Sometimes the best ideas really are the simplest. Years ago I was at a training session for insurance professionals. One of the methods the successful producer was sharing as a cause of his success was the personal touch he gives to each of his clients, no matter how small, no matter how long it has been since he saw the client. What this producer does is call the client every year on their birthday. If he can't call on the exact date of their birthday, he calls a day or two beforehand.

He was recounting how over the years this had gotten to be quite a task, making 10 or 20 calls every single day, and yet he said it is also the most important and enjoyable thing he does in a day. First, the calls have become his primary marketing activity, because the contact with his clients gives him an opportunity to review their situation, assess new needs, mention new products and services, and ask for referrals (all under the premise of wishing them a happy birthday). Secondly, it's always a fun call when you wish someone a happy birthday. Instead of your only contact with the client being an all-business call to notify them of bad news or ask for their signature, or to return a form, you're calling just to say, "Happy Birthday". It's a great call! Men who might normally not be moved by anything other than an act of heroism will get emotional. Women will comment that they just hope their husband remembers. All sorts of neat things happen on these calls.

Years ago, I modified this approach for politicians. I suggested that incumbent politicians mail birthday cards to constituents. Of course, it might not be possible to mail every constituent a birthday card, but certainly you could sort and filter the voter list to find the high value voters (e.g., that politician's home district, or key constituency, by age, gender, race, etc). How do you get the birthday? Well, in this case, it's on the voter rolls. I promise you the politician who sends out birthday cards (without asking for money) will be remember come election day.

I even know one politician who actually sings happy birthday to voters! I'm not kidding; this particular politician (a county sheriff in rural Virginia who sings in his church choir) will leave messages with voters actually singing them happy birthday. As word got around, people took it as a real sign of importance if the Sheriff called. That may not be your best bet, but it sure worked for him!

There are all sorts of applications for this if you think about how to use it, but I still believe that in many businesses a simple phone call on the birthday of your valued clients can do wonders. Sure, you'll get alot of voicemail, and the client more than likely won't call back, but they'll NEVER forget.

We often get involved in our clients' practices far beyond postcards and business cards. In a recent discussion with a client, I found several mistakes this experienced business owner was making that affected his financial profile. I thought I would share a few of those I see most often.

First, too many business owners close old accounts. Naturally, if you're no longer using a trade account, you think of closing it. However, the way bureaus score credit worthiness includes both the total amount of available credit and also the age of your credit lines. That means more available credit is a good thing, and older available credit is a good thing. Don't close an account just because you have a new one.

Second, don't accept the personal guarantee requirement at face value, and as your business grows, challenge this request with frequency. If you're just starting your business, you're probably going to have to personally guarantee everything. (I always recommend asking for an alternative however, and I find that about half the time the guarantee request is either dropped altogether or an alternative is offered, such as a deposit). However, as your business grows and develops a free-standing credit history, you should not have to provide the guarantee. This is the case with everything from cell phone providers to the largest commercial loans. Make sure you check the fine print, and suggest to your prospective lender that based on your company's history, the personal guarantee should no longer be necessary.

Third, ask up front whether your personal information is required for an approval. Many times it is not-companies routinely collect far more information than necessary. You'll be surprised how often your corporate tax ID number and company information will suffice, especially if your business is more than two years old.

Finally, don't delay establishing business credit. Like your personal credit file, it takes time and work to develop a strong profile. Most entrepreneurs I work with take the easy road, and rely upon their personal histories for borrowing money long after it is necessary for corporate survival. There are several reasons to pursue my strategy; first, the sooner your business can demonstrate a healthy financial picture, the better for the valuation of the business, its survival, and your own financial well-being. Secondly, your personal financial picture could change overnight if you were hit with a divorce, lawsuit or major medical expense. If your business remains dependent upon your personal financial picture, it could find its growth stunted, or worse. There's no reason to expose your business to this unnecessary risk.

Business credit is a vital part of growing your business or even just protecting it from market or competitive forces. Drop us an email if you have a question!

‘The Genius’ harkens back to gesture by General Washington

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Nashville, TN, July 3, 2008

Very few people know that General Washington celebrated Independence Day in 1778 by ordering a double ration of rum for his soldiers. However, Sarah Moore with BusinessCardGenius.com says it’s true. “One of the few advantages of working for The Genius is all these interesting fun facts he has. Obviously the soldiers fighting for our freedom deserved it, and we think our clients deserve a double ration as well.”

Ms. Moore was referencing the company’s July special, which includes an offer to double any business card order placed by customers during the month of July.

