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Building Trust with Your Prospects by Using Case Studies

May 2, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Dan Janal

Publicity Expert Dan Janal

Nearly every public relations campaign can be improved by using a case study.

A case study is a publicity tactic that shows how one or more of your clients have used your product or service and benefited from it.

Prospects love to be convinced by reading case studies because people love to read stories. A case study is simply a business story.

This article by publicity expert Dan Janal will show you how to create great case studies that you can use on your web site, sales kit or media kit.

Like all stories, this free publicity strategy has a format you can easily follow.

1.     Client has a problem. Describe it as visually and emotionally as you can.
2.     Client tried various solutions but none worked. Describe in a little bit of detail. After all you can’t learn from something that didn’t work, so don’t dwell on it.
3.     Client heard about your product or service. Explain how, briefly, i.e. a friend told him about the product, or she read about it in a magazine.
4.     Client tried your service and got great results. Describe in lots of detail and with as many numbers as you can how the client benefited, i.e. web traffic increased by 20 percent, or sales increased by 10 percent.
5.     Show them what to do next. How can they contact you? Put in your phone number, website, email address and other contact points, including social media.

That’s it!

It couldn’t be any easier.
If you’d like to see samples, search Google for “case studies” in your industry. You are bound to find many examples to model.

Be sure to use current examples. Nothing looks worse than seeing old material. People will wonder if you’ve done anything noteworthy in a long time! You can see some of the case studies we’ve written for our clients.

You can also send case studies to the media in your press releases. You can learn to do that at PressReleaseSender.com

Filed Under: Marketing

How to Find Your Ideal Coaching Client Who Won’t Drive You Crazy

April 5, 2012 By Leave a Comment

3 Steps to Identifying Your Key Customer

When I coach my clients, and I ask them who their ideal client is, they usually say, “Everyone.”

That’s because they honestly believe that their message can help everyone.

And it probably can.

The trouble is, the market doesn’t like solutions that appeal to the masses. They want their own customized solution, or at least someone who is an expert in their industry.

There isn’t a prospect alive who hasn’t said to you, “But my business is different.”

The key to winning that business is to focus on the prospects who are your best fit.
Here are three questions I ask my coaching clients to explore so they can find their best prospects and their idea customer.

Question 1. Who do you like to work with? Yes, it is all about you. Why shouldn’t you work with people you want to work with? People who get you and understand you? People you like and understand? What could be worse than dealing with a person who is the epitome of everything you hate? If that’s the case, you might as well get a job.

Question 2. Who are the people who like to work with you? Let’s face it. We’re not a perfect fit for everyone. Some people don’t like the fact you won’t work past 6 p.m. at night, won’t take business calls on weekends and won’t cut your rates to rock bottom just because they asked. Who needs them? I’m sure you can find lots of other attributes you hate in clients (i.e. Type A personalities, people who can’t make decisions, people who don’t pay their bills on time, people who see the negative in everything, people who don’t praise your work. You get the idea.) Who needs them? Life is too short to work with jerks.

Question 3. They can afford to pay you. Just because you can help everyone in the world doesn’t mean you have to help everyone in the world. Some people will not want to pay your full fee or can’t afford to hire you. Your skill set might help the help people just out of college, as well as helping the vice president who wants to get move into the president’s office. Who has more money to pay you? Unless your passion is to help people just out of college, go for the gold. And there’s nothing wrong with wanting to help the college student if that’s where your heart is. Follow your heart and you’ll feel fulfilled, which might be better than money.

Helping people who want you to help them and get paid a fair wage  – Isn’t that what running your business is all about?

To see how I pre-select my clients, check out my coaching services page at http://www.PublicityLeadstoProfits.com

Filed Under: Marketing, publicity thought leader, thought leadership

Groupon’s Marketing Lesson: Do You Know Who Your Customers Are?

February 21, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Everyone’s concerned about Google keeping tabs on your privacy. Here’s one group of businesses that apparently don’t keep tabs on you – restaurateurs.

Here’s the story.

Goda CafeI bought a Groupon for a restaurant. I actually buy lots of them – Groupon has taught me never to pay full price for a meal – but that’s another story. I actually buy more food than the Groupon is worth so the restaurant can actually make money – but that’s another story.

Here’s the story.

