Category Archives for Business

Consistency- The Key To Success

Consistency- The Key To Success

Hi Business Owner,

My name is Bob Britton, a fellow small business owner and President of Marketing Automation Group

On again off again. It’s a bad habit. And a very costly one for businesses. If you truly want to succeed and make big profits every year, you will have to be consistent.

We know one business owner who has OK marketing strategies, OK letters and OK ads. He does not have exceptional marketing strategies or ads. In fact you are way ahead of him in that category with this manual. But he consistently makes over $150,000 a year. He is consistent with his marketing strategies and his follow up. Yes it could be better, a lot better, but consistency is extremely important.

We also know another business owner who has some sensational ads, and some sensational letters. He barely makes $50,000 a year.

Why?

Simply because he is inconsistent. He doesn’t track his results. He doesn’t really know what is working and what isn’t.

A lot of people will tell you “This is working for me” and then when you analyze the numbers, you find out it’s not. The same is true for things people don’t think are working. Unless you know your numbers, you don’t know what’s working and what’s not.

Every time we talk to this business owner, he tells us how he is too busy to send thank you letters. And every time we say to ourselves “well, he won’t be too busy in a few months.” Then the next time we talk to him, it’s the same old story- ‘It’s dead, I don’t have any business.

He can’t figure out why this happens. It’s quite simple, but he won’t take the time and effort to be consistent.

If you have any questions, need some immediate advice, or would like to get involved with my program please give me a call at 585-633-7563.

To your success,

Bob Britton

Are You Tracking Your Results?

Are You Tracking Your Results?

Hi Business Owner,

My name is Bob Britton, a fellow small business owner and President of Marketing Automation Group

Why you must track your results:

If you don’t know what’s working and what’s not, you’ll have no way to increase your business.

Things aren’t always as they seem. You can’t guess whether something is working or not. You must keep track of the numbers and let them tell you.

Ad A: This is a Val-Pak type ad. You advertised a “computer tune-up”. It costs $350.00 to run it. It goes to 10,000 prospects. You get 30 clients from it.

Ad B: This is a direct mail piece. It costs $400.00 to send it to 500 prospects. You get 11 new clients.

Which is better? At first it may seem that A is better, but look at the rest of the numbers.

Ad A: The 30 clients generated, had an average ticket of $59.00. Twenty four out of 30 complained that your prices were too high. Three of them rescheduled another service appointment in 6 months.

Ad B: The 11 clients generated had an average ticket of $137.00. Zero of them complained about the price. Nine of them rescheduled in 6 months. And 7 of them bought other products and services you offer. Eight of them referred at least one client to you within 1 month of their visit.

As you can see, you made $750.00 ($25.00 x 30) off the front end of A. Ad A cost you $350.00. That’s $400.00 left. The backend isn’t very big, two clients in 6 weeks. – another $50.00 if they keep appointments.

Ad B on the other hand generated $1,507.00 on the front end ($137.00 x 11). The back end is even bigger with all those referrals, pre-booked appointments, etc. The coast of ad B was $400.00, so that’s $1,107 left- that’s more than ad a generated after the costs of the ad!

We hope now you can see why you must keep close track of your numbers. Some methods may be misleading where you think you are doing great but really you aren’t.

Don’t have an ‘idea’ whether something is working well. Know your numbers and know for sure!

If you have any questions, need some immediate advice, or would like to get involved with my program please give me a call at 585-633-7563.

To your success,

Bob Britton

How To Get Your Yellow Page Ad To Your Target Market Without Paying The Yellow Page Company

How To Get Your Yellow Page Ad To Your Target Market Without Paying The Yellow Page Company

Hi Business Owner,

My name is Bob Britton, a fellow small business owner and President of Marketing Automation Group

There is a separate booklet that came with your program that covers all the things you should be doing to MAXIMIZE your response to your yellow page advertising.

BUT there is another, very effective way to get your yellow page to your target market WITHOUT giving the yellow page company a ton of money every month.

This strategy to this will SHOCK you.

Are you ready?

