Marketing - Poole Communications

When you were a child and drew a picture on a piece of paper, did you feel the need to fill up the entire page? Were you told it was wasteful to leave empty space? That belief may have been okay then, but it might not be a good idea for your marketing materials now. Fewer words or less design means higher impact for the words you do use. You don’t have a lot of time to catch someone’s attention and too many words will get lost. Only the main words will be read anyway, so don’t clutter your materials with information that won’t be read. Using fewer words will help you stick to the main point. Keep it simple.

The old model of focusing on industry and large business to bring jobs and build our economy is no longer working. We have a new model, but no one is paying attention to it and Northeast Missouri’s growth is being retarded. We could and should be doing better.

Traditionally all economic development in this region has been focused on industry and larger businesses. Because of this, much of what is being done is “top secret” and cannot be discussed. How many large businesses have been brought to Northeast Missouri in the last several years? The answer is none. That’s because our focus is wrong.

A more successful focus would be on small business growth and development. Small business is the foundation of our community and our country. Small businesses when properly attended to, can grow and develop into larger businesses that hire more people. Small business is easier to attract and easier to grow.

Owning a business of your own is part of the American Dream. Colleges and Universities are focusing more on entrepreneurship because of documented need throughout the country. Let’s be proactive and try something different – something that works.

The Provenance Project brought many artists/business people to this region. It’s been proven that a simple invitation is a powerful force. Artists are buying buildings, homes, and building their businesses, with no help from the city, county or economic development. Just think how much better each business could be if there was some place or someone they could go to and get information about incentives, training, incubators, loans and tax credits.

It’s time to refocus. To pay attention to the companies that have chosen to be in this region, to help them grow, and to encourage more small businesses start ups in Northeast Missouri.

Finally, I am also advocating for a more transparent process. If you’ve been to any chamber meetings you’ll have found that all economic development is “top secret” and can’t be discussed. Economic development affects every person in Northeast Missouri and our region deserves better accountability.

I just received another email that had a WORD document attached. When I opened the WORD document it had a few sentences that could have easily been put in the body of the email. It takes time to open attachments. Recipients might not have the program you sent the attachment in. I especially hate PowerPoint attachments because they take so long to open. I’m encouraging everyone to think just a little bit before they send an email or an attachment. Here are five easy tips:

1. Use the subject line. Make it informative and change it if the email’s topic changes.

2. Keep your emails brief. Research has shown that six sentences is a maximum. Get to the point.

3. Be kind. An email can be easily misunderstood. Take extra effort to be kind and say something friendly.

4. Provide contact information. This enables the recipient to call, email or check out your website.

5. Use a pdf, png or jpeg attachment format. They can be quickly opened and read by almost anyone.

We’re all being asked to do more in less time. Let’s make the world a little easier and communicate clearly.

It’s time to take a close hard look at your voice mail system. If you don’t have one – don’t worry. I think you’re actually in better shape than most companies with a voicemail system! How many times have you tried to call a business and got stuck in Voicemail Purgatory? Last week I called a local station that I call frequently. I have a new sales rep and could not get to him. The phone system was overloaded with calls and asked me to type in his last name. I had no idea how to spell his last name. I needed something right away and this was aggravating – and I know their system! Think of how a new customer would have felt dealing with this same issue.

This week call your own office and listen carefully. I’m sure there’s something you can do to make your voice mail system work better. Your customers should be able to reach you quickly and easily. Don’t ask them to go to a menu or type in your last name or call another phone number. It’s dumb. It stops you from making a sale and is poor customer service. Rethink your voicemail system and seriously consider a warm live voice instead of a machine.

I have been learning to prune grape vines. The simple part is to cut off branches that are not producing and allow space between branches. The hard part is this time of year there are grapes on the vine and some of those need to be pruned as well. It takes years for the vines to grow and produce grapes. The last thing in the world you want to do is trim vines that have clusters of grapes on them. But you have to. Pruning makes the remaining vines stronger and the remaining grapes more flavorful by putting more energy into the remaining grapes. Eventually the wine made from those grapes will (hypothetically) taste that much better. (IF you can manage to make some decent wine from the grapes.)

While I've been outside pruning in the vineyard, I've had plenty of time to think. I've thought about what the Bible says about pruning:

Jesus said, "I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit." John 15:2

I decided I needed to take a lesson in life from this pruning process as well.

So I've begun to prune things from my life. Unnecessary clothing, furniture and clutter in my house. Getting rid of books that I know I will never read again or simply were not good. I've realized I'm never going to use two sets of dishes. I'm keeping what I really love and letting the rest go. It's been a satisfying process.

I'm pruning at work as well. Not only am I streamlining the office and processes, I'm saying no to things that I don't have a passion for. I'm delegating more and working on my business more. I'm working with customers I enjoy and on projects that excite me. My work is better and my customers are happier. I've found a lot more satisfaction and fulfillment at work.

