An often overlooked opportunity to promote your business is sitting right in front of you on your desk. It’s your telephone. I’m not talking about how you use your phone to reach or greet your customers, but rather how you use it to market to potential customers who are calling you.

What do your customers hear when they’re put on hold?

Neither you nor your prospects get anything of value when your customers are left listening to music. And having them listen to a radio station isn’t much better, because chances are they’re not hearing music, just commercials. Worse still, they could end up hearing a commercial for a competitor!

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What if I told you there was an easy way to dramatically help you increase your sales without spending a dime… you’d be interested, right? Of course. And better yet, what if it was easy to implement?

It’s a commonly overlooked marketing strategy that’s perfect for many businesses. Face it, people don’t “need” many products, they “want” them. If you’re in the business of style, image, or attention-getting customization, this is an important distinction to understand.

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For many marketers, the hardest part of their job isn’t the sale, it’s the creative aspect. Unlike so many of the skills required to be proficient in marketing, creativity can’t be turned on and off like a light switch… usually.

There are a few basic things you can do to help get the creative process started—like switching off your phone, closing your door, and just letting your mind go where it will. On a little deeper level, there are a few more things you need to master in order to really get your creative game on and create a marketing mindset that’s conducive to the task at hand.

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You bet it does! Creating your marketing mindset is critical, because it’s your mindset that determines the steps you take and the overall success of your marketing efforts.

I always recommend that before starting a project, marketers should check their B.S. (that’s “Belief System,” and not the other “b.s.”). Ask yourself whether your Belief System supports you or gets in your way?

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It doesn’t matter what you’re selling or what industry you’re in… if you’re selling online or offline, you can only stay in business if you’re making a profit. And profit comes from either increasing sales or reducing your expenses. This blog is about both, because when you make your marketing materials more effective—you increase your bottom line.

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“I’m having trouble. I know my marketing pieces are glossy, professional and well written, but I’m not connecting with as many of my target customers as I expected. What am I doing wrong?”

Ford responds:

Without actually seeing your materials, it’s hard to pinpoint the exact cause. However, I can give you a few pointers to help you evaluate your own marketing efforts. In fact, right here and now I’m going to reveal a system that has literally earned me and my clients millions of dollars… I’ll give you the best marketing method ever for free, word for word.

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“You’ve got to help me with my website.  Everyone tells me that you’re the guy who can help… I invested over $10,000 in my website and I’m not getting any sales. What am I doing wrong?”

Ford responds:

I’m going to reveal four secrets for more profitable websites that you can use immediately to improve your site’s performance. Some of these secrets may seem like common sense, but after reviewing literally hundreds of sites for various companies, I found way too many are making simple and avoidable mistakes.

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“I’ve been looking over our company’s marketing materials and I think I understand why they haven’t brought us much new business. They’re not awful, but to be honest, they’re boring. Any advice?”

Ford responds:

The promotional and sales materials you create for your business are important tools for your success. You really need to think about them and understand how they will support your branding and overall marketing plan.

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“I’m having trouble. I know my marketing message is well written, but it doesn’t seem to always connect with my prospects. It seems hit and miss no matter what I write. Any suggestions?”

Ford responds:
An important step related to benefit messages is crafting your compelling Unique Selling Proposition, or USP.

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“I’ve read the books, gone to the seminars, and read till my eyes were bloodshot, but I still can’t say if a headline is a good one or not, other than just by my gut feeling. Any suggestions?”

Ford responds:

Let me share with you a powerful evaluating technique that comes from my colleague (and master copywriter) Bob Bly. Use his “4 U’s” to rate your headlines and I think you’ll notice a quick improvement.

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