Calculating The Right Price
April 15, 2008
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I created this as a bit of an experiment to provide entrepreneurs, would be entrepreneurs and business owners with a learning opportunity on calculating the “right price”.
Other good resources online include:
- Calculating Maximum Willingness to Pay (WTP) out of Conjoint Analysis Utilities
- How to Calculate Price Markup
- Calculating Price Elasticity
- Cost Plus Pricing
- Production Costs and Pricing
- Putting Cost Back into Pricing: Calculating Overhead Percentages
Tell me, is a format you would like to see and hear more? There is also a larger version available.
Nine Sales Troubleshooting Tips
April 9, 2008
At some point along the way to closing a sale you may find that you or your client are stuck or lost. This is the time to gain a new perspective. Take a look at the current situation, and try to assess the source of your sales road block. Ask yourself these questions. The answers will provide you with a fresh viewpoint and help formulate a new sales strategy.
- Do I need to confirm anything? Has anything changed since we started discussing your needs? If yes, How specifically? Are you still having trouble with ______? Is _______ still your boss? How many________ do you currently use ?
- Do they need more information? What other information would assist you in making a decision? How do you intend to approach solving that problem? When do you see that happening? Remember you can always follow up and ask Why?
- Where are they at? Have you run into this before? How did that impact you/your company? How do you feel about ________? Why is that the best? What is your opinion about _________?
- Serious Buyer? If you had made a decision to buy now, and I know you haven’t, what would have changed your mind? How specifically is that important to you? If we could provide that, is that something you would be interested in proceeding with now? Do I understand that you now intend to approve this with regard to the specifications? Are you willing to recommend this with the information you now have?
- Competition: What is the availability (delivery time frame) of competitors’ products? Our delivery time frames? Who are my competitors for this sale? What is the price differential? Is price a major factor to the customer? What are my competitors’ post sale service capabilities? How are they positioned? Are they firmly entrenched, or are they new players? Are we equal competitors?
- How they buy: Have there been any recent changes in the reason to buy now? What is the level of urgency, which indicates whether or not your timing is right or not - regarding this purchase? How much money will be required to make this purchase? What are the political factors in the organization?
- Right Person: Is there a new person who may impact the approval of this sale? Has there been a reorganization recently? Are you certain that the person giving final approval has not changed?
- Customer Needs: What specific tangible, measurable results do they expect to gain from this purchase?
- Roadblocks: Do they like me? What can I respect about where this person is coming from? Are they confused? Do they have a clear picture of our capabilities? Is the disagreement personal, product related or both? Is it realistic that I can change this person’s mind at this time? Do I have credibility with the buyer?
Seven Sales Questions And Ideas To Help You Prepare For A Sales Call
October 16, 2007
Preparation for a sales call or a meeting with a new potential client is just as important as the meeting itself. Read more
Email Marketing: The Rodney Dangerfield of Internet Marketing?
September 26, 2007
”I don’t get no respect!” is the phrase that Rodney used in his monologues.
I was surprised to read that email marketing brings in $48 for every dollar spent. Not only that but: Read more
How much do you spend advertising online?
September 15, 2007
I came a cross MarketingShift, promoted as a “Daily Crash Course in Marketing Technology & Brand Management”.
I was pleasantly surprised, MarketingShift has quality content with real life examples and practical edge.
What percentage of your advertising do spend on print advertising versus online?
Marchex expects the Internet share of local advertising to increase to 25 percent within a decade, but that is a low amount even for today. Based on my experiences in local advertising for my wife’s business, I spent about 75 percent of the marketing budget during the past 2 years in print and the rest online, yet 95 percent of her business has come from Internet listings on directory sites. They are cheaper, interactive, and get the right audience, whether you are an accountant, plumber, or clothing retailer. Via Local Businesses Eschew Online, Waste Dollars on Print
Did you catch the distinction in the above paragraph? Are you spending 75% of your marketing budget that only produces 5% of your revenue? Ouch, before you dismiss this, stop and think - could you be missing out? Look at this excerpt from the Marchex report:
“…the small-to medium-sized business (SMB) market, that fuels the $15 billion print yellow pages industry, is still relatively untapped on the Internet, with only 6% of the market buying any form of search engine advertising” Via Marchex
If you depend on the local market and do not have a marketing strategy that includes a strong online component - you are missing out on a lot of leads and customers for your business. Start tracking where your leads come from and then compare that to where you are spending your advertising and marketing budget. Then redirect a large portion to local online advertising.
