Quick Tip
The Law of Reciprocity
It's often misinterpreted as "if I do something for you, you'll feel like you have to do something for me."
It's a favorite "trick" in many ill-conceived referral marketing programs.
I believe a much more helpful way of thinking about reciprocity is -
"I go, then you go, then I go, then you go..."
A good approach for any conversation (face-to-face, virtual, email, etc.), don't you think?
Particularly sales conversations.
We've all run into the person who seems to think, "I go, then I go, then I go, then you give me money."
That's the "typical sales guy" that everyone hates.
But there's an equally annoying, opposite approach. One I've been noticing a lot recently.
The one who says, "You go. Now you go again. And again. Now tell me more."
One side gets peppered with question after question without any information shared by the other side.
It's not a conversation.
It's an interrogation.
Here's an example from my inbox.
I recently download an ebook from a copywriting coach's website.
And like a good marketer, he followed up via email. Asking questions. Trying to determine if I am a 5-star prospect.
3 or 4 messages in, he asks if I want his help. That's one of the hallmarks of a 5-star prospect.
I honestly haven't received any information to make that determination. I don't know what his help looks like or what it costs.
So I ask, "What do you have in mind?"
In other words, "sell me something." (Wouldn't you like to have more people asking you to "sell me something"? I would.)
But no offer came—no info to help with decision-making. I still have no idea about how long, how much, or what it is.
All I know is I'll save a lot of money since he doesn't want to sell me anything.
Now, don't get me wrong. I fully understand the importance of qualifying a prospect before presenting your offer.
But qualifying isn't interrogating.
People don't like being interrogated any more than they like a hard sell.
So make sure you are having 2-way, mutually beneficial conversations with your prospects.
And you'll sell more stuff.
Yours for smarter marketing,
Bill
913.962.9261
News, Tips, & Tricks
Is that annoying Meet calls echo you, you, you, you?
Google has a new feature in Meet that will let you know when you're the one creating an echo and give you some help fixing it.
Write Better Landing Page Copy
Landing pages are where sales happen. Use these four methods to write better copy and make more sales. Examples included.
Who Sees What on Facebook
Facebook recently released a new report(s) showing the most widely viewed content in News Feed - along with some interesting insights.
Building Authority With Quora
Quora can be a great place for building authority and understanding your audience. Here are some useful tips for using Quora in your content and marketing strategies.
And this...
Let this porch pirate have what he wants. Someone in CT got a big surprise when they reviewed security camera footage to find out what happened a missing Amazon package.
Book of the Week
The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse
One of the most interesting books I've seen this year, this book is packed with universal life lessons, along with both black-and-white drawings and color drawings.
Read more on Amazon (affiliate link)
Tool of the Week
Wormhole - Simple, private file sharing
Wormhole lets you share files with end-to-end encryption and a link that automatically expires.
Image of the Week
Hubble Confirms - Einstein Was Smart
Einstein predicted it. Hubble captured it. You can enjoy it and learn some science smarts here.
Like This Newsletter?
Let me know. Reply, email me at [email protected], or find me on LinkedIn to hit me with some feedback. I’d love to know what you think.
Thanks for reading.
Bill
913.962.9261
P.S. - And whenever you are ready, here are 3 ways I can help you grow your business:
1) Break Free From Your Inbox - Grab this checklist of email templates so you can spend less time writing emails and more time serving clients*. Simply reply to this email with "Inbox" and I'll shoot you a copy.
2) Get Help Quick - Day Rate Consults are the easiest way to get marketing tasks off of your to-do list. See what you can get done
3) Get more leads from your website - If your website isn't delivering enough leads, reply to this email with "website leads" and I'll send you the details about my Website Leads Audit.