Archive for the 'Media' Category

Apr 06 2018

ARE YOU KIDDING ME?

ARE YOU KIDDING ME? 

 

  NOW is the time to make your business or     professional practice e x p a n d and grow… 

Are you on the launchpad or stuck in mud? Or somewhere in between? A legitimate, proven, affordable expert can provide what  you need most to expand your business or professional practice — NOW!

 

Where else can you get immediate usable creative input that’s personalized and focused on your specific needs? And all in just 3-6 weeks of ongoing, 1-on-1 telephone and email exchanges?

You won’t find a more qualified entrepreneurial business and professional practice development coach than Hal Alpiar.

Hal knows how to break sales barriers, how to start/re-start and expand businesses, how to grow your customer/client base or patient volume . . . how to help you make a difference, now!

Timing is critical. With your business ready to grow, the wrong direction could send it over the cliff instead of into orbit. 

A single word change in a branding line can bankrupt your business OR make your message a popular expression that catapults sales.

[Click free BRANDING TIPS Tab above for more.]

 

What’s it worth to feel reassured that your head is on straight about the path you want to follow?

What’s it worth to discover a last-minute adjustment that can save you a small fortune or ignite a new revenue stream? 

 

Hiring a “Yes-Person” (with associated salary, perks, benefits) to assist you with implementing your plans that might bring results, is risky at best.

Instead, for probably a lot less money, get Hal’s short-term input. He will be invested with you in your success and provide heavily-experienced creative thinking. 

 

Stop kicking the dirt and worrying.

Take 10 or 20 minutes out of your busy life to contact Hal. Ask the questions you need answered to reassure yourself –and  judge for yourself. There’s no fee to ask or to get honest answers. If he doesn’t feel he can help you succeed, he’ll tell you. If he does, he’ll tell you how.

 

Investing in Hal’s coaching is investing in your SELF, and costs a lot less than you might imagine. Confidentiality, by the way, is 100% Guaranteed!

CALL 1.931.854.0474 TODAY 9AM-9PM (CT)  

OR email hal@businessworks.US 

 

BusinessWORKS.US

 

GROWING BUSINESSES &  PROFESSIONAL PRACTICES NOW

Division of TheWriterWorks.com, LLC. Creating Record Client Growth Since 1981

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Mar 11 2018

Medical Practice & Other Healthcare Leaders: REJOICE!

Medical Practice & Other

 

Healthcare Leaders…

 

R-E-J-O-I-C-E !!

 

Finally, a simple, straightforward path to:

  • Save huge amounts of business expense

  • Have happier staff and partners invested in teamwork and in getting the most out of every hour, every day

  • Increase confidence and communicate better with patients, patient families and the communities you serve

  • Manage your own stress with easy unnoticeable steps and be able to teach those around you in 10 minutes!

  • Increase patient volume with (little-known in the health-care world) practice-building steps that are FREE!

. . . AND MUCH MORE in the new $19.95 book:

HEALTHCAREPRENEURS — the best of proven success in medical practice and healthcare business development guidance, including the latest 2018 techniques and basic step-by-step procedures to save time and aggravation.

Reader comments include:

  • “Reading this book is like having your own personal coach whispering to you from over you shoulder.”

  • “It’s like getting a lifetime of direct experience peppered throughout with subtle humor.”

  • “Loaded with easy-to-identify-with examples… stories I’ve heard but never before considered the solutions.”

  • “It’s easily worth a year+ of private-tutor-style healthcare business training that gets results!”

Healthcare business development author/coach/radio host Hal Alpiar is currently scheduling his third Workshop/Speaking/Book-Signing Tour (Tour #1 was for his 5-Star DOCTOR BUSINESS; #2, his National Healthcare Book Award-Winning DOCTOR SHOPPING)

Hal is AVAILABLE NOW AT NO FEE.

You choose from any of the 35 Chapter topics! 

