mince pies until your trousers are tight around the waist.

This year I have a gift for you which will help you be more persuasive with your clients when you communicate with them in 2009, but before you go charging off to go and get your gift, one small piece of advice…

As with any piece of marketing advice, it is only ever beneficial to you it you ACT ON IT.

Lack of action is one of the biggest reasons businesses stagnate and die, and while we are in the economic climate we are in, now is NOT a good time to remain actionless!

Each week, if you look at one piece of advice, or one technique, or one strategy and take action to apply it to your business, in 12 months time you would have 52 new strategies working for you, growing your business – you’d have a powerhouse.

Anyway, subscribers to my newsletter will shortly receive an email which has a link and information which you will need to take action on, to receive your gift – if you are not already subscribed then you can do so here:

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Well, do they?…

… and what does trust matter in a business relationship?

If you only care about a one-off sale, then I guess you could try and argue trust isn’t as important. But if you can’t build trust, the chance of you getting second and third transactions rapidly diminish.

But with the competition every business has out there, and the economy we are currently in, trust is actually more important than ever if you want to do well today.

So what is trust in the eyes of your client?

That depends on the client and what they view as important but at the very least, these 3 things are crucial:

1. If you state something, make sure it is true.
2. If you make a promise, stick to it no matter what.
3. Always under-promise and over-deliver.

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Can you guess what the number one question I get asked with regards to web marketing?

“How do I get my website found by Google?”

Ranking by Google, Yahoo and MSN is important, you certainly shouldn’t ignore it, but it is not as straightforward as you might think.

You see, even paying shed-loads of money to an SEO specialist doesn’t guarantee you a top 10 placement – there are way too many variables. It depends on the keywords you are optimising for, the links to your website, age, popularity and “ranking” of the linking sites as well as a whole bunch of other things…

… and it’s not like Google are standing around waiting for people to “crack the code” – the search algorithm is changed regularly, so even if you get ranked in the top three one time, you continuously have to work hard if you want to stay there.

But, rather than focus on SEO for this post, there is a far more important part to your website strategy which many people miss, and which needs to be addressed first.

Let me tell you about Richard…

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Many business owners I have spoken to recently are worried about how they will survive the next 12 months. Understandably so, for anyone watching the news coverage of our current economic climate would think the whole world was about to end.

Yes, there are undoubtedly problems – and the banks do have a lot to answer for – but I’ve only hear one “specialist” say anything which makes any true sense of the situation…

“This situation WILL NOT LAST…”

Now it might take a year or two to correct itself, but it WILL correct itself. According to Reuters the FTSE was up 8% at close of trading yesterday.

So why won’t anyone say how it really is?

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This was the headline of an article about rheumatoid arthritis I came across in a recent copy of the Daily Telegraph.

Fortunately I don’t suffer from this disabling disease, but my mother does, which I guess is why it caught my eye.

The article explains how cells are taken from the body, altered and injected back into the affected joint to prevent the body’s immune system attacking the joints.

Rheumatoid arthritis is difficult to treat because it is caused by a malfunctioning immune system, causing inflammation in the wrong places, and affects some 350,000 people in the UK each year.

But if we look at this from a marketing perspective, there is a lot going on here that we can learn from…

This illustrates the power of a targeted headline.

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Doom and gloom, doom and gloom…

Yes, we are in an economic crisis, but when are business owners going to realise that their fate is in their own hands? You can either bury your head in the sand and blame the economy, or politicians, or anyone else you can find to blame, or you can focus on optimising your business to create growth, even in an economy like we have today.

Now is NOT the time to cut back on your marketing and stop hiring the right people.

Now is NOT the time to stop spending money.

But now IS the time to look at spending your money in the right areas.

How do you do this? It will take some planning.

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