My wife and I went to the Goda Cafe, a superb hole-in-the-wall restaurant (and I say that with all due respect. Most hole-in-the-wall restaurants are great). They served Ethiopian food. The owner was marvelously charming.

He immediately welcomed us and called us “friend.” Nice touch.

We asked him what was good. We understood steak, chicken and tilapia, but didn’t know anything about the spices. He gave us a good overview and we ordered.

Then we sat down to wait for the takeout order. The restaurant was in a dicey part of town and we thought it might be better to eat at home and watch TV.

Two minutes later, he brought out two bowls of soup and two bottles of water – on the house!

Nice touch.

Twenty minutes later, the food was cooked and placed in white, Styrofoam containers. But instead of getting our money and sending us on our way, he asked my wife to sample the food to make sure it was good.

It was!

Very good.

We paid and as we left, he gave us two more bottles of water.

“In the Sahara,” he said, “People give water to friends when they leave their house.”

Nice touch.

That would have been the end of a nice customer service story, but here’s the rest of the story.

I told this story to my buddy Stuart Gray who consults with restaurants. I thought he’d be bowled over by this wonderful customer service story.

Remarkable Service

Stuart Gray's Remarkable Service for restaurant owners

Instead, he replied, “Did they put you on a list? Do they know how to reach you again?

Uh, no.

Well, I guess Groupon knows, but I hear that Groupon will gladly sell that info to the restaurant. I wish my new friend had thought to ask.

Oh well.

Do you know who your customers are? Do you give visitors a way to identify themselves to you and join your lists, read your blogs or connect with you on Facebook (which is going to become the dominant search marketing tool and customer retention tool)? If not, why not? You are letting repeat business slip through your fingers.

Filed Under: Marketing, thought leadership

Publicity Tactic: Are Your Biggest Competitors Really Your Best Friends?

August 9, 2011 By Leave a Comment

My article on Publicity Ethics last week really struck a chord. I received many “good job” messages and only a handful of unsubs.

Vijay asked a good question. Could I provide examples of “co-opetition” the word that means how to work with your competitors?

Some of my best friends are “competitors.” That is, we all offer PR services to authors, speakers, coaches, consultants and small businesses. However, we all offer a slightly different part of the publicity puzzle.

I provide leads and press releases.

Joan Stewart, the Publicity Hound, offers advice and training materials.
Jess Todfeld, Karen Friedman, Shawne Duperon, TJ Walker and Susan Harrow offer media training. They are all in different parts of the country, so I can match prospects with them based on geography and fit.

Jonathan Bernstein offers crisis communications counseling.

Bruce Freeman pitches the media.

Of course, I’m pals with Jill Lublin, Steve Harrison, Bill Harrison, Jim Bowman, Mark Harty, David Mathison, Nancy Juetten, Raleigh Pinsky, David Newman, Alex Carrol, Rick Frishman, Robert Stack, and a zillion other people who have helped me and vice versa.

While we are all in PR, we all do different parts of PR, so we can freely refer clients to each other knowing that we are helping our clients find the best person for the job.

That’s co-opetition.

We also might exchange small commissions (or not, depending on the relationship) and that sweetens the pot.

We also can pick up the phone and call each other to get feedback on our problems and insights into our ideas. I’ve killed many projects when my buddies told me the idea was stupid or already done. And I’ve had ideas made better with the suggestions of my co-opetitors.

There’s an old saying in the martial arts that you use your opponents force to your advantage. If he punches, you use that momentum to thrown him.

The same is true with co-opetition. If you try to fight your opponents, you waste energy and can get a fist in the face. If you use their momentum, you win, they win and the mutual client wins.

Try it.

Who are your biggest competitors? Can they turn into natural allies?

Filed Under: book marketing, branding, Marketing, Uncategorized

Publicity and Marketing Tips from a Million Dollar Realtor

April 4, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Recently, I got a voicemail from a Realtor named Louie. I won’t use his last name since I didn’t speak to him or ask his permission. But don’t worry. This is not an embarrassing story. In fact, it is the story of a hero and a person I think I admire. Here’s the story.

Louie leaves a message on my voicemail saying he is a Realtor, and has appeared on HGTV. He wants to sell my house. My first thought was I don’t want to sell my house. My second thought was that he had a nice voice and a winning persona on the phone. But I decided to check him out anyway. After all, he’s on HGTV. He must be a star.
I went to his web site and saw his credentials. He’s one of top 20 salespeople in his nationwide company of hundreds or thousands of Realtors. He has a zillion video clips of him appearing on a local TV news show as their real estate expert. He’s a pro through and through.

