Chips Off the Old Blog

by Tammy de Leeuw
Financial Advisor Netzone



Tired of FIGHTING to close sales? Try SID WALKER'S SELLING WITHOUT WRESTLING preview Thursday, October 2.


If you missed SID WALKER's preview teleconference for the SELLING WITHOUT WRESTLING series or if you want to listen again, Sid will offer another live session this Thursday.

To Sign Up:

http://www.marketerschoice.com/app/?af=796698


LIVE! 60-minute FREE PREVIEW Teleseminar
•••••••
Thursday Afternoon, October 2, 2008
•••••••
12:00 pm PT • 1:00 pm MT • 2:00 pm CT • 3:00 pm ET
•••••••
Cost: FREE


Time to Update Your Client Contact Methods?
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Direct Mail IS BACK!

Direct mail never really DIED, but it did fall out of favor somewhat as the internet grew in scope and popularity. Everyone and their uncle's uncle wanted to plaster their ads on websites and podcasts and social networking sites. Well...

The absolute glut of emails most of us get these days along with the presence of pop-up blockers, anti-ad software, and general WEB BURNOUT, is thrusting old-fashioned direct mail back into the forefront again.

The key to effective direct mail is learning how to let go of trying to be cute and clever, or "artsy" and instead crafting pieces which get READ and ACTED UPON. It doesn't do you much good if you have pretty stuff that gets you no results.

FAN has partnered with the nation's leading technology trade printer to offer you FULL SERVICE printing for all your direct mail. For pricing that is often less than online discounters, our direct mail service includes: lists with filters, a live operator or 24 Hour Hotline service, all design and copywriting, customer care and followup, and first class postage.

We will do everything possible on our end to ensure your seminar invitations or direct mail pieces get RESULTS. Call me today to set up an appointment.

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How to Easily Appear In a National Magazine...for Free!

by David Frey
Marketing Best Practices




How would you like to have your own advertisement appear in a national magazine with a huge circulation?

Imagine what that could potentially do for you business.

Well, it's not only possible, but it's very simple to do.

A Sneaky Little PR Secret that Can Get You National Exposure

There's a little marketing tactic that anyone reading this newsletter can do that can get you some national exposure in major magazines and newspapers.

It's called an "op-ed."

An op-ed is an editorial space in a magazine or newspaper where that publication gives you an opportunity to express your opinion on a topic that they recently covered.

Hence, "op" = opinion and "ed" = editorial.

You've probably read them before but never knew how easy they were to appear in.

My Recent Op-Ed

While reading Inc. magazine, I came across a franchisor that was having trouble. In my opinion, it stemmed from his inferior marketing system. I decided to write Inc magazine to share my opinion with them. So I shot off an email to the publication.

Less than a few days later I received an email asking for permission to publish my opinion.

Sure enough...they did. Here is a copy of my op-ed...

http://www.davidfrey.us/recommends/inc

When it came out I noticed a sharp increase in traffic and subscriptions to my newsletter.

Here's another great example of an op-ed that probably resulted in some new business for the person that wrote it.

http://www.davidfrey.us/recommends/maill

Some Tips On Creating a Powerful Op-Ed

Here are a few tips to help you generate op-ed's that can get you results.

Tip # 1 - Submit op-eds to publications in your target market

There's no use getting publicity in a market that does not have a high propensity of buying your product or services. Submit your op-eds to magazines, newspapers, television shows and any media that allows op-eds to be published in YOUR target market.

Tip # 2 - Don't submit a stupid op-ed

Be smart about what you're going to say. If you submit an insightful, though-provoking, and interesting op-ed, it will almost assuredly get published. Take some time to think about what you're going to say before you submit.

Tip # 3 - Be controversial

The media loves controversy so you might want to consider stating an opinion that is controversial, and perhaps, in opposition to the article that you're commenting on.

Tip # 4 - Follow the exact instructions for submitting your op-ed

This usually involves just submitting your opinion to the person who moderates the op-ed column. At the end of ever op-ed there are instructions on how to submit your own opinion. That's how I got my op-ed in Inc. magazine.

Tip # 5 - Use the right credentials

Always try to use your website address as the name of your company. This way, when the op-ed comes out and your website address is placed under your name, people will know exactly where to go to get more information about you and your business.

You'll be surprised of your results when you simply submit your opinion to target publications. Try it out this week and see what I mean.