Sometimes there are people in your life that need to be pruned too. A really good friendship takes a lot of time. With the hours I work, I don't have a lot of time. The people I do spend time with are very important to me. They are people I love, trust and enjoy. By spending time with those special people, my life has been so much more rich and full. I've learned about them and love them more. I've had time to organize a special birthday party for a good friend. I've had time to call my mom and brother more frequently.

I've been able to learn to prune grapevines and thoughtfully apply that pruning lesson to the rest of my life as well. Having quiet time to think in a beautiful place has been a wonderful gift. Will pruning your life make it more fruitful too?

How do select color when you plan the design of your logo and marketing materials? Do you generally select just what you like? If so, you might consider putting more thought into your color choices.

Studies have shown that a product’s color influences 60-80% of a customer’s purchasing decision – meaning that color can make or break a product. Color is the first thing a consumer will notice about your logo.

On both a conscious and subconscious level colors convey meaning. The use of color can bring your marketing materials multiple layers of meaning. You can use these meanings to underline and accent your branding messages.

Bright, bold colors are attention grabbing but can appear brash. Muted tones are more sophisticated, but can be overlooked.

Colors can be divided into two categories: warm – which are associated with energy; and cold – which are more about calmness and security.

We've created a cheat sheet for you to download with colors and their associated meanings. These are not rigid rules, but they’re worth keeping in mind. It’s also important to consider the global appeal of your color choices – especially if you’re a global brand. For instance, in China red is considered lucky, while in India white is the color of mourning and death.

In addition to the color cheat sheet, we’ve also included a color contrast guide displaying 18 color combinations that have been tested for visibility at various distances by the OAAA.

Think about your message and choose your colors carefully to portray your company’s image.

The business world is changing. Ten years ago, you would have never understood "sharing your contacts on the cloud." Two years ago Newsweek stopped all printed publications. Take a look around you. It's time to move your company forward.

Last week I spent three days learning about new trends in internet marketing. I'd like to share a few ideas with you that can help grow your business:

Thank YOU for reading my post and stay tuned for more growing your business ideas.

Check out our Facebook videos to see Sally's Secret Ninja Facebook trick! Find it here.

Social media can be intimidating - especially as a small business owner with limited time. We've put together a series of steps - a recipe - to get you started! Let's get cooking!

PREP
Strategies are the bread and butter of a social media campaign. How do you develop one? Start with your target audience.

RELATE
Listen to your followers. Comment and respond – even to negative, especially to negative, feedback. Be relatable. This helps build relationships – which is the essence of social media. Share others posts. Just like you communicate with people on your personal page – communicate with them via your business page (just keep it tasteful and professional – remember this creates an image for your business!).

EXPERIMENT
Track and analyze your posts. Experiment with different times and days to find the best time to post that will elicit responses from your customers. Find out what types of content get the best results. Social media is constantly evolving, so your content should be too!

Comment below with comments or questions! Please, share our posts with anyone you think would find it helpful!

Jeffrey Gitomer’s Little Red Book of Selling, 12.5 Principles of Sales Greatness
By Jeffrey Gitomer

I love this little book!! It may be the most direct, most helpful book on salesmanship ever. The no-hold-barred approach gets right in your face about what it takes to be uber successful in sales.

The author, Jeff Gitomer, links the book to his website to add more information and expose you to more opportunities to learn even more - to go deeper in to each topic.

The content is broken into easy to digest bites with clever cartoon illustrations and helpful graphics. The left sidebar column features a “ Red Whine” while the right sidebar column shows its counterpart “Red Selling Response” winner. Here’s an example: Red Whine: “They keep throwing away my brochure.” Red Selling Response: “They don’t want your brochure. They want answers to their situations and concerns.”

It’s obvious Jeff speaks from experience and his experience means you can leap forward if you follow his lead. Jeff recommends reading this book multiple times and committing most of it to memory! There are helpful checklists and information shared from other sales greats as well.

One of my favorite sections (pg 112 questions) talks about the power of smart questions. There are lead in suggestions for probing questions that will get you the information you really need to help your prospect get to the heart of how you can help them.

The goal of these types of questions is to collect the information in this list of 9.5 benefits:

1. Qualify the buyer.
2. Build rapport.
3. Create prospect disparity.
4. Eliminate or differentiate from the competition.
5. Build credibility.
6. Know the customer and their business.
7. Identify needs.
8. Find hot buttons.
9. Get personal information.
9.5 Close the sale.

Jeff uses humor to look at the fun side of sales. And he is inventive about his sales tactics.

Late in the book, we are encouraged to figure out the “why” behind our sales efforts.

Who will you help with your sales? That’s the real reason you called. It’s the real reason you do business. It may take several layers of “why” to get to the real reason for you. Take the time to get there.

When you have your “why,” put it everywhere. Remind yourself of why you do what you do.

People buy for their reasons, not for your reasons. Make sure you know their “why”, too!

Full of humor and creative approaches tested by many years of success, The Little Red Book of Selling is more than worth the read. Our author reminds us that we all do sales in one way or another, anytime we want to win someone over to our point of view. It might be your spouse or your kids, your neighbors or co-workers but we all need to understand these principles regardless of our career.