He conducts these sessions in exchange for booksale opportunities and for covering (reasonable/ documented/pre-authorized) expenses only. Special arrangements for regional scheduling.

RESPOND TODAY! Schedule YOUR medical/Healthcare group NOW: Currently planning dates for independent practices, healthcare associations/organizations/local chapters, in Atlanta, Tennessee, Kentucky, Virginia,  DC, Delaware, Philadelphia, and the NJ Shore. 

hal@Businessworks.US

or prompt-reply phone message: 1.931.854.0474  

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Jun 14 2017

Everybody Can Write . . . Right?

Books, billboards, news

 

releases, website content,

 

 

 

magazines and magazine

  

articles, posters and

 

displays, newspaper

 

 

columns, surveys, signs,

 

 postcards, brochures, 

 

commercials, promotional

 emails, direct mail, photo

 

captions, jingles, branding

 

themelines, package labels,

  

training curricula, promo

 

literature and exhibit

 materials, webinars, sales

 

presentations, seminars 

  

lyrics, booklets, speeches,

 

 ebooks, blog posts, scripts

 

  business plans, marketing 

 

 strategies, love letters,  

 

manuals, greeting cards,

 

and matchbook covers

  

Ever write any of these yourself? How’d it come out? Did you get the results you wanted? What happened? Are you a skilled writer? An experienced wordsmith? Probably not. If you’re reading posts on this blog site, it’s because you’re an entrepreneur, a small business or professional practice owner, manager, or principal, a student, or a leader.

If you fit any of those kinds of career descriptions, odds are that you are marketing a product, service, or idea (or some combination) and the daily challenges of keeping your business or organization moving forward leaves little room for you to indulge in fantasy of seeing yourself as a talented writer. And you’re smart enough to know when to get help.

One telling characteristic of successful entrepreneurs, in fact, is that they know how to pull their ideas forward while leaving necessary professional services up to professionals they engage — CPA, attorney, management consultant, and more often than not: creative services, especially writers and designers.

Entrepreneurs, after all, are the catalysts of business and the economy. They are agents of change. They serve as mirrors of society wants and needs. They alone are responsible for new job growth (not corporations, and certainly not government). As a result, entrepreneurs are also the most sensitive of business people, and the quickest to recruit outside expertise when they see the need.

Small business owners are far more in touch with reality than their big business counterparts who are obsessed with analyzing what message content and structure communicates best, and sells.

They recognize that one dot or small sweep of a design line, or one word can make the difference between sale and no sale. (And remember, with online content: WORDS are still King!)

Entrepreneurs respect and appreciate the value of expertise.

 

So the list above is not just a teaser or composite of writing applications. It is a list of real business-related (yes, even love letters!) writing needs that most entrepreneurs are confronted with at one time or another. It is also a list of writing applications that anyone you hire to write for you should have experience with, at least most of them.

I know. I’ve written all of the above many times over. And I can tell you that a marketing writer who hasn’t written a book doesn’t know how to tell a story, and stories sell. A website content writer who hasn’t written radio and TV commercials has no sense of writing concise, punchy stuff that’s short, sweet, and memorable . . . and “short, sweet, and memorable” sells!

Someone who’s never written a billboard hasn’t even a clue about how to write branding lines because the discipline is the same:  Aim for 7 words or less and tell a story in those 7 words or less that has a beginning, middle, and ending . . . and is persuasive. Ah, then comes the opposite: Direct mail. In direct mail, the more you tell, the more you sell — that means, literally, a blanket of billboards.

Writing emphasis must always be “you” focused (not “we”). It must attract attention, create interest, stimulate desire, bring about action, and deliver satisfaction. It MUST ALWAYS answer the question: “What’s in it for ME?” All writing –even an instruction manual– represents an opportunity to make a sale and/or create a favorable impression.

The writing you have now?

Does it work as hard as you do?

 

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Hal@Businessworks.US  931.854.0474

Open Minds Open Doors

Many thanks for your visit and God Bless You.