Is The Hard Sell Just Not Right For You?

by Tammy de Leeuw
Financial Advisor Netzone

Alright, dudes and dudettes, summer's gone and it's time to start thinking about how we are going to get through the current rough economic seas intact and STRONGER THAN EVER.

We are all going to have to resort to different tactics, better marketing, and working toward becoming less transactional in our business lives. The future is all about RELATIONSHIPS and the days of the one visit close are coming to a well-deserved end.

Enter the era of the RELATIONSHIP BUILDER...

If you haven't had a chance to release your inner relationship builder, join friend of FAN, Sid Walker as he examines ways you can close more sales without being pushy, controlling, or obnoxious. Sounds too good to be true- BUT IT IS!

If you have never had the chance to hear Sid in action, join us for the FREE Selling Without Wrestling Preview:

Thursday Afternoon, September 25, 2008
•••••••
12:00 pm PT • 1:00 pm MT • 2:00 pm CT • 3:00 pm ET
•••••••
Cost: NADA, Baby

http://www.marketerschoice.com/app/?af=796698

The Greeting Card that Made Me Pick Up the Phone

by David Frey

As we all do, I get a LOT of promotional letters in the mail.

After sorting them into two piles, the first pile I end up opening and
the second pile I just throw away without opening them up.

Legendary copywriter Gary Halbert has referred to this as the pile "A" and pile "B" syndrome.

If your letter or card ends up in the "B" pile it's going to get thrown away without even being looked at.

So of course you want all the mail that you send to your customers and prospects to end up in the "A" pile.

I want to tell you about two letters that I got in the mail in the past several months that caused me to take action.

Both were from people that I did not know personally...but their message was so compelling that it made me do something.

What Could You Put In a Card that Would Be So Powerful that It Would Force Your Reader to Pick Up the Phone and Call You?

Let me answer that question for you by asking you a question.

QUESTION: What is the most important word and picture in the world for you?

ANSWER: Your name and a picture of you.

It's the truth.

Think about it...when you look at a photo with a bunch of people in it...
and you're in the photo as well, what do your eyes immediately focus on?

YOU! That's right.

And when you hear your own name don't you immediately perk up?

When you see your name in print doesn't it capture your attention?

Of course.

So back to the cards that I received.

What do you think was in the cards that made me pay attention and pick up the phone?

Both cards used my name in a very flattering way and included
pictures of my product.

Here's the first card. Take a look.

http://www.davidfrey.us/recommends/cards

This card is from Kevin Thomas who is a relationship marketing coach.

When I saw him holding my Instant Referral Systems in the air and read his flattering comments, I had to call him up and thank him.

He was able to get me on the phone with a simple greeting card that included
a photo and kind words. Kevin has used this same tactic very successfully
to get on the phone with a lot of other influential people.

NOTE: If you're interested in the system that Kevin is using to create these customized cards that he sends from his computer go to www.sendoutcards.com/50147.

Here's the Second Card that Captured My Attention

In November of last year I received a greeting card from a guy named Rob Fore.

After getting his card I felt compelled to pick up the phone and talk to him as well.

Here's the inside of Rob Fore's card.

http://www.davidfrey.us/recommends/rob

Rob simply downloaded the photo of my Instant Referral Systems program from http://www.InstantReferralSystems.com and inserted it into the card and pushed a button to send the card to me.

It worked like magic. I called Rob up and he signed me up to the http://www.SendReferralCards.com system

Another Amazing Case Study About the Power of Greeting Cards

There so many ways you can use greeting cards to get prospects on the phone
or compel them to request your information. Your only limitation is your imagination.

I know of one person who has created a series of greeting cards for five niche industries (accountants, lawyers, financial planners, consultants, and insurance agents) in the city he lives in.

Each of the cards are very similar, but they're altered just a little bit for each industry.

He has all these cards set up into a sequential follow-up system that gets the prospect to call him for more information about his services.

Then he developed a list of local professionals in each of the industries and uploaded them into the system he uses.

He then just pushed a button.

Now he has a series of five cards going out to each professional, one every 20 days, and he gets all the business he can handle.

It's like poetry in motion.

Again, this guy is using http://www.SendReferralCards.com to automate the entire task.

Should You Be Asking More Questions?

by Sid Walker

When you make a statement in a sales interview, your client may or may not completely hear
what you are saying depending on what is going on in his mind at the time.

