Chapter One: Internet Marketing
Chapter Two: Direct Mail
* Your Tireless Sales Force 16
* The Reasons You Should Use Direct Mail 18
* The Giant Companies Use Direct Mail 19
* Put A Salesperson At Your Customer’s Convenience 19
* Generate New Business 20
* Direct Mail’s Many Uses 20
* The Wizard Speaks 24
* How to Make Direct Mail Work for You! 25
* Putting the Package Together 26
* Getting the Right List 30
* Using Computers To Target Your Best Mailing List 31
* Test, Test, and Test Again 36
* A Step-by-Step Guide To Writing Effective Sales Letters and Brochures 38
* The Seven Essentials of Powerful Sales Letters 39
* Present The Facts, State The Basic Truths 44
* How Long Should Your Letters Be? 57
* Read Your Mail, See What “They” Are Doing 61
* Fancy Stationery Offers No Advantage 61
* Layout and Art 65
* Envelopes 67
* Get Immediate Action 70
* Action Stimulators 73
* Other Techniques To Close More Sales 76
* That Personal Touch 79
* Copywriting — To Outsource, Or Not To Outsource… That Is The Question 80
* Analyzing the Copy 91
* Human Interest Direct Response Copy 92
* Use Connecting Words… 93
* Joe Karbo’s Advice 94
* The Power of Customer Endorsements 97
* Use Testimonials 97
* More On Testimonials Boosting Response 98
* Crafting Your Brochure 100
* Coupons Can Help You Track Response 102
* Send Your Clients An Unexpected Gift 103
* Tactics to Maximize Your Results — and Profits 104
* The Power Of Affinity — Turning Affinity Into Revenue 104
* Drastically Increase Revenue By Regaining Inactive Clients 107
* Reestablish Contact 108
* Regular Communication is Key 110
* Arrange Third-Party Deals 111
* Use Courtesy Mailings to Rev Up Sales 113
* Planning Regularly Scheduled Contact with Customers 114
* Continuity in Correspondence 114
* Become a Customer Or Client’s Pen Pal 117
* Finding Your Ideal Customer 118
* A Lesson in Efficiency 119
* Use a Targeted List 120
* A Simple Way to Build a Potent Customer Mailing List 121
* Building the Database 123
* Mathematical Modeling 126
* Renting Mailing Lists 129
* If You Know a Company That Is Going Out Of Business, Buy Their Customers and The Right to
* Fulfill on Orders 133
* Restructuring the Customer Capturing System and Database 135
* Segmenting the Customer List 136
* Fully Utilize Your Customer List 136
* Reactivating Old Customers & Clients 138
* Contacting New Customers 144
* Focus Your Efforts 146
* Your Most Important Asset Is Your Customer List 147
* How To Look At A Name: The Value Of A Specific Customer 148
* Acquiring Qualified Lists 150
* Offer A Consideration To The Host For The Benefit Of His/Her List 153
* Mailing List Rental Is Another Income Generator 155
* Testing Can’t Be Stressed Enough! 157
* Four Key Rules Most Direct Marketers Overlook 158
* Mailing And Postage 158
* Media 159
* Distribution 160
* Follow-Up 162
* Fund Raising 164
* Offers 166
* Printing and Typography 167
* Products 168
* Sampling 169
* Special Occasions 169
* Specialty Advertising 169
* Show Me The Money! 170
* Cost Per Thousand 170
* Cost Per Order 174
* Projecting and Budgeting 175
* More Detail on Testing: Scientific Testing For Increased Response 177
* Some Ideas On What To Test 180
* Now Let’s Test The Tester — You! 184
* More Tips To Stimulate Your Creativity 185
* 34 Ways To Make Direct Mail Work For Your Customers 188
* Letters That Increase Profits Like Crazy 190
* More Examples 203
* Pulling More Income Out of the Client’s Customer Base 210
* Selling Products to a List Never Before Mailed 211
* Boiler-Plate Scenarios: Four Simple Letters to Instantly Boost Profits by $25,000 211
* Selling High Ticket Items 218
* Identifying Potential Clients: Prefacing Letters to Set Up a Potential Client for Your Phone Call 219
* Letters to Solicit Clients in Vertical Markets 228
* Four Letters That Keep Customers Coming Back — and Profits Rolling In 231
* Industry Suggestions 235
* Great Examples 240
Chapter Three: Public Relations
* What Is Publicity? 270
* Work the Publicity and Public Relations Machine to Your Advantage 272
* Be Alert To Promotion Opportunities — Call Them 273
* Most Businesses Fail Because They Neglect to Promote Their Business 274
* Know Who Your Customers Are 274
* Promote Your Business To Them 275
* Find the Unique Hook 277
* The Nine Points of a Good News Release 277
* Don’t Waste the Valuable Time of the Media With Unimportant Trivia 278
* How to Generate Real News 279
* Quality Over Quantity 279
* Know Where To Put What 279
* Use the Consumerism Angle 281
* Targeting News Releases 283
* Zeroing In On A Target 284
* The Case of the Ketchup King 285
* The Three Agendas of Public Relations: 288
* Most People Mismanage PR in a Crisis 290