Make today a GREAT day for someone!

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Sep 17 2016

MARKETING’S MAGNIFICENT SEVEN…….

IN SEVEN WORDS, WHO ARE YOU?

 

mirror-image

If you can’t answer that question for your SELF and

for the business you own or operate or represent,

odds are no one else can answer it either…

and it’s a good bet that things are

probably going nowhere fast!

 

Think about this:

With very rare exception, every great branding line, theme line, identification line, logo line, jingle line, motto, slogan,

and email “Subject” . . . is 7 words or less.

seven-cartoonThis is not to suggest that websites and online articles should be short. Remember, that just because you have great graphics to offer or viral- bound videos or Earth-shattering embedded links included doesn’t mean you can expect sales or even attention.

 

On the Internet,

content-king

Graphics may serve to attract attention, and maybe even stimulate desire, but words are what sell. Words bring about action. Words deliver satisfaction. Words alone can answer the only “radio station WII-FM question” every consumer has with every purchase:

 

wiifm

 

Successful exceptions to the 7-words-or-less identity formula are few and far between, and are usually the product of creative and manage- ment teams that work days on end —often weeks or months. The right words do not come easy, especially for those branding lines that succeed at breaking the 7-words rule of thumb.

 

Examples that come to mind are often created with intentional violation of limited word memorability by going way over the top (like the purposefully-long catchiness of ACE Hardware advertising phraseology and rhythm) . . . or by segueing a 7-words-or-less message directly into a memorable piece of music (like Farmers Insurance: “We are Farmers… dum, da, dum, dum, dum, dum, dum, dum”). Yes, and sometimes one small extra word will cut it: “Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there.”

 

But REALITY? Reality is that “7 words or less almost always work best” . . . which is why the challenge attached to coming up with those words is so daunting. It’s not a matter of going into a closet with an armload of junkfood, and emerging a couple of hours later with the “genius” one-liner.

question-mark

The kinds of 7-words-or-less combinations that work magic (“Do it!”, “I’m lovin’ it!”, “America runs on Dunkin’”, “Should I stay or should I go?”, “It’s in you!”, “Thank heaven for 7/11”,  “We’ll leave the light on for you”— Add your own!) are most often born only after weeks or months of studying the products, services, markets involved, and even then creating an innovative little twist on the most provocative way to represent the message.

 

Consider that it’s long been the ad agency absolute rule for successful drive-by billboards to max out at 7 words because more than 7 cannot typically be read and absorbed at parkway speed. The same is true for email subject lines. Here, by the way, in case you missed it, is a “Clear Channel” billboard with no words OR graphics… just their name on the “provider plate” at the bottom:

empty-billboard

 

Most ideal, of course, is:

A)  to have 7-words include the brand or company name (but it needs to be a natural fit; forcing it defeats the purpose), and/or

B) to use a (good taste) double entendre whenever possible, and

C) to, of course, rhyme when the occasion permits.

The trick is to make it all flow in a natural way… especially in the use of humor! When anything seems or feels forced, it defeats the purpose… and will usually backfire.

 

Here’s an assignment you can do, and grade yourself on: Carry a piece of paper with the first 7 words you can think of that describe your SELF and the first 7 words you can think of that best describe your business. Look at it every day for a week and as you do, edit it, change and substitute words. Keep at it even after you think you have an “Aha!”

 

(BUT BEFORE YOU KISS YOURSELF IN THE MIRROR BECAUSE YOU HAVE JUST PRODUCED BRILLIANCE, and just for curiosity, how do your two sets of words compare?)

 

baby-in-mirror

 

[Hint: You’ll wish you had done this pen to paper and kept each scribbled out version along the way. That scenario learning curve far surpasses electronic notepad use.]