The Nashville-based firm, BusinessCardGenius.com, says they normally charge $159 for 1,000 business cards. They provide completely custom design services, print in full color on the front and back of the card, and even cover the shipping. This month, however, clients will get twice that many cards for the same price. The company admits it’s not quite the same as a double ration of rum, but points out that this year our client base of real estate agents, mortgage brokers and insurance agents need all the help they can get.

Ms. Moore summarized her company’s holiday offer to clients, “Many graphic design firms will charge $199 just to design your card. We’ll design, print and ship 5,000 cards for that price….and the designs are totally custom, high-end work, not some cheap template. With the economy stagnating, we wanted to honor our clients with this special offer.”

BusinessCardGenius.com has a satisfaction guarantee which this writer couldn’t find anywhere else; they offer a money back guarantee during the proofing process, and offer a complete, satisfaction guarantee even after you’ve received your cards. Says Sarah Moore, “The Genius says if you’re not happy for any reason, just return your cards and we’ll redesign and reprint them for you absolutely free.”

More information can be found at http://BusinessCardGenius.com

We work with alot of real estate agents, and today's market is as challenging as any since I've been in the marketing business. I was speaking with a client the other day who had a great idea.

This client is a broker, and he is a buyer's agent. He has made it a practice to start calling on all the FSBO (For Sale By Owner) listings in his market. No, he's not calling to list them (remember, he's a buyer's agent). He calls to ask the seller if they have already secured their next home.

FSBOs are very sophisticated these days. I see no point in a seller's agent calling on a FSBO-many sellers already have a website, virtual tours, great photos, all the specs and comps, and if they're already FSBOs, they've committed. However, they are not expecting a call to help secure their next home, and if you can demonstrate value, you have a great opportunity to develop a relationship.

If this client of mine can actually secure an appointment, he makes a great attempt to demonstrate his value as a buyer's agent. If relevant, he might point out a few details that the seller could adjust to sell his current home-while making sure to point out that the agent isn't trying to get the listing, but rather, as a courtesy.

This client pointed out that since so many FSBO homes don't sale, they're eventually listed with someone, and a buyer's agent is in a great position to make a referral, possibly to another agent in the same firm.

Of course, the buyer's agent won't get every listing-that's not the point. However, this agent does pick up a few deals every month by using this easy, profitable technique. If you build a good database of these FSBOs and start drip marketing on them, your long-term success with the list should go up further.

Last year a client of mine, who is an attorney, decided to experiment with a yellow book AD. This was a significant commitment, almost $2,000 a month for a year. However, the client had a good niche, and the previous ads in his specialty were rather poor, so I thought it was a good investment.

I'm happy to report that after six months of experience, he's averaging a 5 to 1 return on his investment. In the marketing world, even a 3 to 1 return is considered success. I thought I would review a few of the key ingredients to a successful yellow pages ad.

First, size and placement are important in the phone book. You want to be on the right hand side of the page, and you want to be on the top of the page. Your location here is directly proportional to the number of calls you will receive. If you can't get these spots, make sure that you are paying less for any other location. I would rather be on the bottom of the right page, than on the top of the left page, and so on. It's also true that a full size ad is infinitely better than a small ad, and your calls will reflect that.

Second, your ad should stress benefits. Unless you're Coke or McDonalds, you probably don't have the ad budget to build name ID. Don't worry about putting your fancy logo in the ad. Stress benefits and problem solving. Use text rather than graphics-things that sell rather than ads that look 'pretty'. Look at the other ads in your category, and ask yourself how you compare to those (use previous years if the current ads are not available).

Third, make sure you are promoting your website as well as your phone number. Your website should facilitate sales and not merely be a place holder. If your site doesn't facilitate information gathering, it's a failure and will only frustrate your prospects.

Fourth, make sure you have a way to track your calls and inquiries from your phonebook ad. With a phone number, this is easy; get a second phone number that will allow you to track the calls. It can ring to the same destination, but it will allow you to track incoming calls. Make sure your phone setup facilitates calls as well. I'll never forget learning that one client didn't have voice mail or call waiting on his phone; the guy was spending a small fortune on advertising and didn't want to be 'bothered' with voice mail. Callers who get no answer or a busy signal will be extremely frustrated and will abandon you.

Fifth, always include testimonials. I've written on testimonials in previous posts, so refer here for more details.

Sixth, offer strong guarantees. It doesn't have to be price related, in fact, I discourage that. However, you can offer money-back guarantee, a satisfaction guarantee, a 'do over', whatever. Come up with a guarantee to over to give your prospects a feeling of security about doing business with you.

Finally, make sure your ad offers something FREE. It can be as simple as a free consultation (by phone even), or a free evaluation, or a free report on "The top 10 ways_____________" or a free inspection, a free home valuation, or whatever. You need a reason for them to call you and not your competitor.