He or she may be trying to listen but can often be distracted by other things that are going
on in the background like worries, concerns, deadlines, etc.

However, when you ask your prospect or client a question, you get a much different response.

Here are six reasons it is more powerful to ask a question than to make a statement:

1. When someone asks us a question, our natural response is to try to answer the question.

2. Answering a question requires more attention, focus, and mental processing than just listening.

3. Your client likes the attention.

4. The client feels honored that you would ask for her thoughts on the subject.

5. It is more interesting to the client to be able to participate.

6. Your client will often discover more about what he thinks and feels about whatever subject he is talking about as he answers your question. He gets to hear what he has to say just as much as you do.

How about you? What do you think? Do you think it’s more powerful to ask a question rather than make a statement?

Do you like it when someone asks you a question?

Do you find yourself telling prospects or clients what you think before you ask them how they feel about it first?

Do you get a sense that there may be something to this “asking more questions” thing?

Do you notice that you tend to think people are smarter who ask a lot of questions?

Would you like people to think you are smart?

The next time you are getting ready to make a statement, would you consider turning it into a question instead and see if you like what happens?

Aren’t we all just waiting and hoping that someone will ask us a question?

On Thursday, September 25th and Thursday, October 2nd. Find out more and
reserve YOUR place at:


http://www.marketerschoice.com/app/?af=796698

10.5 Keys to Better Seminars- Friday Re-Broadcast

In case you missed Wednesday's presentation:

10.5 Keys to Seminar Success (Friday Morning Session) Join us for a Webinar on September 12 Space is limited. Reserve your Webinar seat now at: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/395176546 Adding seminars as a component to your multi-pronged marketing strategy makes sense ONLY if you are willing to work hard to do them RIGHT. Learn to avoid some common mistakes (even seminar vets make 'em!) AND increase the effectiveness and impact of your seminars. *Thinking about skipping the meal? Don''t Go There! *Why going "fancy" for your invitations might be a waste of money. *How free PR might be able to help you get more "derrieres in chairs." *That's INFOTAINMENT or:Yes, Virginia, content DOES count. Much much more! Plus, all paid attendees get a totally updated FAN goodie bag filled with so much information people will think you went back to college. I am also including a copy of David Frey's referral webinar- ABSOLUTELY FREE! Title: 10.5 Keys to Seminar Success (Friday Morning Session) Date: Friday, September 12, 2008 Time: 10:00 AM - PDT, NOON Central, 1PM Eastern

Tomorrow's Webinar on Seminar Marketing

Tammy de Leeuw: Grouchy Marketing Lady and Editor

Financial Advisor Netzone and Netzine

(no cigars were harmed in the making of this photo)

Give me an hour of your time and $15 of the cash you were going to use to buy junk food and I'll show you over ten seminar strategies that will MAKE YOU MORE MONEY.

Join us for:

10.5 KEYS TO SEMINAR SUCCESS.

Wednesday, September 10th at 9AM Pacific,

11 AM Central, NOON Eastern.

https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/849933350

Or, if that date isn't convenient, we will repeat the session on
FRIDAY, September 12th at 10:AM Pacific, Noon Pacific, 1PM Eastern

https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/395176546

Most seminars suck. You know that... I know that...

Let's find a way to fix the suckiness and get on with the business of
getting you more clients and making seminars a more AFFORDABLE AND EFFECTIVE part of your marketing system.

Join me for what I promise will be a FUN, PAINLESS hour of insider tips,
tricks and strategies designed to help you do ROCKIN' GREAT SEMINARS with less hassle

Learn why:

1. Expensive, fancy invitations may not be the key to getting "derrieres in chairs."

2. You can't blame it all on the compliance guy- how top producers have
effective seminars IN SPITE of compliance constraints.

3. "Gurus" who tell you you can avoid serving meals are full of BALONEY.

And a lot more! All with the famous Grouchy Graphics you know and love and these
bonuses:

*1001 Ways to Wow The Media- Ebook from TJ Walker ($99 Value!)

*Marketing With Events (a great way to supplement your seminar marketing!) a powerpoint and audio presentation ($37 Value)

*Goldmail "Mininars" On A Variety of Marketing and Sales Topics- Your brain will grow even larger!

Plus- some more stuff that is will make you glad you attended.

So, sign up today for the either the Wednesday session

https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/849933350

Or Friday session:

https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/395176546

Don't miss this chance to improve your seminar success for less than $1.50 a suggestion!
SUCH A DEAL!