 

MUCH more about all this in quick take-home thoughts that span decades of successful branding experiences can be found –no obligation, no tracking cookies, no arm-bending, no strings attached, no bombardment of followup emails, no deals— just good free input stuff at https://www.halalpiar.com/todays-branding-tip/

# # #

Make today a GREAT day for someone!

“The price of freedom is eternal vigilance!”    [Thomas Jefferson]

Hal@Businessworks.US         931.854.0474

Guidance to 500+ Successful Business Startups

Creating Record-Sales for Clients Since 1981!

Open  Minds  Open  Doors

Thanks for visiting. Go for your goals and God bless you!

# # #

Make A Grandparent Happy Today!

GET Hal Alpiar’s short story, “DIRT FLOOR VISIT” in the great book from Nightengale Press: THE ART OF GRANDPARENTING Amazon ($19.95–with a few for under $9– or $9.99 Kindle OR order special (signed by Hal)  $22.45 total check only (includes s&h), payable & mail to: TheWriterWorks.com, LLC, 370 South Lowe Avenue, Suite A-148, Cookeville, TN 38501. Include continental US ship-to address.

 

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Jul 03 2016

4th of July Sparklers

Seeking sales fireworks?

                                      

Check your sparklers!

 

star rainbow

Business owners constantly want more sales results than they’re typically ready to put their shoulders to the wheel for, in terms of the marketing words (their “sparklers”) that they use.

The average response to meeting the need for coming up with the right sets of marketing words to represent business products, services, and ideas is a lazy one. Most small business owners, it seems, either wing it to save money, delegate it because they’re afraid of it or want to “give someone a chance”

. . . OR they hire some fancy high-priced group of self-proclaimed experts to get it done.

What works? None of the above.

When you wing it

. . .  it’s like not fastening the screws that hold your product parts together, or not providing the terms of the services you offer. It’s a great deal more than that because you’re dealing with peoples’ brains and that delicate experienced edge of psychological savvy mixed into the creative pot is what makes the difference.

You are not in business doing what you’re doing to be a great marketing writer any more than you’re in business to be a great lawyer or accountant (unless of course you’re a lawyer or accountant!).

So why waste time and energy (and ultimately money) trying to be something you’re not, when you have the option to be driving your business to a successful destination by applying your full resources to operations, finances and sales? Okay, so promise you won’t wing it, okay.

HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY WEEKEND!

HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY WEEKEND!

When you delegate it 

. . . you’ll hand it off to that assistant of yours . . . you know, the one who’s always writing some book, or poetry, or funny Facebook posts. When you delegate the task, regardless of what you think might be signs of talent rising up from someone on your staff, you should expect to get the inadequate results you will get.

I can assure you after seeing years’ worth of these dynamics, what you get back will simply not be professional enough a representation of your business strengths. Nor will it be put into the customer-benefits language you need in order to succeed at producing the sales results you seek.

What you get, in fact, could very well end up undermining your other sales-building efforts.

When you hire a fancy group

. . . an advertising or marketing or PR agency — you should know that this choice delivers about 85% odds that the group you hire will be very skilled at not letting you know that they are more preoccupied with winning themselves some type of marketing, advertising or PR award than they are with helping you make sales.

When “getting sales” is what’s important, being “pretty” and having the best designs don’t always count for much.

Odds are also that they will be fantastically talented at not letting on that they don’t really know how to help you make sales. Ask them if they’re willing to work on a expenses plus performance incentive basis. That question usually separates reality from fantasy.

"BREEZY" The Volunteer State's Cutest Patriot on Independence Day !

“BREEZY” The Volunteer State’s Cutest Patriot on Independence Day !

If the words you’re using don’t sparkle enough to spark action, find a wordsmith. Do some homework and scout around for an experienced individual who has a proven track-record in writing words that get sales results. Find someone who demonstrates interest in your business but not an “expert” at it. An expert writer is what you want.