DON’T ADVERTISE IN THE YELLOW PAGES

Waite a minute Bob, how are local customers supposed to find me? All my competitors are in the yellow pages. Now I think you have totally lost your mind – it must be the heat! Right?

Wrong!

We are going to show you right now how to get in the book without paying. And multiply your response results up to 20 times all for a fraction of the cost of a yellow page ad.

By the way the last time we looked into yellow page advertising in our town it was $50,000 for a full page ad, FIFTY GRAND, that’s a lot of green backs.

Before we tell you this one little strategy that can transform your bank account I want to clear up some realities about yellow page advertising, OK?

Most yellow page advertising does NOT work because it is missing all the elements of a successful ad. An ad in the yellow pages is NO different than any type of print ad. The paper it is printed on is yellow, that’s it.
Yellow page ad reps don’t know squat about advertising. All they want you to do is buy the biggest ad because then their commissions are bigger.
Most “big” companies have their advertising agency’s design their yellow page ad. Advertising reps don’t know squat about effective track-able advertising. The first question and adverting company will ask you is “what is your advertising budget?” You tell them and they proceed to spent it all with little tangible results.

Here is the strategy.

Design your ad like we show you how in your “Reinventing Your Yellow Page Ad System” (a full page ad). Get it printed on yellow newspaper just like a full page ad in a yellow page book and MAIL it to your surrounding area with a letter like the one we give you.

If you have any questions, need some immediate advice, or would like to get involved with my program please give me a call at 585-633-7563.

To your success,

Bob Britton

Never Rely On Walk-Ins Again

Never Rely On Walk-Ins Again

Hi Business Owner,

My name is Bob Britton, a fellow small business owner and President of Marketing Automation Group

The same old stuff that everyone is doing, which is luring walk-ins into the store by advertising price, just doesn’t work.

And Relying Strictly On Walk-ins Doesn’t Cut it

If you properly use Direct Response Marketing you will a full service schedule and walk-ins will be “icing on the cake” for you. . Just think, your days will be all booked up with qualified clients who are willing to pay the prices you deserve.

Don’t get us wrong, walk-ins can be nice filler. But, you CAN”T build a highly profitable business relying on walk-ins as your sole marketing tool. This required Direct Response.

The people that walk-in have read nothing about your extraordinary service and therefore have had no value-built in your business and will be more price resistant.

It costs you in the long run; it’s harder to build up your business. It will take longer to be a success. If you rely solely on it, you’ll most likely be at the same place in 5 years as you are now. Stop relying on walk-ins, and start Direct Response Marketing and join the top 1% businesses.

If you have any questions, need some immediate advice, or would like to get involved with my program please give me a call at 585-633-7563.

To your success,

Bob Britton

Do you ever feel tongue tied?

Hi Business Owner,

My name is Bob Britton, a fellow small business owner and President of Marketing Automation Group

Here are the most important words you can use when dealing with people to BREAK down any resistance they might have in dealing with you:

• No Problem
• I Understand
• I’d Be Happy To
• Please Allow Me
• I’m Confident…
• Easiest Part Of My Job
• Would You Do Me A Small Favor?
• Please, Tell Me No

So how can you use these words in your business?

Here are some examples:
• Someone calls to reschedule a service appointment; you say “No Problem, I understand I’d be happy to,”
• You want to ask for a referral or testimonials – you say “Would you do me a small favor?” “Please tell me no if your not comfortable doing this for me”
• You want to try a new service or product with a client – You say “please allow me to (whatever) I’m confident it will be terrific”

Make sure you train your staff to use these words as well.

The you communicate with your clients = More money in your bank account.

If you have any questions, need some immediate advice, or would like to get involved with my program please give me a call at 585-633-7563.

To your success,

Bob Britton

Are Your Employees Answering The Telephone Properly?

Are Your Employees Answering The Telephone Properly?

Hi Business Owner,

My name is Bob Britton, a fellow small business owner and President of Marketing Automation Group.


I am almost 100% sure that your employees are not answering the phone properly, and it’s hurting your business.