Marketing to the Affluent Baby Boomers
August 29, 2007
Marketers are beginning to recognize the spending power of affluent baby boomers (estimated to control $2 trillion in spending power) and everyone seems to want a piece of the pie.
Accounting for nearly 30% of the U.S. population, the Baby Boomer generation is important not only because of its size, but also because it represents the wealthiest generation in the U.S., with an estimated annual spending power of over $2 trillion. Via Research & Markets
Before you throw yourself head long into the fray of companies Read more
101+ Marketing Tools, Tactics, and Strategies
August 28, 2007
When marketing is executed elegantly, the prospect will be motivated to investigate further and/or acquire the item or service.
Accomplishing this objective will involve the use of numerous tools and strategies. When coaching my clients, I recommend that they have at least 10 marketing strategies working all the time.
Here is my list of more than 101 marketing tools in 15 categories:
- Marketing calendar/plan: A 12-month marketing calendar with projects, tactics, dates, and costs recorded.
- Identify customer needs: Conduct focus groups surveys, and person-on-the-street interviews; interview customers; shop your competitors.
- Back-end, up sell: Add new, complimentary products and services, create back-end products including CDs, DVDs, product of the month.
- Media: Includes television advertising, infomercials, radio advertising, on-hold messages, billboards, and cable channel advertising.
- Internet marketing: Your own Web site, search engine marketing, pay-per-click advertising, pay-per-call lead generation, video cast, podcast, Weblog, Really Simple Syndication (RSS) article distribution, e-zine subscriptions and distribution, e-mail marketing, auto responders, social book marking, and online networks.
- Branding: Packaging your company; name of company, USP/slogan, consistent and congruent logo, testimonials, features, history, guarantees, awards, press releases/public relations, brochures, business cards, letterhead, community and sports team sponsorships, uniforms. Read more
No Matter the Label Marketing is Marketing
August 28, 2007
I have been thinking a lot these days about the topic of “Internet Marketing” and my message is simple, Internet marketing is well, just, marketing. The Internet and your web site are simply newer marketing tools. Your “Internet” marketing should compliment and support the goals of your overall marketing plan.Internet is Simply A Tool
It has come a long way, but Internet marketing (IM) tends to be more technical than conceptual. I suppose that could be said of any marketing tool whether it be direct mail, word-of-mouth, or Internet marketing. Unfortunately, in the early days IM promoted it as a “game changing technology” - I tend to see IM as just another ‘marketing tool’ - albeit a very effective, measurable, and accountable marketing tool.
Marketing Still is the Discipline to Master
When I say IM is simply a tool - my goal is to demystify IM and reshape your perceptions and view it as simply a new set of tools in your marketing quiver. Just like any marketing discipline/tool there is a certain amount of “technical” [read how-to-do-it] knowledge or experience to execute really well.
A Balanced Approach to Online Advertising
August 9, 2007
With compound annual growth rates (CAGR) ranging between 18%-70% is it any wonder that the diversion of dollars from print and broadcast media to the online market is getting so much attention? Read more
A Simple Four-Step Strategy for Developing Content That Connects | Copyblogger
July 12, 2007
Thanks to Tony D. Clark for reminding me of Copyblogger, I immediately visited the blog and found this great article on “Developing Content that Connects.”
Phase One: Why… Besides targeting the largest learning style group, starting off your content with the reason why the information is of value is a foundational element of the rest of the piece. It’s also critical for attracting attention. This is why your headline and opening paragraphs must quickly and clearly express a practical benefit to the reader, and why presentations must grab attention immediately before getting into substance.
Phase Two: What… Now we come to what analytic learners call the meat—the features of a product and the supporting data. In other words, they want cold, hard facts and analysis. This phase of your content naturally follows the statement of the “why,” and failing to properly segue into phase two by dwelling on too much fluff up front will hurt you with these people, as well as bog down your overall delivery.
