Thursday, January 26, 2012

You and me and Google

Several people have asked me to blog about LinkedIn ... what it's good for, how to use it, etc. I'm going to tackle that soon. It's going to take some time and thought to compose that one, though, and I'm short on the time part right now. (I'm continuing to have a highly productive month!) So, today I'm going to share some info I've already got put together about Google and its advertising platform, AdWords ... specifically why it might be a good idea for you to advertise your business (if you've got one, that is) and why, if you decide you want to, you should buy your Google ad plan through me. Here goes:


Why use Google AdWords as an advertising platform?
• In a recent poll of Internet users, 97% reported conducting research online prior to making purchases at least some of the time.
• 90% of the time, Internet users do not search using a business name. They search using product- and service-related keyword phrases.
• Internet search engine advertising has a higher return on investment rate (averaging 10%) than traditional advertising. This is because it targets only individuals who are actively seeking the advertiser’s products and services.
• Nearly 70% of Internet users start their Internet search on Google.com.
• Paid advertising via Google AdWords ensures immediate, highly targeted exposure for a business, and that exposure lasts for the duration of the ad campaign.
• Google AdWords ads also may appear across the Google Display Network — thousands of other highly viewed reputable websites. Ads here are displayed beside content relevant to the advertiser’s industry.
• Google ads take Internet searchers directly to the advertiser’s company website, where the advertiser crafts and controls all content.
• Using Google AdWords, advertisers pay only for ads that were clicked — never for impressions (or the number of times an ad appeared).
• Unlike traditional advertising platforms, Google AdWords plans include post-ad reporting, informing advertisers of precisely how many people viewed their ads, as well as the most popularly searched phrases that resulted in ad views.

Why use User Friendly Media as your Google AdWords provider?
• My company boasts nearly 30 offices across eight states. We have a customer base more than 30,000 strong, and we pride ourselves on having a high-level of customer satisfaction. We are a privately held company backed by a reputable merchant bank.
• My company is a Google AdWords Certified Partner, meaning our employees (including myself) involved in selling and maintaining Google ad campaigns have undergone specialized training, demonstrated an in-depth understanding of AdWord by passing exams, and meet all of Google’s AdWords qualification guidelines.
• Google selected my company as the first reseller to pilot a special Google AdWords program wherein campaigns are built and incubated by a team of dedicated Google employees. With expert-built campaigns, our advertisers have a competitive edge!
•100% of ads placed within our Google program appear on Google.com and the Google Display Network and link directly to the advertiser’s website. (This is not always the case with competitor plans.)
• Our Google ad campaigns are completely turnkey for the advertiser. Google and my company staff handle all aspects of implementation and maintenance of every ad campaign. (Google recommends 10 to 15 hours per week of ad campaign maintenance for optimal performance.)

There you have it! Any questions?

Monday, January 16, 2012

The end of the world as we know it?

Apparently there are a slew of people out there who really do believe the world is coming to an end this year. Really. I've seen them on TV. While I'm doubtful that our race will be wiped out or our planet will be obliterated, if it's the end of the world as we know it, then I'm gung ho! Frankly, the world as I know it, at least, hasn't been so hot these last few years. I mean, it's had its moments, and I'm not really complaining. I've had my wonderful family, my health, food to eat, and a roof over my head. But, it's been a struggle just trying to cover those basics ... a much harder struggle than ever before in my life. What's great, though, is if the rest of 2012 goes as well as these first few weeks have, then happy days are here again! I hope this is the case for you, too!

Good things are happening, people! Sure, sometimes I still feel shunned, and I don't close every sale I try to make. But I'm getting meetings and making sales at a pleasing pace. I'm getting positive feedback from customers, my first renewals from last year's contracts, and even surprise calls out of the blue from people I pitched to in 2011. They're ready to buy, they say! It's not just that, either. Good stuff all around. A hopeful outlook sure does good for the soul. I'll tell ya. (I just did. LOL)

Now, if only I could lose the rest of that baby weight I gained TWO AND A HALF YEARS AGO! (Where does the time go? Oh yeah, into working my butt off. I wish that were literal!) I'm finding 80 pounds and age 35 just doesn't melt away the way it used to. I'm being proactive by exercising, but it looks like some dietary changes may be needed to shed the last few ... at least that's what my latest client, a dietitian, tells me. But, enough about me.

I'd like to get some feedback going here. How is your 2012 shaping up so far? What's going on in your world? One of my goals this year is to make this blog more interactive. I'd love to hear from you! Salespeople ... nonsalespeople ... let's support each other! We're all in this together, whether you realize it or not. Let's make 2012 a great year together! Okay, go!