You need fireworks? Start with someone who knows how to spark sales with “sparkler” words . . . words that attract attention, words that create interest, words that stimulate desire, words that bring about action, words that prompt satisfaction. Want an example? Go to: www.FEARLESStheMusical.com

FEARLESS Poster

“The price of freedom is eternal vigilance!” 

[Thomas Jefferson]

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Hal@Businessworks.US    931.854.0474

 Open minds open doors.

Thanks for visiting. God Bless You.

God Bless America and America’s Troops.

Make today a GREAT day for someone!

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Jun 19 2016

“FEARLESS!” The Musical Business Lesson 3

 Business Lesson #3 from FEARLESS! The Musical . . .

 

 “Less Than Perfect World”

Song Title From: “FEARLESS The Golden Love Musical” ©2014 Valerie Connelly and Nightengale Media, LLC.

imperfect daisy

“Less Than Perfect”?  Yes, indeed. So accept that fact, and do whatever it takes to stay focused on each present moment as you move on with your life and your business. Here are three how-to’s:

 

 1. PRACTICE MORE DEEP BREATHING. If you doubt this or aren’t sure what it means or what method works best for businesspeople, try this: Are You Breathing?Dog deep breath

 

2. RESPOND INSTEAD OF REACT. If you don’t React, you can never OVERreact. If you’re puzzled by why this matters or want more than this single truth, try this: Are You Reacting or Responding? reactions3. STOP THE NEWS. This single step may be the most important light for you in the world’s dark tunnel . . . and perhaps the single hardest task of all.

 

cartoon seagullcartoon jugglerJUGGLING SEAGULLS?

But if you sometimes start to feel like you’re trying to juggle seagulls . . .

Shut down online, print, TV and radio news for a week! (Will you try it, even for just a day or two?)

Before you click away into the distance at this suggestion, consider the advice I once had from a wise old friend that if something really major happened that was so profoundly important while I was on “news shutdown,” that I could be sure someone would call or text me, or come knocking at my door to tell me about it — and all I will have missed is some reporter’s biased, overkill analysis prompted by the quest for advertising dollars.

The bottom line is that we most assuredly live in —and this is stating it mildly of course— a “Less Than Perfect World.”

We must remember that our behavior is our choice! If we continually choose not to rise above the world’s evils and “imperfections,” and not take a break from them —to be so caught up in all the tragedy that literally fills every second of existence and be obsessed with actively seeking to grasp every nuance of detail— we are choosing failure for ourselves and often for those around us.

By choosing preoccupation with the errors of mankind, we are road- blocking our own talents and pursuits and our own abilities to make a difference!

To rise above the rubble, accept the fact that nothing is “perfect” and work harder at being here-and-now instead of then-and-there. Be “FEARLESS!”

FEARLESS Poster

# # #

hal@businessworks.US

STRATEGY/ CONTENT/ CONNECTION             Higher impact. Lower costs.

——————-

Business Development/ National-Awards/ Record Client Sales

Entrepreneurship & Expansion Coaching    931.854.0474

Go for your goals, thanks for your visit, God Bless You!

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Mar 05 2016

tempus fugit (time flies)!

“For though we slepe or wake, or

 

rome, or ryde, Ay fleeth the tyme.”

[c 1390 Chaucer Clerk’s Tale]time flies

“Time flyeth away without delay.”

[1639 J. Clarke Parœmiologia Anglo-Latina]

What? You thought today’s generation was the only victim of flying time?

Sure, technology overload has plunked us all into the fast lane, but time –if we are to give the ancient quotes above any credibility– has no reputation for being a gracious host.

If you’re shopping for a “time flies” clock,  click here. (Hey, you get  it all in these blogposts!) If you’re interested in what this has to do with your life and business right this very minute, click here.