You know what impressed me most about Louie?

Two things, actually.

First, he makes good use of his media. I always preach that to my clients. He’s a stud!

Second, as successful as he is, he still makes cold calls!

Mind you, I’ll never make a cold call in my life. I hate them. You probably do as well. That’s okay. I’m not about to say you should do cold calls. I do other marketing tactics, like ezines, blogs, articles and press releases.

But he found a marketing tactic that worked for him and he did it again and again and again. He even left a similar message on my wife’s voice mail.

The point is, he didn’t delegate marketing to a flunky. He didn’t rest on his laurels. Instead, he dug in his heels and he kept marketing, every darned day without fail.

You might have noticed that the Real Estate industry is on the ropes and has been for several years. Does that sound like your business?

I have two questions for you.

Are you like Louie? Do you want to be like Louie?

Then pick a few marketing tasks that you like to do and that are effective. Then do them over and over and over again.

I’d suggest you write press releases that contain info about what’s new in your business, or “how to” information that you might have written as an article. Or even an opinion piece that you might have written for your blog. All those are good fodder for a press release that can help your web site be found in the search engines.

For information about this, please go to http://www.PressReleaseSender.com and read about my guaranteed publicity program. It really works!

Filed Under: General Advice, Marketing, publicity Tagged With: , , , ,

Is Your Website Speaking the Same Language as Your Prospects?

August 2, 2010 By 1 Comment

I recently visited Madrid and had a wonderful time. But at many times, I felt like a stranger in a strange land. I realized that feeling affects many visitors to your website. Here’s why

Your website prospects are like tourists in a foreign country. They don’t know you. They don’t trust you. They have many other vendors to choose from. They want to buy something like yours from someone like you. It could be you if you do the right things. It won’t be you if you don’t.

Here are five keys to improving your website so you connect with your prospects.

1. State your price. Many restaurants posted pictures of the food they served, but didn’t post the prices. I avoided those restaurants. How would I know what the price was? Why should I risk embarrassment by going inside sit and seeing the menu with prices that I didn’t want to pay? Why would I want to waste my time? The prospects who see your website are the same way. They are tired, scared, impatient and distrustful. Don’t make people hunt for it. – unless there’s a darned good reason.

2. Make an attempt to speak the language of your customer. Yes, I tried to study Spanish and learn a few words. In some cases, I got by quite nicely in others, we were both lost. Don’t expect your website visitor to speak your language which has technical jargon, nuance, and insider knowledge. You must be willing to listen to the prospect and speak at her level.

3. Use the phone. I wanted to go to Spain to learn Spanish and also to see the sights. I went to Google to find language courses in Madrid. I found quite a few. Only one had a notice that they would call me if I had any questions. I put in my phone number and a good time to call. They did. I asked my question and signed up for the course. By talking to a real person (on their dime), I knew the company was real. I couldn’t know that if I hadn’t talked to them. Does your website invite communication? Do you hide behind email or do you get off your butt and pick up the phone. A few minutes on the phone can do a lot to calm fears and build trust.

4. Get the right person to call prospects. If you don’t want to call prospects, then hire someone who will. This step is too important to overlook. I don’t like talking to prospects. I’d much rather spend my time training, consulting, coaching and speaking. So I hired someone who likes to sell. This is a case of 1 plus 1 equals three. I do what I like to do; she does what she likes to do; and the company grows and clients get the service they need.

5. Don’t wear out your welcome. I could have stayed in Madrid for two weeks. I actually cleared by schedule in case I wanted to add another week. And on my last day in Madrid, I seriously considered staying. I had done most, but not all of the things I wanted to do. And it is true that I might discover things that I hadn’t even known about. But I’d rather leave early and want more than stay too late and be bored. For marketers, the message is to answer your prospects questions, but don’t bore them with all the details and features they might not care about. When you’ve made the sale, then bow out gracefully.

If you follow these tips, you’ll be speaking a new language of profits with your prospects.