Phase Three: How… Once common sense learners have heard the why and the what, they’re ready to dive in and learn—by doing. While it’s tough for people to get hands on when reading or listening, you can appease the how crowd with specific examples and illustrations of how things work in the real world. Case studies and other concrete scenarios bring things together for the common sense learner, and add extra understanding to the innovative and analytic learner.
Phase Four: What If…The dynamic learner has absorbed everything offered so far, and has been sitting there wondering what would happen if x is modified, or what if I did y instead because my situation is slightly different? These are the people who shine during Q and A at a presentation, who take the time to email a question to the author, and who leave comments requesting clarification or offering up their own illustrations in order to sharpen their understanding. Having an interactive online presence completes the learning cycle, and allows for the conversation to spread onto other blogs and social media sites. Via A Simple Four-Step Strategy for Developing Content That Connects | Copyblogger
As you may know I am on a tear this summer to build a product foundation to supplement my coaching practice. This information will help a lot because engaging the reader or as Copyblogger puts it, ‘connecting’ with your blog readers is crucial to marketing your business.
I highly recommend stopping by and reading everything Copyblogger has available. Especially this article because the concepts in it will help you ‘connect’ with more readers. This will translate into a stronger relationship as well as educating the reader in a way that meets them at their level.
I wonder how Copyblogger learned all this information?
Tags: Copyblogger, Tony D. Clark
Moving Beyond Blogging to Community, Engagement, and Networking With Your Blog
July 10, 2007
One By One Media shared a great tip for bloggers that should be required reading for everyone who starts blogging.
Bottomline: If you want people to read your blog, you can’t just blog. You might consider the novel idea of reading and being active on other blogs. *Gasp!* Via Why Blogging Will Never Get You the Results You Want by Lena West
So if you’re wondering why no one is reading your blog, or linking, or commenting…step out, find other blogs in your niche. Read them, leave a comment or three, start a conversation, link to them, send an e-mail, just start that friendship building process and the rest will follow. Via One By One Media
It took me a year or so to figure what they are sharing and who they are linking - check it out, it is straight forward and to the point. Leave them a comment and gain a new acquaintance.
Tags: socialmedia, blogging, building blog traffic, rss, social networking
Do You Suck at Socializing?
July 3, 2007
Have you ever been to a networking event and attended alone? I find that arriving early is key to meeting people.
I came across this great article How Not To Suck At Socializing - Do’s & Don’ts which starts with:
Being socialable is a very easy thing to do, and it shouldn’t be something you’re either good at or not. You can learn to become a more social person - if you want to.
When yiu read this list you will be tempted to dismiss these tips but I encourage you to visit How Not To Suck At Socializing - Do’s & Don’ts because there are many great observations, tips, and tactics. Here is an outline of the Do’s:
- Initiate conversation
- Smile
- Enjoy your company
- Acknowledge randoms
- Dress the part
- Listen
- Converse, don’t rant
- Keep eye contact
- Keep open body language
- Do stuff
I love the way Craig Childs closes the article:
Don’t feel like you have to do anything. You’re out for your own reasons and want to do your own thing. Different things work for different people. For instance, you might never feel comfortable approaching strangers. Find your own groove and be yourself.
Remote Control CEO: Pay Attention
May 21, 2007
Back in April I wrote We Can Increase Our Mental Bandwidth and Unleash Our Capacity, “Our capacity increases whenever we choose to our attention on something deemed to be important. When we are mentally ‘present’ and not on ‘automatic pilot’ we pay attention to what is going on around us. In these moments, our attention is pervasive and dominant.”
Today I ran across the quote from Dog Hall and decided to write about this topic again because we cannot hear the message of being present, alert, or as Doug says “awake to the moment” too often.
“I like thinking of possibilities. At any time, an entirely new possibility is liable to come along and spin you off in an entirely new direction. The trick, I’ve learned, is to be awake to the moment.” — Doug Hall: Professional inventor and idea guru.
I have read Jump Start Your Business Brain: Scientific Ideas and Advice That Will Immediately Double Your Business Success Rate and highly recommend it to every client.
Sincerely,
Live Large! Because when you are awake you can create any idea into an opportunity.