     Okay, now that we’ve gotten rid of all the English Lit bookworm Chaucer freaks, all the clock-shoppers, and all the sleepless-in- entrepreneursville-work-all-day-and-party-all-night-immediate-gratification nut cases out there, let’s set up some semblance of a time safety-zone and discuss what’s going on with you and Old Man Time.

racing the clock

     First of all, I am of the school of thought that time can fly. But, aaah, it can also drag it’s butt through slow-motion replays, and the only thing that really matters is  H-O-W  we spend our time (i.e. What is the process of how you live and work? What is it that you do that consumes a typical hour or day? Or is nothing “typical”?

     Are you crossing enough paths? Every crossed path is a potential connection for productivity and happiness, if you choose for it to be. Making that happen takes focused attention.

     How hard is it for you to keep your attention focused? Even with those who claim ADD as a convenient diagnosis to avoid concentration, what works and what doesn’t? Surely there are varying degrees for all of us as to what can and does hold our attention. Average attention spans for citizens of industrialized nations continue to spiral downward.

     Regardless of rocketing technology and other causes, shorter attention spans mean that sales, marketing, educational, religious, political, financial, and entertainment-based presentations need to get to the point quicker.

     When someone asks for the time, and you answer by telling the person how to make a clock . . . remember that you do this at your own peril!

     People seeking to purchase are simply not as interested in product and service features, or company history, as you are. It may be long-standing tradition in your company or organization to tell people the story of how Grandpa Beefjerky launched the business “on a shoestring” and with just two horses in 1868. But nobody cares.

We live in a benefit-hungry world,

with no time to spare.

running over clocks

     Prospective customers, clients, and patients need to hear the answer to “What’s in it for me?” immediately. If that message is good enough to “ring a bell” they’ll likely be some attention span left to want to know more, and may possibly even get around to Grandpa Beefjerkey’s story.

     Most people are resentful of others using their time even when they think they have plenty of it. Listen to any doctor’s waiting room full of retired seniors.

Like gaining more employee compliance with workplace changes that are not imposed,  patience may be a virtue, but only when the choice to exercise it is yours.

     What are you doing right this minute to make the most of your next one? How do you keep yourself sharp? What can you do now –or in the morning–that will help you make more of your time, that will help you make more of a difference?

What do you need (really!) to get started? Then, hey . . . get started!

# # #

hal@businessworks.US

STRATEGY/ CONTENT/ CONNECTION

Higher impact. Lower costs.

——————-

Business Development/ National-Awards/ Record Client Sales

Entrepreneurship & Expansion Coaching    931.854.0474

Go for your goals, thanks for your visit, God Bless You!

OPEN  MINDS  OPEN  DOORS

Make Today A Great Day For Someone!

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Feb 19 2016

If this kills you, call your doctor!

pink elephant

 

If  PINKI-ELLAFONTAY

 

causes excessive bleeding,

 

liver or kidney disease, cancer,

 

congestive heart failure, death or

 

suicide, be sure to tell your doctor.

 

 

Are you kidding? Does anyone out there in pharmaceutical fairyland realize how utterly ridiculous they sound trying to bury imbecilic disclaimer utterances like this in the middle of fantasy advertising film footage of joyful, beach-skipping, pool-jumping, exhilarated couples and families and pets?

Do you overpaid ad agency wackos think the whole world is stupid?

Surely you jest? I mean who in their right mind is going to run out and buy (or request an Rx for) your moronic brand name medication after one-tenth of a second of thought about the purposefully misleading messages you dare to flood the airwaves with? That’s like promising a pink elephant!

In case you haven’t noticed, this is 2016. We are far beyond such childish displays of intentionally deceptive, insulting, brain-wasting messages.

And your market research people are wrong. No one rushes to their pharmacy or doctor (or undertaker) requesting your stupid-named, stupidly-advertised, wildly over-priced brand because they identify with the actors and actresses and phony scripts in phony settings set to jubilant music with schmaltzy-voice over announcers rattling out disclaimer warnings like they were available ice cream toppings.

Let’s get rid of this nonsense in favor of reality and straightforward educational presentations. How about messages that reach out and grab?