Sunday, January 8, 2012

Mamas, don't let your babies grow up to be salespeople.


Junior salespeople? Keep waving. Keep reading. Just don't major in English like Mama did, unless you intend on continuing on to law school ... or else you're gonna be falling back on this later on in life.

Friday, January 6, 2012

You're traveling through another dimension ...

... a dimension not only of sight and sound but of mind ... a journey into a wondrous land whose boundaries are that of imagination. That's the signpost up ahead — your next stop, the Twilight Zone.

Surely you've had that feeling before. You're going about your business ... you know, doing stuff, chugging along on what seems like an ordinary day. Then, all of a sudden, WHAM! You find yourself in a situation so surreal it prompts you to ask yourself, sometimes maybe even out loud, "Really?" It feels like you're in the Twilight Zone. You know what I'm talking about. Well, when you work in sales, you spend oodles of time in the Twilight Zone. As a matter of fact, the Twilight Zone starts to feel "normal." You come to expect weirdness. You aren't nearly as surprised when you enter it, anyway.

Where Salespeople Live

If you read any of my previous blog posts you'll remember I touched on this a bit. I'm referring to situations when generally nice, "normal," grown adult businesspeople behave like shy school kids. It goes something like this: 

I start by calling or emailing to set up a meeting with a business owner. Sometimes, this is when I enter the Twilight Zone. My Facebook "friends," email contacts I've conducted business with before in other jobs, and other friendly acquaintances I may have known for years simply may not respond. I may proceed to attempt to reach them in different ways, two and three times, and they may just never get back to me. I'll even try different techniques in the ask ... carefully choosing my phrases to convey the brevity of my intended meeting. I'll ask if I may "run" over for a "quick" chat at their "convenience." I'll "sure appreciate it," I'll say. "Please" and "thank you," I'll say. I may even explain that if they hear what I have to say and decide it simply isn't for them — and this is the truth — there will be no hard feelings ... that it's my job to go out and meet with a certain number of business owners each week, and simply by letting me come over and talk for a few minutes they'll be doing me a favor and may learn about some neat ad opportunities that can help their business in the process. And besides, I might add, if what I've got doesn't interest them, it might interest someone else they know, and perhaps they can give me a referral. Sound reasonable? Would you let me in? Half of you are probably shaking your heads no, because that's about how many people will still not respond. Later, I will run into them at a coffee shop. Another Twilight Zone moment. But what about those who do agree to meet with me? Here's what happens next ...

We get together. They talk about their business. I tell them what I do and how it can help their business. Then, one of three scenarios occurs: 
Scenario No 1: They buy something right then and there.
Scenario No. 2: They say they will or might buy something soon but not right that moment for any number of reasons, and I agree to call them the following week or month or whenever.
Scenario No. 3: They kindly decline to buy.

Scenario No. 1 is my obvious favorite. Everybody wins. We all save time. I earn a living. They get exposure and, in turn, new customers. Hooray for scenario No. 1! Too bad it happens this way only maybe a tenth of the time. And, what would seem to be the good news is, Scenario No. 3 almost never happens. I can count the number of times it has happened certainly on two hands if not one. So, that leaves Scenario No. 2 — where the vast majority of my sales pitches go. This often is, yet again, the entrance to that other dimension ... sucking time and energy, evoking weirdness, awkwardness, wonder and sometimes paranoia. This is the Twilight Zone, folks.

Now, at this this point what's going on with me is I just want to know whether they're going to buy something or not. If so, when? If not, why? (But if they really don't want to tell me why, I still prefer that they tell me no without any explanation than just leave me hanging.) I'll call or I'll email, just like we agreed I would, and guess what the most common response is? NO RESPONSE AT ALL! Hmmm. What does it mean?! Before you answer with, "It means they don't want to buy," let me tell you no, I doesn't necessarily mean that! I, too, thought that at first. But, too many times after getting the "no response at all" response — after I'd given up, cut bait and called it a loss — suddenly out of nowhere I've gotten a call, and guess who it was? It was Mr. Ignored All My Phone Calls And Messages Guy! And, guess what? He wanted to buy!!! Weird, right?

So, one day it occurred to me ... the perfect solution. And I crafted the following (brilliant!) email message:

Hi! I'm making my monthly rounds as the deadline for campaigns is approaching. Please pick one of the following:
1.) Yes, I am ready to sign up for a campaign! Let me know what we need to do to move forward.
2.) I am somewhat interested in a campaign but not just yet. Please follow up again next month.
3.) No, I am not at all interested in a campaign. Stop harassing me! =-)~
 
I look forward to your reply!

Can you guess how people respond 99.9 percent of the time? They don't respond at all. Sigh.