I love lumpy mail!

Have you ever received LUMPY mail?  (Dimensional mail)   

Do you classify it as mystery mail?  But does it make you OPEN it?  Yes!!  We all love treats!   And satisfying our curiosity, of course.

That in my line of work is called a self-promo marketing technique.  When you are trying to attract new clients, there are some great ways to self-promo. 

Lumpy mail has a high open rate, double digits,  vs flat mail that hits the circular file.

A mail campaign with a “lumpy” item inside will give you the edge when trying to get in the door to a NEW client or the chief decision maker.   

It needs to have a great one page letter to go along with it.

Then follow up with a phone call to everyone that received your lumpy letter.   

One of my good referral sources could send out his letter with a squeaky duck inside.  Don’t you think that would get opened, passed around, & left out for all of the office to see?  You bet.

They would remember him when he calls & that gives him an edge to getting into the main decision maker’s door!

 

It is just so much fun for us to design great marketing campaigns that open doors for our clients.  It certainly brings a smile to our faces!

So during this Holiday season remember, whether you are mailing a “treat” (a promotional item with your logo on it), a Holiday gift (why give something with Starbucks logo on it?), or a Thank you to your clients, it pays to put your logo on it. 

What's in your toolbox?

What’s in your marketing toolbox?   

Do you have experts on hand to delegate marketing tasks? 

Experts in marketing are great to have in your tool box.

It’s like the Handy Manny of tool boxes, us marketing experts actually talk & listen!   (Just Like Handy Manny's tools!)

Whether you have an office or work from home, marketing can be challenging no matter what the economy.

So, let’s talk about walking into your office.  (And you think, what does this have to do with marketing?  Remember this is where they make the decision to buy from you or use your services!) 

Take the perspective today of a new client walking into your office.  What do they see?  Having great framed art creating the “look” of your business on the walls with a nice comfy couch or chair welcomes them into your world.

How does it make them feel?  Look around, is your office in chaos or serene?  Is it too serene for your line of work so that it looks like you do not accomplish what you say you will.  Is it too chaotic that makes you look disorganized?

Using the client perspective can be enlightening as we see our office everyday & it helps to take a good look at what our new client is seeing.  Everyday we can choose to improve our business & making our office really reflect who we are & want to be is a great place to start!

And the good thing is there are experts who you can add to your toolbox to help organize, market, decorate, and create the look you desire!

What is the worst word ever?

What’s the worst word ever?   

Some might say to you “Planning!” 

I know so many who like to fly by the seat of their pants & some days I find myself there, too.  Sometimes it works & it is fun, but usually not the best way to achieve your dreams.

 

What is they say, a goal not written down is just a wish…So let’s plan what our goals are going to be, write them down, & display them where we can see them daily, maybe on your mirror, fridge, or computer screen.

You can have a huge list to get your business up & going, but you just need to break it up into bite sized chunks. 

Remember about eating the elephant, one bite at a time!  Put some imagination, creativity, & consistent planning into it & you will find yourself attaining those goals you have made so much more than a wish by writing them down.

So tell me, what is one of your goals that you are bringing to your business table?

An YES, this is where you tell me in the comment section, Hee,Hee!

Hobby or Business?

Hobby or business?  Have you ever heard that a large percentage of your occupation is really classified as someone having a hobby?  

 So what are you?  A hobbyist or a real, dyed in the wool entrepreneur?  

Sometimes we have to ask ourselves the hard questions and dig deep for their answers, being brutally honest with ourselves.  What is it that I really desire?   

Am I really willing to work hard, commit, & have the tenacity to endure for the long haul & sacrifice to get there? 

Are we running our business with good retail management techniques?  Do we have a written plan?  With outlines for what our advertising campaign will be?  Will it include logo’d promotional items that can bring a return on investment?  That brings attention to our ideal client that makes them sit up & think, wow, I would like to work with this company/coach/consultant.  A written  budget?  A clean mailing list?  Professionally printed brochures, business cards, marketing materials?  Are you collecting email addresses?

And you think, oh my, where do I start?  Just start!!   Ask a friend or hire a coach to help you get there.  An accountability partner seems to be a good motivator for some of us!

Start small, but write it down, give yourself a one year plan, a 3 year plan, a 5 year plan.  You can get there!   

Get it all down in ink & then imagine, vision yourself there at your one year goals, your 3 year goals, your 5 year goals.  What does it look like, smell like, what is happening around you & where are you?  

 Bring all the details into play, write it down, draw it, cut it out of magazines, display it, & you will be surprised what your subconscious brain will go to work on while you are doing the daily consistant work!

Where's Waldo?

 

Where’s Waldo? 

Have you ever read a Waldo book?  You look on every page to find Waldo within a myriad of thousands of other images.   

 It is quite fun, but do you think your ideal clients are going to spend the time finding Waldo, aka YOU? 

So let’s think, how do they find me?   

Advertising, word of mouth, signage, driving by, direct mail, public relations efforts, recommended to you by other clients…Identifying how they find you is crucial to the task of attracting clients.

What items do you have in your arsenal of tools that you have available?   

In what ways do clients usually find you?   

Make a list, then pick 2 things per month under each item to work on, change, update, improve.   

Remember how we talked about consistency & commitment?  Here comes being consistent & enduring for the long haul.

Remember eating an elephant is impossible…unless you do it one bite at a time!