So, You Need to Write A Press Release

by Tammy de Leeuw
Financial Advisor Netzone


One of the most powerful tools in your pursuit of SHAMELESS self-promotion is the press or media release.

Press releases, when done correctly, convey a sense of urgency, importance, and authority- exactly what you must have when you need people to NOTICE your message.

Press releases are a simple, yet effective way to place your message on the internet, in newspapers and trade newsletters. You can also include them as part of your seminar or new client packages.

The dean of modern-day public relations, RALEIGH PINSKEY, is offering FAN readers some very cool FREE software to help you craft the ULTIMATE PRESS RELEASE.

Go to this link and follow the instructions to create your press release. Then, stay tuned to FAN to find out how to use it!
http://blog.promoteyourself.com/

Other freebies on Raleigh's Blog:

1. MP3 of my August 12 teleseminar on PR, Branding, Publicity,
and Visibility Marketing

2. MP3 of How to Overcome the Fear of Promoting Yourself

3. How to Give the Best Darn Interview article.

This is very good material from the nation's leading public relations expert.
http://blog.promoteyourself.com

Another Referral Tip You Can Use

by Bill Cates
Referral Coach International

So, your client has given you the name of someone they think you should contact. Whether you asked for that referral or not, your next step is to learn about this new prospect and get a quality introduction. I've covered this quite often in past issues of The Referral Minute. What I want to talk about in this issue, is what your client says to the prospect.

Now, I can't give you the exact words - though I know you might like that. Everybody's situation is different; every advisor who is reading this email, every one of your clients, and every one of your prospects. What I can give you are some guidelines.

Some of your clients will know exactly what they need to say to pique the interest of their friend, family member, or colleague. Usually they will know this person's hot buttons and know how to push them. Honor this. While you might be able to tweak what they say a little here and there, trust that they know what to say.

For all of your other referral sources, you probably want to work with them on this just a wee bit more.

For instance, if someone says, "My friend Jay just sold his business and is getting a large chunk of cash very soon. I know he's not working with anyone experienced, and I'm going to TELL him to take your call." Roll with that. I'd be surprised if it didn't work.

On the other hand, if your client says, "I'm going to tell her that I bought some life insurance from you and that if she needs insurance, she should talk to you," we know that that's not a very strong introduction

Ask Your Clients What They Are Likely to Say to the Prospect

There are two reasons why you want to ask your clients what they think they will say to get the prospect interested:

1. You can monitor what they plan to say and help them adjust to a more effective introduction.
2. It's like practice for them. When it's time to talk to their friend, they'll be more confident and actually go through with the conversation. Asking them to talk it out with you first will give them more confidence.

You can accomplish this by saying, "What do you think you need to say to George to get him to take my call?" Or, perhaps, "I'm curious how you think you'll introduce the work I do to Martha. What are you likely to say?"

If you like their answer put your stamp of approval on it. If you don't like their response, then offer some suggestions.

I DO have a sample script for you and some more ideas about this, but first, listen to a word from our sponsor...

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Now back to The Referral Minute...

Less is Usually More

In most cases, a product-specific introduction is not the best - unless you pretty much only sell one product. For instance, if you are a LTCI specialist working with middle-age to senior clients, then you can certainly go that route.

For most people reading this newsletter, you have several (or even many) ways you can serve your clients. In this case, a product-specific introduction is not a good idea. Make the introduction about you, your integrity, your creativity, your overall value, etc.

So here's a sample Generic Script that might trigger some ideas for you to use in coaching your clients on what to say in their introductions:

CLIENT: "I'm just going to tell him that I bought an annuity from you, and that if he's interested, you're the best."

YOU: "Thanks for the kind words. I have another way that might be a little more effective. Can I run it by you?"

CLIENT: "Sure. I'm all ears."

YOU: "As you know, I offer a pretty wide range of financial services, and the work I do for George may be very different than what I do for you. How do you feel about saying something like, "George, I've been working with a financial professional lately who has really impressed me. She's bright, has a lot of integrity, really knows her stuff, and just might be a great resource for you. I think taking her call could prove to be very valuable to you. Should I have her contact you?"

CLIENT: "Yeah - I can say something like that. That's a lot better. Thanks."

I'd love to hear from you. Send your questions, comments, and best practices to me at:
info@referralcoach.com

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