Marketing & Demographics: Boomer Business Women, A New Boomer Book, A Baby Boomer Blog
May 9, 2007
My ChangeThis email arrived and I immediately downloaded the ebook Turning the Generational Dial: A Plea to Boomers, Gen X and Gen Y [PDF] By Carol Orsborn, PhD.In the process I also discovered her blog, The Boomer Blog and links to her new book, Boom: Marketing to the Ultimate Power Consumer-the Baby Boomer Woman. Here is an excerpt from her ebook:
The truth is that the generational dial will flip to a new channel soon enough. And when it does, there will be something society has never before witnessed: generations in power who will not have grown into adulthood anticipating the marginalized, invisible, powerless future boomers once expected to have—but rather, the promise of lifelong vitality, relevant entertainment and the thriving careers at midlife and beyond that boomers pioneered.
In her ebook Turning the Generational Dial: A Plea to Boomers, Gen X and Gen Y (free) she makes some great points, like:
- with an AARP study finding that as many as 8 out of 10 boomers don’t plan to retire, it’s clear that we are all in uncharted terrain.
- now “older� consumers between 43–61 have been rediscovered by the mainstream market-place - driven by numbers too big and active to be ignored as potential consumers, and it’s making some of today’s 20– and 30–somethings understandably nervous.
The Main Four Points of Carol’s ebook is:
- It’s misguided to blame boomers’ continuing dominance as stemming from selfishness.
- The lifespan has elongated the life cycle for all the generations.
- Boomers have suddenly found themselves to be the “cool generation.�
- Nobody is more surprised to still be in the limelight than the boomers themselves.
Carol Orsborn also has a new book Boom: Marketing to the Ultimate Power Consumer-the Baby Boomer Woman in addition to her other two works, The Silver Pearl: Our Generation’s Journey to Wisdom, The Soul of Business.
If you are serious about marketing and business, you must read everything you can get your hands on regarding boomers and demographics because it all shapes the demand side of the “supply and demand equation” which of course impacts our revenues.
Carol, I am adding your blog to my blogroll and looking forward to connecting with you someday soon.
Sincerely,
Live Large! You deserve the best.
Demographics: What the Next 15 Years Looks Like
April 5, 2007
I found this fabulous article at Center for Media Research which was talking about Baby Boomers habits when it comes to technology and online:
Sharon Whiteley, CEO of ThirdAge, said “ThirdAgers (baby boomers and mid-lifers generally in their early 40’s through mid 60’s) are regularly stereotyped as being technophobes and slow to jump on the technology bandwagon. However… not only are they online, they’re surprisingly a formidable presence on the Internet.”According to the survey, ThirdAgers spend time on the Internet are to:
- Seek out information (92%)
- Stay in touch with friends and family (95%)
- Shop online (73%)
- Browse the Web (95%)
- Read articles (91%)
- Research products before purchasing offline (86%)
What they’re not doing is watching videos, writing blogs, playing games or downloading music, notes the report.
The report also includes data that shows that so called “ThirdAgers” are close to “108 million people [who] are over the age of 45, [make up] more than 40 percent of the population, with the majority of the buying power in the United States.” Plus:
- They account for 70 percent of the U.S. net worth, controlling $9 trillion
- In the next 15 years, the 50-64 age popular will grow by 50 percent and the 65-plus population will grow 32 percent
Whiteley says “… many marketers… (are not) building a trusted relationship with people who are over 40… These generations have grown up in the information age; they will seek facts, data and peer input…”
Should You Shift Your Market Focus?
IMO, the real gem is the other commentary made in the report relating to the “Traditionally coveted 18-40 Gen-X and Gen-Y populations will grow only 3 percent combined.”
If you stop and think about that, the traditional market (18-40) year olds is growing 3% and the 50-64 age group is growing by 50 percent and the 65-plus population growing by 32 percent - which market is growing?
Remember, the posts I wrote about “Supply and Demand”, here, and here?
Other interesting findings includes how much information “ThirdAgers” share with their peers. Make sure to check it out to educate yourself.
FYI, depending on when you view this post, you might need to become a member to dig around and view their archives. However, you should be able to view the post I link to.