Dan Janal is an early thought leader in the field of publicity and the Internet. He delivers thought-provoking keynote speeches across the world. For information about his seminars, go to http://www.janal.com

Dan Janal is a very successful entrepreneur, professional speaker and marketing coach who helps clients build their businesses by improving their strategy for using publicity, marketing, Internet marketing, e-commerce and sales. For more information, go to

http://www.prleadsplus.com

This article can be published on your website or ezine. Contact dan @ prleads for permission.

Filed Under: internet marketing, Marketing

Position Yourself as an Expert: Host Your Own Contest

July 21, 2010 By Leave a Comment

I’m a big fan of TV competition shows to find the next Food Network Star and the next design star. So you know I’d love it when someone takes that great idea and brings it to a level that you and I can benefit from. So let me tell you about my friend Linda Claire Puig and her great idea.

She’s hosting a contest called “Next Top Newsletter Showdown.”

I love this idea!

Here’s an excerpt from her pitch letter:

It’s not only a contest with some great prizes and exposure, but it’s also the kickoff to nearly a month of newsletter-related, events, learning, prizes and exciting opportunities related to newsletters and creating newsletters — easily — that can massively affect your business growth.

If you have a newsletter, enter it THIS WEEK in the contest. (I’m entering mine!) Nominations close Sunday, July 25, at 9 pm Pacific, and voting is the following week with winners announced August 2.

If you don’t have a newsletter (YET!), definitely go anyway. This is a SUPER-RARE opportunity for you to see what your peers are doing with their newsletters and to take advantage of Linda’s free resources and expert newsletter information.

You’ll get educated. You’ll get inspired. And my hope is you’ll get into ACTION!

http://ow.ly/2da29

ALSO, be sure to register for the free webinar that Linda’s giving on August 2. In addition to announcing the winners and exploring WHY they’re winners, she’ll also reveal some of the newest trends affecting newsletters and let you know about some BRAND NEW resources that will help you get going (easily!) with your own newsletter.

So head on over to the “Next Top Newsletter Showdown!”
http://ow.ly/2da29

Here’s why I love this idea:

When you host your own contest, you will be perceived as a leader in your field.

Following Linda’s model, you’ll get these additional benefits
1. Build a list of people who are interested in your topic.
2. Build credibility with that audience.
3. Build trust.
4. Get a lot of great ideas from seeing the entries.
5. Network with the contest entrants.
6. Create a news story for the media.
7. Become an expert source for the media.
8. Get new clients.
9. Charge higher fees.
10. Set yourself apart from competitors.

What contest could you hold? What partners can help you promote it? How will get the word out? What will the winners receive? How can you make money from the people who follow the contest? How will you get the word out to the media so you can be seen as the thought leader?

Answer these questions and you’ll be closer to being seen as the leader in your field.

Dan Janal is a very successful entrepreneur, professional speaker and marketing coach who helps clients build their businesses by improving their strategy for using publicity, marketing, Internet marketing, e-commerce and sales. To see how you can improve your business, go to http://www.prleadsplus.com

This article can be re-printed on your website, blog or ezine.

Filed Under: branding, internet marketing, Marketing, publicity

How one consultant gets tons of press with PR LEADS and how maximizes the results

June 30, 2010 By Leave a Comment

In building my business, I’ve found PRLeads.com very useful. Here’s how I use it.

John Reddish

1. I set up my account with key words relating to my expertise – reporters seeking expert input send queries to ProfNet for posting. Experts are free to respond or not. Reporters have no obligation to use input as received (so it’s important to either know the publication/service, or the reporter and what and how they write, or at least do research when you can (some items are cloaked) – Google search is great for helping me decide who and what to respond to;

2. I respond to those items that resonate with me, to publications where I think my voice will be heard and that seem to hold opportunity. I keep my overall branding plan in mind so that I don’t go too far afield from where I want to project myself.

3. Unless there is a special reason, or target market I want reach, I tend not to respond to authors seeking input for books they intend to publish. Not knowing them, or the other content they might use, I approach these queries cautiously;

4. To find out when I get quoted (sometimes the reporter lets you know, sometimes not), I do regular Google searches using my name, the reporter’s name and the publication’s name. Also of note, some reporters re-purpose and re-quote in syndication of their pieces and/or in using your input in related articles. I once gave a reporter input for a MS Small business site and more than a year later the same article appeared in East Africa Trade News – who knew!;

4. Once I have the quote, I get a link to it and send a brief synopsis of the article, the link and that fact that I was quoted to clients who might be interested, to clients where I need to keep contact, to prospects, to friends and family and post to my blog and/or web site. When appropriate, I also send the mailing to trade press (judiciously and only where it might be useful for them – some have even called with a new slant for pieces they want to do but this is rare) and alumni news outlets – you never know.