Sorry, but I really don’t need to see animated intestines dancing on my TV screen accompanied by threats of death from constipation or diarrhea to appreciate the plights of those who suffer such inhumane ailments.

How refreshing would it be, instead, to see and hear advertising that teaches how to carefully question (and carefully listen to the answers provided by) my healthcare professionals?

scull and crossbones

It really IS time for pharma businesses to start acting and talking like responsible adults with more concern for the well-being of human beings than for lining their pockets with astronomically disproportionate salaries and for covering their butts with thinly disguised legal jargon . . . just in case their great products should fail. And don’t blame the government. We all know they are clueless. EXPLAIN government-mandated disclaimers. Don’t bury them.

Stop the foolishness. Speak the truth. Teach us. Show us. Educate us. Be specific, don’t gloss over. Use honest true facts, not make-believe charts and misleading visuals. Be the kinds of teachers you’d like to see your children have. INTEGRITY is the word! Now would you like to know how I REALLY feel? 😉

# # #

hal@businessworks.US

STRATEGY/ CONTENT/ CONNECTION

Higher impact. Lower costs.

——————-

Business Development/ National-Awards/ Record Client Sales

Entrepreneurship & Expansion Coaching    931.854.0474

Go for your goals, thanks for your visit, God Bless You!

OPEN  MINDS  OPEN  DOORS

Make Today A Great Day For Someone!

 

 

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Jan 22 2016

JOLT YOUR BUSINESS WITH FEARLESS REALITY

Cold Calls Jolt Business

 lightning

With FEARLESS! Reality

 

Love it or hate it, there is nothing like a bunch of cold sales calls to snap a ho-hum corporate or entrepreneurial business attitude into a realm of FEARLESS! reality. (Sorry, had to sneak in the link to my big project!)

It’s the place where the proverbial rubber meets the road, but typically gets dismissed as trivial, or “jittery” or time-wasting (“Other people are paid to do that!”). It’s oh so easy to wave it away with comments like: “I already did that stuff” or “I’m way past that” or “who needs it?”… or some other lame excuse.

But truth is that –something like a cold shower– it’s a great wake-up experience, a terrific way to recharge batteries, and it will definitely flash you back to what’s really important in business: HOW you communicate with a prospect to turn her or him into a grateful and loyal customer.

This does not happen with marketing automation.

It does not happen via email.

It does not happen on Twitter or LinkedIn or Facebook.

It doesn’t happen with clever advertising or cataclysmic branding lines.

Those may all be contributing factors that lead up to a purchase decision, but –in the end– it happens in the flesh, in person or on the phone, or through a referral from someone who’s been sold in person or on the phone. It often occurs when an online-generated order is easily and pleasantly placed — or bungled. A prospect becomes a customer when perceived value of your product or service rises to the surface.

building valueIf your marketing program is not delivering the sales you believe are possible, lead your support team to the sidewalk and make cold calls. Have them all make cold calls. Be reminded of the importance of listening 80% of the time, of addressing energy to the prospect’s concerns, issues, questions, observations, not yours. If your team needs some refresher points or sales training first, do it. Or bite the bullet and recruit some outside help. A fun/challenge attitude helps!

Then talk about the process, about what happened with each encounter, about the time and effort involved, and start to adjust your sales program and approach to reflect what you and your team learn from the experience . . . 2-3 days of pounding the pavement will be well spent, even as it may seem wasteful.

The best time to put this exercise to work is when things aren’t working the way you think they should. Can you and your team spare the time? The next question is the answer: Can you spare the lost or inadequate sales? Remember when you strip away all the decorations, the reason for being in business is to engage and nurture and please your customers. And even when this consciousness is present, there’s a tendency to overlook street smarts learning.

Cold sales call selling is like an electric jolt reminder. And if you stay open-minded and pay hard attention to what you and others learn from the process, your business will grow.