Let me explain.

The most common ‘short cut’ an employee will make is to answer the phone the following way, “NAME of business, this is Cindy.” And more often than not, and maybe every time, they sound like they either don’t want to be there, are super busy, or they are short with customers.

There are many philosophies on how one should answer the phone, but a proven technique is to smile and say, “Name of business, how can I help you?”

You may be thinking there is little difference. But the beauty is in the details. Saying, “How can I help you” makes your potential client feel more important. Saying, “…this is Cindy” makes you customer feel like the person answering the phone is more important. 

You want the customer to feel empowered, not the other way around.

We are constantly training and re training our staff on this point because they do have a tendency to fall into the “This is Cindy” routine. But not often because we call all the time and make sure they are doing it right.

Here’s why: 



The First Contact Is The Most Important!

The first contact a customer makes with your business is the most important because it will create a lasting impression of your business and they will decide right then and there if they want to be a part of it.



Make time for this strategy right away…

Call your business and pretend you are a customer several times in a one or two week period, and do it once a month. Use a towel or something to disguise your voice. Consider recording the conversation for training purposes (check your states laws on
recording conversations if you are not comfortable with it, or you are not sure it’s legal to do so.)

Note how the phone is answered and how friendly your staff sounds. See if they handle your questions well. Do they ask you to come into the store? Do they set up a service appointment? 

If they do not answer the phone in a friendly manner, or handle it properly, fix it right away, especially if they are not sounding friendly and helpful. 

If they use the “This is Cindy” routine, or they sound like they are annoyed or don’t want to be there, you have a major problem to fix.

Train your staff regularly in this crucial area and you will experience surprising results from your efforts.

If you have any questions, need some immediate advice, or would like to get involved with my program please give me a call at 585-633-7563.

To your success,

Bob Britton

ARE YOU a Professional?

Hi Business Owner,

My name is Bob Britton, a fellow small business owner and President of Marketing Automation Group.

ARE YOU A Professional?

What we mean by this is:

Have a clean store.

Have everyone dress professionally- (uniforms are an option that can raise the professionalism of a business).

Put protective floor mats in the clients’ vehicle when you get in?

The public can be skeptical about anybody these days. The reason is because there are a lot of inexperienced automotive techs out there who can’t fix their own car let alone someone else’s which leaves clients angry. You must overcompensate for the ones that give auto techs a bad reputation. Granted this is unfair, but it’s the way it is.

We’ve seen many automotive shops where the carpets are filthy, the store looks “junky” and the employees look like Cindy Lauper on a bad hair day. We’ve even seen employees who dressed like they were getting ready for a hippie Halloween party. Granted, there is nothing wrong with a sense of style and fashion, but if you want high quality clients you should be providing them with an atmosphere of professionalism.

You must look clean, neat and be organized. This earns people’s trust and respect. It probably is no surprise to you that the stores with employees like the one above can only charge on the low end of the price scale for their services.

Clean stores & neat employees are important. Do you think people will pay top dollar to go into a dirty, cluttered store with broken down computer parts scattered everywhere. Absolutely not.

We’re not saying you have to be a brand new store but we are saying that your store and your employees need to look good.

If you have any questions, need some immediate advice, or would like to get involved with my program please give me a call at 585-633-75633.

To your success,

Bob Britton

Are you sending out a newsletter each month? If not, you’re losing big sales.

Are you sending out a newsletter each month? If not, you’re losing big sales.

Hi Business Owner,

My name is Bob Britton, a fellow small business owner and President of Marketing Automation Group.

Mailing a newsletter to your client base each month will always more than pay for itself in increased sales. We see a spike in business the week the newsletter hits our client’s mailbox. Emailing your newsletter is not as effective as mailing it in the regular mail but it is better than doing nothing.

It takes a lot of work to put together a decent newsletter and we are NOT suggesting that you research topics and write your own newsletter each month to your clients. It is not the best use of your time. We have a “Business Newsletter” service where we do everything for you for a small monthly fee.