Are You Making The #1 Marketing and Sales Mistake?
March 26, 2007
My wife reminded me of the biggest marketing mistake we entrepreneurs often make - assuming that the ‘way we think’ is how our customers think and act. She said:
“I thought you might have forgot like I do sometimes.”
A Big Assumption
We have been married 31 years and yet my wife still surprises me once in awhile. When Carol said, “I thought you might have forgot like I do sometimes.” she assumed that I forgot to change the water in the Cappuccino maker. What does that have to do with business, marketing, or your customers?
Assuming Customers Think and Act Like You Is Risky You are not your ideal customer even though you might fit the exact profile.
Why?
Because as the owner you are too close to the subject matter, understanding your customers needs becomes the foundation of everything you do in your business, and…
“Knowing exactly what your market really wants as a result of doing business with you is so fundamentally important that when you get this wrong, the problems created trickle down to every other area of your business.” Page 66, of Tips and Traps For Writing an Effective Business Plan (Tips & Traps)
Every penny you spend promoting, marketing, and selling to your ideal customer, should be based on what you know (confirm through research) of your customers’ needs, wants, emotions, and perceptions.
In chapter five (Products & Services) of Tips and Traps For Writing an Effective Business Plan (Tips & Traps), I provide detailed instructions for assembling a ideal customer profile, how to determine their needs, wants, emotions, and perceptions.
Then your job is to align your business, marketing, and promotion strategies with those of your ideal customer. Then test, test, test and soon you will begin to view your marketing and sales as an investment not an expense.
Get Advance Notice to the Upcoming Killer Communications Teleclass
This week I will be announcing my Killer Communications Teleclass. It will have limited enrollment, so if you would like to get advance notice of the course details, email me.
Live Large!
How do you connect?
March 5, 2007
“We are part of the whole which we call the universe, but it is an optical illusion of our mind that we are separate. This separateness is like a prison for us. Our job is to widen the circle of compassion so we feel connected to all people and all situations.” - Albert Einstein
Do you feel connected with others or separate?
How do you connect with your employees?
Smart Marketers FLIRT
March 1, 2007
Sure hope Sami his thesis into a book, I would buy it. Sami is one smart dude who has developed a model for Crowdsourcing that he calls FLIRT:- Facilities
- Language
- Incentives
- Rules
- Tools
This is a confirmation that there are new marketing strategied, tools, and approach that we can use to become smart marketers, I call this approach “The 3C’s of Doing Business in the 21st Century”:
- Cooperation
- Collaboration
- Connection
To learn more and to make sure you are not using dated approaches to marketing visit my post titled Are you using dated business development strategies?. I really need to be writing more about this more, better yet, stop by and read Sami’s detailed post on the subject. A must read if this new marketing strategy and methodology is new to you.
Live Large!
P.S. Make sure to add his feed [RSS] to your reading list, this is a guy to keep an eye on. I added Sami to my list.
TV still dominates viewing habits
March 1, 2007
Earlier this week I wrote an article titled Three Reasons Social Media is Killing Broadcast Media, Not!! and today find out that 93% of adults spend at least one hour a day, on average, watching TV.
eMarketer is optimistic about online video viewer growth, and estimates that 157 million people in the US will be watching online video at least once a month by 2010.Much of the buzz about online video is driven by online video viewer demographics. Men ages 18-34 account for 41% of daily online video watchers, but make up only 14% of all online subscribers. This group also accounts for over two-thirds of adults who visit YouTube and view other user-generated content daily.
Just 8% of those who watch video online strongly agree that they now watch TV less often. Via eMarketer
Looks like broadcast media is not dead and online video is growing.
In Just Five Minutes You Could…
March 1, 2007
Yesterday, Rosa suggested that I could challenge us with her daily five minutes. Curious? Drop by Rosa’s blog and learn a strategy that Rosa teaches all her clients.On the other hand, what could you do in five minutes?
- Make a decision
- Clean your desk
- Take a nap
- Plan a holiday
- Nothing
- Listen to music
- Make a list of why you are proud of yourself
- Buy an ice cream
- Take a walk
What would make you feel good about yourself right now? Do it. Clock’s ticking…
Live Large!
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Getting the Price Right
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