# # #

hal@businessworks.US

STRATEGY/ CONTENT/ CONNECTION

Higher impact. Lower costs.

——————-

Business Development/ National-Awards/ Record Client Sales

Entrepreneurship & Expansion Coaching    931.854.0474

Go for your goals, thanks for your visit, God Bless You!

OPEN  MINDS  OPEN  DOORS

Make Today A Great Day For Someone!

 

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Nov 14 2015

WAKE UP AMERICA! Open Letter to WH Hopefuls

WAKE  UP  AMERICA!

Reveillez-vous, les Etats-Unis!

american flagfrench flag

An open letter to Republican presidential hopefuls

[Opinions expressed in this post are solely those of the author, Hal Alpiar]

 

The Bible tells us that there is a time for everything. For America,
with the agony of Paris in our rearview mirror. . . that time is NOW!

As a lifelong small business coach and advocate, my perspective of economic recovery is borne of the fact that small business provides the underpinnings of a strong economy. By over-taxing, over-regulating, intervening and meddling with private enterprise, by discouraging innovation and job creation, by pretending to have entrepreneurship savvy, our government is killing our economy.

Is this a political stance? No. You undoubtedly know I speak reality because each of you has in one way or another already expressed this viewpoint. Clearly, they are indisputable facts.

So what’s the connection? You care about what just happened in Paris, or you wouldn’t have read past the first line. Government failure to grow the economy illustrates the same kind of purposeful ignorance —an inexcusable refusal— to confront the relentless reality of Islamic terrorism.

What, sadly, could be more proof positive than the ISIS violence than just showed its ugly face in Paris? You need to step up in a way that’s meaningful, that makes a difference. Solo speeches don’t cut it! It’s nice to express your feelings, but while speeches and interviews may win votes, they don’t win results.

Beyond any doubt, ISIS poses a real and serious and immediate threat to every American’s life, family, values, and community. So NOW is the time to act!

Here is my proposal for a rallying-cry

Action Plan strategy to imagine and think about:

 

Imagine that somehow each of you agrees to put aside your personal and campaign differences and your individual egos for the couple of hours it might take to join one another at the front gates of The White House (with only a last-minute tip-off to the media). Then, you request a spontaneous and urgent audience with Messrs. Obama and Biden and Kerry to make your collective points for urging immediate and specific action steps that need to be taken NOW:

1) Steps to preserve and protect America’s families and towns and cities NOW (not after the next election)!

2) Steps to lead promptly to the complete defeat of ISIS NOW (not after some other—closer-to-home—mass slaughter)!

This will require the politically-unthinkable of having to individually rise above the fray and put your personal agendas and commercialized candidacies on hold long enough to join in lockstep with each other – to demonstrate genuine leadership to those you aspire to represent and to the rest of the world.

Real leaders nurture and weigh the input of other leaders. In this case, by physically standing together (as you have on the debate stage) you will serve an important purpose by representing the concerns en masse of all American citizens.

In the possibility that Messrs. Obama, Biden and Kerry cannot or will not be available, that choice makes it clear to the public the inappropriateness and insensitivity of their priorities, and instead you can each deliver your 5-minute (UN-political) position statement to the media people who show up, while standing at The White House gates.

You will individually also benefit personally by keeping your focus on communicating action solutions (each perhaps taking 5 minutes).

Consider the range of positive impressions that can benefit each and all of you in this scenario. Though you shouldn’t need any added incentive, my best guess is that if this is done “correctly,” it will also serve to completely eliminate any Democratic candidacy in the minds of voters. You can then all be free to re-ignite your individual campaign efforts after making such an innovative and unprecedented effort.

And, hopefully, your unified appearance and purpose will produce some concrete actions and rallying-point results.

Just some thoughts I hope you will each consider.

# # #

Keep your head cool and your feet warm . . . and thanks for your visit!

OPEN MINDS OPEN DOORS

Make Today A Great Day For Someone!
hal@businessworks.US

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