* Four Quick Ways to Get Print PR 290
* The Benefits of Using Radio for Publicity 291
* You Must Tell the Right Story 293
* Your Story Is Not An Expanded Advertising Message 294
* Remember: The Press Does Not Owe You a Living! 294
* Tie Your Story To Top National Stories vs. Top Local Stories 295
* Your Story Should Piggyback Something Newsworthy 295
* Add Your Story as a “Spin” on the Trend 296
* To Make Your Story Relevant Add A “Twist” Or “Hook” 299
* How to Fit the Consumer Into Your Story 300
* Get Your Story Taken Seriously, Not Just Half-Read and Thrown in the Trash 301
* Step-By-Step Procedure 302
* How to Orchestrate a Perfect Appearance 306
* How to Pitch Your Product Without Failing on your Face 307
* When To Pitch Your Product 308
* Be Prepared to Receive the Response 308
* How Publicity Can Feed a Starving Company 309
* Direct Contact Can Push Publicity 309
* PR Ideas 310
* Examples of Story Angles for Media: 314
* Seize the Opportunity to Create More and Better Media Coverage 317
* Don’t Forget to Say Thank You in a Meaningful Way 317
* Make Media Relations a Two-Way Street 318
* Am I Important Enough to Be Called By Name? 318
* Should I Retain the Services of a Professional Publicist or Public Relations Firm? 318
* Are You Prepared for the Response? 319
* Always, Always Make Time for the Press! 320
* Acquiring Qualified Lists 323
* Distinguish Yourself Through Charity 323
* Doctor Marc Rogers’ Magic Top Ten News Release Templates 324
* How To Use These Templates 324
* Template #1: New product or service launch 327
* Template #2: New business scores 329
* Template #3: Winning an award 332
* Template #4: New appointments 335
* Template #5: Anniversaries 337
* Template #6: Business expansion 339
* Template #7: Surveys 343
* Template #8: Issues 346
* Template #9: Charities and Sponsorship 349
* Template #10: “Competition” 351
* Excerpts from Consulting Calls 352
* Use the Holiday Season to Improve Your Business 364
* Drawings Draw Customers 364
* Forget Cards — Send a Holiday Letter 364
* Host a Party — a Big Party 365
* Distinguish Yourself Through Charity 365
* Public Relations Excerpts from One of My Seminars 371
Chapter Four: Offer Special Events for Customers and Prospects
* Run Special Events (“Closed door” sales, preferred customer offers) 403
* Using Special Events to Bring in First Time Buyers 403
* Special Events Can Serve Many Purposes 404
* Consider Having A Ongoing Series of Special Events 405
* Using Special Events for Existing Customer Base 405
* Using the Media to Attract People to Your Special Event 406
* Make Special Offers for Existing Customers 407
* Special Events for Preferred Customers 408
* Using Special Events to Move Products 409
* Special Events to Make Customers Feel Special 410
* Offer “Preferred Customer” Discounts 410
* Keys to a Successful Special Event 411
* Examples and Ideas for Special Events 412
* The Best Programs Recognizing the Customer as Someone Special 436
* A Conversation with Fran Tarkenton 438
* Set Yourself Apart From Competitors 439
* A Conversation with Chet Holmes 440
Chapter Five: Marketing Your Unused Assets
* Make an Inventory of Your “Hidden” Assets 444
* Use Your Competitors’ Resources 445
* Sell Your Unconverted Leads to Competitors 446
* Licensing Your Products and Services 448
* How To License Your Own Concepts 448
* Market Ideas You’ve Learned Here To Your Industry Or Local Businesses 450
Chapter Six: Buying Other Businesses
* The Dealmaker: The Philosophy Of Putting Deals Together 453
* Know Your Business Purpose 453
* Are You Ambitious? 454
* Finding Your Business 454
* The Reason Those Businesses are for Sale 455
* The Proposal 457
* How Do You Turn the Business Around? 459
* Putting Deals Together 460
* Where You Find Good Deals 461
* Don’t Do It If You Can’t Buy Low 462
* The Dealmaker As Strategist 462
* Establishing Yourself As A Dealmaker 463
* How To Make A Lasting Impression 464
* Regarding Your Reputation 464
* The Bank That Got Away 465
* How To Buy A Bankrupt Bank 466
* The Auction 466
* Why It Didn’t Work 467
* Words of Wisdom from Tom Phillips, Entrepreneur 467
Chapter Seven: Barter
* An Overlooked Profit Opportunity 471
* Create Purchasing Power At Will 471
* Increase Your Sales With Barter 473
* Pay Hard Costs With Soft Dollars 474
* Get Easy Terms of Your Choosing 476
* Leverage Your Dollars with Barter 477
* How to Approach People for Barter Deals 478
* Remember, You Sell the Benefits and the Advantages 479
* Barter for Advertising 480
* You Can Use Barter to Finance Growth 481
* Turn Excess or Obsolete Inventory into Cash 484
* Recycle Dollars Right Back Into Your Pocket 484