5. Once I know either the style/approach of the publication/service, or the reporter’s style, I decide on whether to go long- or short-copy.  If I think the reporter can use in-depth (not too in depth) background on his/her query, I give it.  Otherwise, I’m a big fan of bullets and key phrases that have potential for Buzz while still being dead-on.

This visibility builds credibility very well and makes client conversions more a process of helping them buy and not selling them.

Best regards,
John

John helps entrepreneurs and other leaders who want to master growth, transition and succession to get results faster, less painfully and in ways that work for them. This happens through consulting, coaching/mentoring, speaking, and/or training. Contact John: www.linkedin.com/in/johnreddish, or web – www.GetResults.com, www.TheSuccessionPlanner.com. John is a professional member of the National Speakers Association and the International Coach Federation.

Filed Under: branding, General Advice, Marketing, publicity

Marketing Helps Defeat the Recession

April 26, 2010 By Leave a Comment

This month, we had a large number of alumni clients re-start their PR LEADS subscriptions. While we’ve always gotten new clients during this recession, and we  always had a few alumni resume, this month clearly showed a great trend.

Why? Many reasons, internal and external, with lessons that will help you grow your businesses:

1. This newsletter. I started this a few weeks ago after no having any consistent communication with my clients. Why did I stop writing the newsletter several years ago? Maybe I got lazy. Maybe I got complacent. Both are not good attributes. Perhaps just putting my name in front of people reminded people that they should get back on board. Maybe you should do some kind of communication with your clients.
2. The economy is improving. Stock market is up. Consumer confidence is up. GM is repaying loans faster than anyone thought possible. Home buying is up. Sure there are rough spots out there and the new economy has changed some business models, but things are definitely looking up.
3. Market consistently. There’s always a new gimmick and people grab at it. But 100 years of research has shown that doing the right things consistently always works if you keep on doing them, day after day, month after month. So do your PR, write articles, do webinars, teleseminars and speeches; and stay in touch with your  clients, prospects and alums, and get referrals. It all works.
4. Competition. Sure, we’ve all had competitors enter our space in the past two years. Looks like people have tried the rest and are coming back to the best. Remember that quality always wins in the end. Continue to offer great service to your clients and they’ll stick with you.
5. Marketing. I’ve started writing more articles, appearing on more teleseminars, webinars and Internet radio shows as well as offering helpful advice on Linked In, Facebook and Twitter. The result is that many people who sign up for PR LEADS put “web” or “Google” or “Internet” as the referral source. Online marketing actually works. Try it.
6. Listening to great advice from Alan Weiss, Mark LeBlanc and Christian Mickelsen. When you pay for great coaching, you are investing in yourself.
7. Law of Attraction. ‘Nuff said.

I’m sure the answer lies in all these factors and probably a few more that I’m too blind to see. So hang in there. Good times are coming!

Filed Under: article marketing, book marketing, book publicity, coach, free publicity, internet marketing, Marketing, press releases

Play Ball! It’s Opening Day

April 5, 2010 By Leave a Comment

I’ve always loved Opening Day for baseball because when you look at the standings, everyone is even. Each team is in first place. Each team has the whole world open to them.

Dan gets caught up in baseball.

Same with you. Treat Opening Day as a time to start over.

1 Reevaluate your website. Is it up to snuff? Check out the free resources at http://www.websitereviewslive.com. You might want to get in touch with my webmaster after you review his materials.

2. Reevaluate your PR and marketing plans. Are they getting results? If not, it is time to start over. Email me and we’ll set up a complimentary coaching session to see if I can help you. This offer applies only to present and former clients of PR LEADS and I *will* try to sell you on group coaching or individual coaching.

3. Reevaluate your profiles on Facebook, Linked In and Twitter. Do they represent what you are selling now? 

Go ahead. Dust off those cobwebs. You just might find some new money buried beneath them!

Filed Under: article marketing, book marketing, commentary, Marketing, Marketing Misc., publicity, Uncategorized
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