The way this works is every month you will get from us an email with a 4-page newsletter on it. All you have to do is fill in your specific information in a certain sections we have set aside for you. Then you print and have the newsletter mailed to your client list. You can also have copies in your store to give your clients.

This is a great way to keep your name and business in front of your clients. It is also a great way to announce information you want them to know. They will think that you personally sat down and wrote the newsletter. They will think you spent a lot of time putting it together. They will thank you for all the neat information.

Please send an email to our office if you are interested in finding out the details of our newsletter program.

If you have any questions, need some immediate advice, or would like to get involved with my program please give me a call at 585-633-7563.

To your success,

Bob Britton

Do You Wow Your Client?

Do You Wow Your Client?

Hi Business Owner,

My name is Bob Britton, a fellow small business owner and President of Marketing Automation Group.

You want your client to be in ‘awe’ after doing business with you.

Does this sound hard?

It may. But it’s really easy.

It’s easy because most businesses do a lousy job. They don’t even do what they are supposed to do. Of course they don’t do anything ‘extra’. So it’s easy for you to stand out!

What do you do to WOW your clients?

One it business owner gives all their clients a free mouse pad and can of air Before you think she is crazy, let’s analyze this:

She gives this to her clients after their first visit to her store. It costs her $6.00 per mouse pad and can of air. She puts a label on the can of air and the mouse pad has all her information on it. She tells them to spray their keyboard every week to clear the dust away. People love this.

Then she says if they ever run out come back in and I’ll give you another one- it’s for free-forever!

So it costs her $6.00 to give her client an extraordinary feeling and “tie” them to her forever. That’s pretty cheap! Of course, you don’t have to offer the exact same thing. If you have a product that you can acquire at a relatively low cost, but would have a high end perceived value to your clients- then offer it.

But, our friend doesn’t stop there.

She also gives her clients a free MEMO board to go on their refrigerator. With her company name and number on it. On the pack she puts personal tips.

Her clients feel special. The memo board coasts her $2.00.

For a onetime total cost of $8.00 she WOWS her client.

Do you think they would ever go to any other business for computer related products and services?

Not on your life!

They are loyal as can be.

70% of her business is repeat business. That means she spend $8.00 to get a client and each time they come back it’s cheaper and cheaper. This is brilliant.

Not only does she get nearly 70% repeat business but she gets 26% of her business from referrals!

If you keep splitting that $8.00 by all the clients it generates, you’ll realize why this is so powerful.

Why Don’t More Businesses Do This?

Most business owners look at it as an expense. This is stupid. It is the cheapest and easiest way to get repeat business and lots of referrals.

But most don’t look at the whole picture. They just look at the cost. This is ridiculous but you can really benefit from their shortsightedness!

If you have any questions, need some immediate advice, or would like to get involved with my program please give me a call at 585-633-7563.

To your success,

Bob Britton

Do You Always Make Your Client Feel Important?

Do You Always Make Your Client Feel Important?

Hi Business Owner,

My name is Bob Britton, a fellow small business owner and President of Marketing Automation Group.

This is very, very important. You should always, always make all your clients feel like they are your most important client. It doesn’t matter how much money they have or their social status, make every client feel like they are number 1.

A client who feels important will be a super, great client.

He/she will:

Keep using you over and over again.
He/she never look for a different computer problem solver.
He/she refer lots of new clients to you.
He/she rarely complain about anything. If clients are thrilled with you, they’ll let the little mistakes pass. They realize that no matter how good you are there are always some mess-ups. Clients who feel important are much less likely to hold anything against you.

How do you make a client feel important?

Respond to their calls, questions, whatever immediately. Don’t make people wait, answer their questions that day, or at the latest the next day.

Always treat your clients with respect.
Always help them with their problem, even if it’s something they should do themselves. They’ll appreciate it very much and pay you back ten fold.

Never underestimate your client. If you treat every client like your most important client, you’ll have more business than you can handle.

If you have any questions, need some immediate advice, or would like to get involved with my program please give me a call at 585-633-7563.

To your success,

Bob Britton